When I first started seeing a Naturopath, (so many years ago that I cannot remember,) I suddenly became aware of how much toxicity my body is exposed to on any given day.
I became determined to find a way to reduce my exposure to toxicity, and I’m of the mindset, what’s good for the human, is good for the dogs. So I started working on ways to reduce toxins in their lives as well.
If life were ideal, and I was rich beyond imagination, I’d live in a green house, with bamboo floors, and green mattresses. Nothing would be toxic whatsoever. But despite me giving the state my hard earned money every week for that dang-blasted lottery, that dream continues to elude me.
Living cleaner is good for people, it's good for animals, and it's good for the environment, but it can also be very costly. Healthy options don't come cheap. Click To TweetThis means I have to carefully weigh areas in my life where I can have the most impact for my dollar.
Luckily for me, having a Labrador that puts her mouth on EVERYTHING helped me make a relatively inexpensive change. It happened one day during meal time. I’d fed the dogs and as is the usual course of events, as soon as Delilah inhaled the last bite in her bowl, she rushed to Sampson’s, licked it clean and then licked the outside of the bowl.
Bang! It was like I was hit with a ton of bricks!
The dish soap! How many times did I make a healthy dinner and then serve it on plates washed with chemicals? And lick the bowl myself?
I went immediately to Dr. Google, I found a really lovely website, (too bad I didn’t book mark it,) that recommended ECOS.
I started using it right away.
I’ll be perfectly honest here. (Did you expect less?) The suds don’t last as long as traditional dish soaps, and I seem to use a lot more of it, although that totes could be me. The other thing is, it’s more expensive than say a bottle of Dawn or Palmolive.
Still, in the scope of things, it’s a small increase in my food budget that gives me what I feel is a good return for the money. It also benefits both me and the dogs.
If you want to check the safety of any of your household products, a good place to start is the Environmental Working Group. They list each chemical in the products, and then “grade” the product for safety, breaking down each ingredient with a letter grade of A through F, including areas where the chemicals are sketchy and also where the concerns lie. For example, ECOS has “some” concern for both Asthma/Respiratory as well as Skin Allergies and Irritation, but “low” concern for Developmental & Reproductive Toxicity, Cancer and the Environment.
The overall ‘grade’ for ECOS is “A” as opposed to Palmolive which was graded an”F”.
Because I’m cheap I don’t like to spend a ton of money on cleaners, and I have a Labrador that likes to lick cabinets, I also use my dish detergent for cleaning counters, cabinets, floors and woodwork as well.
Worried about the toxins in your dish detergent? These are the top eight ones you should avoid:
- Phosphates
- Triclosan
- SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate)/SLES (Sodium Laureth sulfate)
- Fragrance (you want to find a detergent that gets its scent from essential oils)
- DEA (Diethanolamine), MEA (Monoethanolamine), TEA (Triethanolamine)
- Chlorine
- Formaldehyde
- Ammonia
For me, I try and do the Google and research the products before purchasing. Just because something tells me it’s “Natural” does not mean it’s not toxic. The key is to know what to avoid and do your research.
Do you have any tips for eliminating/limiting toxins in your home/life?
This is the third installment in a series about reducing toxins in your and your dog’s lives.
If you’ve missed the previous installments, or are just tuning in, installment one can be found HERE, and installment two can be found HERE.
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