Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
Sat Sep 15, 2012, 05:20 PM Sep 2012

A good site to research household products

The Environmental Working Group's Guide to Healthy Cleaning lists many of the products we use in our homes, and rates them as to their toxicity. You can do a search for a product or brand. There is a list of products in different categories with grade from A to F. It also has a label decoder to help you understand what is in products.

http://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners

I spent a lot of time looking around and I am impressed so I wanted to share this.

10 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
A good site to research household products (Original Post) Curmudgeoness Sep 2012 OP
Excellent site! mkultra321 Sep 2012 #1
I was shocked by some of the products that I use. Curmudgeoness Sep 2012 #2
So far I have focused mostly on personal hygiene products mkultra321 Sep 2012 #3
The scores can be found Curmudgeoness Sep 2012 #5
Hydrogen Peroxide for prewash mkultra321 Sep 2012 #7
Disregard my final question mkultra321 Sep 2012 #4
This has been my experience too. Curmudgeoness Sep 2012 #6
Charlie's Soap Laundry Detergent mkultra321 Sep 2012 #8
That seems to be the case with several products. Curmudgeoness Sep 2012 #9
Spam deleted by hlthe2b (MIR Team) peterbobby Sep 2012 #10

mkultra321

(58 posts)
1. Excellent site!
Sun Sep 16, 2012, 01:08 AM
Sep 2012

I have spent hours on this and am in the process of detoxing my household of hazardous cleansers and beauty products. It's a voyage of discovery let me tell you. There is a movie out there called "Chemerical" you also might want to check out. That's how I first heard of EWG's Skin Deep database. The movie may have shaky production values but it has excellent content.

Are you going to make your own cleansers or are you going to use eco friendly store brands? I would love to chat with others who are going through this change, too.

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
2. I was shocked by some of the products that I use.
Sun Sep 16, 2012, 05:48 PM
Sep 2012

I will not just throw things away, but I will replace when they are used with more eco-friendly products. Most of my regular cleaning products are rated D or F. Ugh. There is only one product that I will continue to use, even with the F rating---and I do have guilt about that, but it is the only product that I found to clean my old bathtub and I have tried just about everything over the years. I will just have to make up for it with all the other products.

I will not make many of my own cleansers, but I have used vinegar and baking soda for years. I will continue and will try it for other uses than I have in the past. But I will not go through too much effort to make special cleaners. Call me lazy.

Let me know if you come up with easy cleaning products to make from safe ingredients.

mkultra321

(58 posts)
3. So far I have focused mostly on personal hygiene products
Sun Sep 16, 2012, 10:08 PM
Sep 2012

I figure if I'm using them directly on my skin I should know what they contain. I've also gone mostly organic with food this year.
For cleaning I've made the following changes:

Sulfate free dish soap and dishwasher detergent from Trader Joes with a little sugar-free lemonade in the wash cycle and a vinegar rinse cycle.

Charlie's Soap for the laundry with vinegar (again) in the rinse cycle instead of fabric softener. I use dryer balls in the dryer instead of fabric sheets. I have not had a problem at all with static. I make stain treatments with Baking soda, hydrogen peroxide and a dab of Bronners soap. For an oxyclean-like prewash I mix in Arm and Hammer washing soap with hydrogen peroxide and let laundry soak in it. For spray starch I put a tablespoon of corn starch in my spray bottle and fill it up with warm water--this works great!

I've cleaned the wood floors for years with vinegar and water and now clean the sink out with baking soda in a little shaker I keep by the sink. Like you, I'm also finishing up some old products but plan to come up with better solutions as they get used up. It's about convenience so I print out the "recipe" and label it onto reusable bottles.

Where are you finding the "scores" on the EWG website? I haven't seen those yet.

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
5. The scores can be found
Mon Sep 17, 2012, 06:08 PM
Sep 2012

by clicking on a category. Also, if you do a search of a product, you will get the ratings.

Example for "all purpose"

http://www.ewg.org/guides/categories/2-AllPurpose

I also use hydrogen peroxide for a lot of things. I have never used it for a pre-wash unless it is blood or something else that I know is organic. I will have to try it. I buy it in the big bottles because I use so much. I even use it as a drain cleaner.

When you say you clean the wood floors----are they wood or do they have a polyurethane finish on them? My wood floors are old and are not refinished, they still have a good finish of shellac on them, and I worry about what I use to wash them.

mkultra321

(58 posts)
7. Hydrogen Peroxide for prewash
Mon Sep 17, 2012, 10:01 PM
Sep 2012

Yep, I started using that recently. It seems to work well with the washing soda. I worry though that it might be too diluted in the water. My floors are all hard wood. I use a solution of about 1-2 cups vinegar in a wash bucket of warm water. Then I mop the floor with a Libby wonder mop--later I can throw the mop head in the washing machine to clean it up with my dirty towels.

mkultra321

(58 posts)
4. Disregard my final question
Sun Sep 16, 2012, 10:12 PM
Sep 2012

Your handy link showed me the way!

Now I get to see that my Charlie's Soap ranked a D and my Trader Joe's brand was not so hot, either. Darn-it-all-anyway!

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
6. This has been my experience too.
Mon Sep 17, 2012, 06:12 PM
Sep 2012

I thought I was making wise choices, and what I was using is not as bad as some, but.....it wasn't good either. However, you might want to read why some of your products are rated low---some of the reasons were not issues to me and I thought that they were going a little too far.

mkultra321

(58 posts)
8. Charlie's Soap Laundry Detergent
Mon Sep 17, 2012, 10:03 PM
Sep 2012

I can't figure out why they ranked it so low. It seems like they ranked it low because the manufacturers are keeping some ingredients secret.

Curmudgeoness

(18,219 posts)
9. That seems to be the case with several products.
Tue Sep 18, 2012, 05:56 PM
Sep 2012

I am not sure how to feel about the ratings on those ones. Oh well, the site is still a good resource even if I don't worry as much as they do about some of the things.

I also wonder about some of the A rated products, since they are all just a few brands.....call me too suspicious, but I often wonder if there is a preference for some brands.

Latest Discussions»Culture Forums»Household Hints & Help»A good site to research h...