As a fun way to introduce my ebook, Taming the Toxic Menace in Your Home, we are running a contest here on the blog and at my Facebook page.
Here’s how it works:
The contest runs for 1 week, from now through the end of the day on Saturday, May 5th. After the contest period is over, we will randomly pick 10 winners from those who enter. Each winner will get a free copy of my new ebook, Taming the Toxic Menace in Your Home.
Here’s how to enter:
- Leave a comment on this post, below. Make sure to include your real email address because that’s what we’ll use to send you the link to download the ebook (your email address won’t be visible to visitors of the blog).
OR
- Visit my Facebook page and “Like” it by clicking on the “Like” button.
- If you do both you get 2 chances to win.
You can get an extra chance to win if you share a link to this post on Facebook or Twitter and then come back to this post and tell us in the comments that you did that. On Twitter, use hash tag #ToxicMenaceContest and on Facebook, just make sure you share from the same Facebook account that you used to “Like” us and include at least your first name in the comment.
Good luck to all who enter!
(Note: to reduce spam comments, your first comment here needs to be approved before it becomes visible. So if you’ve never commented here before you won’t see the comment immediately, but don’t worry, we’ll approve it and it will show up soon after you post it.)
Water your lawn to dissolve granular pesticide that can be dangerous to wild turkeys.
Did you know that wild turkeys have a poor sense of smell? This is in contrast to their highly accurate sense of sight and hearing.
Unfortunately, the lack of ability to smell can cause wild turkeys to eat those very smelly granular pesticides placed on the lawns of homes and businesses, causing them to get sick and sometimes die. It is believed they mistake these pellets for food or for the small stones they need for digestion.
Make Your Treated Lawn Turkey-Safe
If you use granular pesticides on your lawn or someone does it for you, make sure to dissolve these granules by watering your lawn soon after the pellets are applied. Also, please make sure any pellets that are accidentally spread on roads or sidewalks are swept or blown back onto the lawn and watered in.
Learn More About Chemical Safety
If you are concerned about the safety of chemicals you use in and around your home, and the effect those chemicals have on the environment and the humans and animals that live there, you can learn more in my new ebook. Taming the Toxic Menace in Your Home contains information on the chemicals that may be in the various rooms in your home, whether they are pesticides, household cleaning products, personal care products or used for some other purpose. It tells you what the risk is and offers safer alternatives to these chemicals. Click here to learn more.
I’m pleased to announce that my ebook, Taming the Toxic Menace in your Home, is finished and on sale now.
It will sell for $19.90, but right now, as an introductory offer, it is on sale for 50% off the normal price, or $9.95.
Click here to go to the ebook page to read more and to purchase the book.
As Earth Day quickly approaches (April 22, 2012), it is time for all of us to think about the way we treat the planet.
We all know ways to prevent pollution, like recycling and reusing, but are we really diligent about reversing pollution and its effects?
My focus today is on the household cleaners and other chemicals we use every day. Many of the commercial cleaners are toxic, but we use them out of habit or convenience. Some of them are highly toxic, and can cause serious health problems if they are inhaled, spilled or swallowed. They can also harm the environment if they are improperly used or disposed of.
I am releasing an e-book called Taming the Toxic Menace in Your Home in the next few days. This book identifies those toxic cleaners and chemicals, explains why they are dangerous, and suggests safer alternative cleaners and chemicals. The alternatives will reduce health risks to you and your family, and help reduce pollution of the planet.
We may need to trust our government to regulate pollution by businesses, but we can certainly control the pollution that comes from our own homes.
Come back to this website as Earth Day approaches to learn more about my soon-to-be-published ebook, Taming the Toxic Menace in Your Home.
It’s time for Spring Cleaning, and a huge opportunity for everyone to get the clutter out of their homes and garages. It is also a great chance to start cleaning your home with safer, less toxic cleaning products.
My soon-to-be-published e-book, Taming the Toxic Menace in Your Home, gives instructions on which items might be toxic to you or your family and pets. It tells you how to safely identify, handle and dispose of household toxins that are throughout your home. You can learn about the toxins in the cleaning products you are now using. The book tells why these toxins are unhealthy for you and your family, and provides safer alternative cleaning products that are often less expensive than the products you currently use.
Let’s look at one example of a household cleaner that can be very toxic: Drain Cleaners. Were you aware that commercial drain cleaners are very toxic, containing very caustic chemicals? These chemicals can burn your flesh, irritate your eyes and other mucous membranes, and are poisonous if swallowed? Did you know that these same chemicals are strictly regulated at chemical manufacturing plants? Chemical workers must wear protective gloves, clothing, and respiratory protection while handling the exact same chemical found in drain cleaners sold for household use. Taming the Toxic Menace in Your Home tells you how to unclog and clean your drains using warm water, safer chemicals and water jets or other mechanical methods.
It is important to know how to safely dispose of the toxins you use, so the book give you critical information on how to safely handle these toxins, and places that will accept them from households.
While you are cleaning your house, you are doing your part to clean up the planet.
Watch this website for information on how to purchase my ebook, which will be published on Earth Day, April 22, 2012.
Much of the world has become highly dependent on gasoline and oil. We use it to operate our automobiles for getting to work, running errands, or vacationing. We also have a secondary need for these fuels by farmers who work the fields, companies who process our foods, and transportation companies who deliver these goods to markets.
