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Homemade Products

DIY Mold Wipes–Easy-to-Make, Portable and Effective

by Catherine 10:52 pm

If you are ever stymied by trying to have a more portable way to clean for mold the way most folks clean for bacteria with their ever-ready canister of antibacterial wipes, I have created a simple recipe and solution to help you out.

Now why should you care? Why is it important to clean or wipe down for mold on the go? Why not just use antibacterial wipes and call it a day?

If you are allergic to mold, like my son, or your immune system has taken a hit from being exposed to a mold-toxic environment, like my husband, the slightest encounter can send you reeling. Antibacterial wipes are NOT ant-ifungal and do NOT kill mold. Thus, they are not a viable solution for people allergic or sensitive to mold. For those with these issues, According to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, the following reactions can happen almost immediately: sneezing, itching, runny nose and congestion, scaling skin, hay fever symptoms, and even an asthmatic attack. That is pretty serious. And while I can clean the heck out of my home and constantly test it to make sure it is mold free, I cannot always control the environments we are entering on a daily basis.

10:52 pm 0 comment

Cleaning Tips Healthy Home Homemade Products Mold Prevention

How to Eliminate Odors from Clothes and Fabrics

by Catherine 4:22 pm

In my previous post, I discussed properly cleaning your washing machine the “mold-safe” way. Honestly, though, even if you are not focused on mold, having a clean, disinfected washing machine will do wonders to improve the health of your home, and the smell of your laundry room, clothing, bedding, towels, etc.

In today’s post, I will focus on actually cleaning your clothes and other textiles, in order to combat all of the odors that sometimes seem to stick with us a little more than we would like. Also, now that we have discussed the two types of odors—chemical and biological—we are going to try to tackle getting rid of the odors that become trapped in your clothing and other laundry. The smells that people tend to be most adverse to, seem to be the biological ones, but I also want to discuss chemical odors in textiles.

First, I want to say that my nose has become extremely sensitive to any sort of chemical smells. I think it is a result of being a watchdog for my son. His skin reacts with an allergic response almost instantly to some chemicals, and his sensory processing issues become magnified and inhibit him from functioning normally when chemicals are in his food and in the air around him. As I understand it, the chemical smells most commonly found on clothing and textiles are plastic odors from packaging and odors due to the presence of chemicals applied to the fibers during their cultivation or manufacturing. For example, a non-water-soluble form of formaldehyde has become a common chemical treatment applied to some 100%-cotton items. Most of these items are labeled “wrinkle resistant,” and if you are chemically sensitive, I would avoid these types of fabrics. Chemical pigments and dyes can also be odor-causing culprits.

4:22 pm 0 comment

Healthy Home Homemade Products Personal Stories Products

DIY, All-Natural Fruit and Veggie Wash

by Catherine 9:41 pm

Colorful, beautiful and essential to your health, fruits and veggies deserve a prominent place in your kitchen. Ensure they are mold/toxin-free with this DIY wash.

Eating a large variety of fruits and vegetables is important to maintaining your health and increasing your body’s ability to fight off sickness and disease. What you don’t want to do, though, is to purchase all of those colorful fruits and vegetables and become sick from not cleaning them properly prior to consumption. In fact, in recent years, contaminated fruits and vegetables have been the culprit in several large outbreaks of food-borne illness. Fruits and vegetables may become contaminated when soil or fertilizers are not thoroughly washed off, even organic fruits and vegetables are grown in soils that can have E-coli bacteria present, and from when they come into contact with bacteria or harmful substances during harvesting and/or transport. But don’t let your fear of possible contamination prevent you from eating healthfully. I have developed some helpful DIY tools for washing your fruits and veggies.

9:41 pm 0 comment

Cleaning Tips Healthy Home Homemade Products Mold Prevention

Clean Your Washing Machine For Mold and Bacteria

by Catherine 3:26 pm

We’ve all been there—at the gym, in the supermarket, or at a sporting event, and that all-too-familiar musty, mildew smell is coming from someone’s clothing. I was once in a boot camp class at our gym, and a woman’s clothing next to me smelled so stinky that I had to move away from her to continue the class. I was working hard and breathing heavily anyway, so the added odor was hard to take. My point here is that anyone can fall prey to mildew and moldy clothing, towels, fabrics. I don’t want that to be me and my family. Today, I’m going to teach you how to clean your washing machine for mold and bacteria. (This will be Part I of a two-part series on laundry.)

3:26 pm 0 comment