As individual consumers, we can make a difference in the total amount of gasoline and other fossil fuels used by a few easy steps:
In your Home:
- Keep your home thermostats at a lower level and wear a few more clothes to remain comfortable;
- Wait until you have a full load of dishes or laundry before you run the dishwasher or the washer and dryer;
- Use cold water in the washer and energy-saver settings on the dishwasher;
- Hang at least some of your clothes to dry instead of using the dryer;
- Get an economical on-demand hot water heater or install a timer on your hot water tank.
In your Car:
- Check the tire pressure regularly (keep it at the pressure indicated on the inside of your door panel);
- Have maintenance done as recommended by the manufacturer (yes, oil changes and tune-ups can significantly improve your mileage and make your car last longer);
- Accelerate and brake smoothly whenever possible.
- When it’s time to replace that vehicle, think about more energy efficient vehicles.
As our demand decreases, we may see the prices drop, since the Law of Supply and Demand drives the prices. (High demand – high prices, low demand – lower prices.
Let’s take control of our own destiny and help keep those prices down!
Watch for a Special Offer!
In a few days, I will be releasing my new e-book, Taming the Toxic Menace in Your Home, which addresses important health issues like this, and provides tons of advice on other ways to rid your lives of household toxins. Visit this blog again soon to learn more about the book and to take advantage of a limited-time discount offer.
2 Questions about Reusable Grocery Bags:
- Is Lead in reusable grocery bags a serious health issue? and
- Are there other health issues with these bags?
My answers might surprise you.
- Is Lead in reusable grocery bags a serious health issue? In a 11/10/2010 article in USA TODAY, by Stephanie Armour, the headline read “Lead in reusable grocery bags prompts call for federal inquiry.” I searched the web and found no evidence of a federal inquiry, even though this discovery was released over a year ago. That doesn’t prove an inquiry isn’t underway, but prompts me to ask: why not? My response to the discovery of lead in these bags is to ask another question that will answer the first question: Was the test for total amount of lead in these bags or for leachable lead? If the test was for total lead in the bags, that is not sufficient proof that the bags are unsafe for consumers. If the test was for leachable lead using the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) , and if the lead concentration was more than 5 parts per million, these bags should not be used, because if the concentration is that high, the bags would be treated as a hazardous waste, and would be unsafe to use. But I have no knowledge that such a test has been done.
- Are there other health issues with these bags? A health issue separate from, and potentially more important than, lead contamination is the accumulation of bacteria, viruses, and other unhealthy contamination that could make use of these bags very unhealthy. If folks want to reuse these bags “for life,” I would highly recommend laundering these bags on a regular basis, just to keep the bacteria, viruses and other contaminants in check.
In a few days, I will be releasing my new e-book, Taming the Toxic Menace in Your Home, which addresses important health issues like this, and provides tons of advice on other ways to rid your lives of household toxins. Visit this blog again soon to learn more about the book and to take advantage of a limited-time discount offer.
The newly introduced Vu1 light bulb may look promising as a substitute for the compact fluorescent lamps, but I have one concern about its disposal. What about the phosphorous?
The manufacturer doesn’t indicate the phosphorous concentration in each bulb, and while phosphorous is not a hazardous waste, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has indicated phosphorous can be hazardous to humans at very low levels: “…recommendations for safe levels have been made by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH). All three organizations set the inhalation exposure limit for white phosphorus in the workplace during an 8-hour workday at 0.1 milligram per cubic meter of air (mg/m3).”
There are two common forms of phosphorous: red phosphorus is a reddish powder that is stable under normal conditions and considered non-toxic in its pure form, but is flammable and can be shock or friction; while white or yellow phosphorus can be much more hazardous. It is highly reactive with air, and extremely toxic (ATSDR estimated human lethal dose is 50 – 100 mg).
By comparison, Light Emitting Diode (LED) are made from inert, non-hazardous materials that can be disposed directly in landfills without recycling. LED lamps are actually cost competitive with this phosphor-based light and are more energy efficient.
Based on the information I have now, LED lamps are a better choice.
The answer may surprise you:
A business can't throw hazardous waste in their dumpster, but you, as a homeowner, can throw it in your trash can where it will pollute a landfill and possibly endanger sanitation workers.
Household Hazardous Wastes (wastes generated in households) are not regulated as hazardous wastes by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) or any state government within the 50 states.
Since 1980, the USEPA has excluded all wastes generated by households from regulation as hazardous waste, and all 50 states have followed suit. This exclusion is very dangerous for garbage haulers and those who work at transfer stations and landfills because there are many household wastes that can cause serious injury if handled improperly. The chemicals in drain cleaners, pesticides, batteries, and a host of other wastes can cause injuries for these workers. If these same chemicals were used in an industrial setting, the wastes would be strictly regulated and the workers would be required to wear personal protective clothing like nitrile gloves, splash aprons and safety goggles.
It is important to know that if the wastes from a house are removed by a contractor, the waste is not excluded from the definition of solid or hazardous waste and is subject to the strict industrial standards mentioned above, including proper disposal at a permitted facility, which can be very expensive.
The next time you handle household chemicals, be sure to read the labels carefully and follow the instructions for personal protection and proper application and disposal.
Commercial drain cleaners are very toxic, using strong caustic chemicals to break down the “gunk” that builds up in your household drains.
I highly recommend using plain white vinegar from your grocery store, since it almost always keeps your drains clean, without the possibility of exposing you or your family to the toxic commercial drain cleaners.
Vinegar is also much safer for your drain pipes, since the commercial cleaners can cause corrosion if you have any metal in your drain pipe system, and many systems do. Vinegar will not damage your septic tank, if you use one, but commercial cleaners can kill some of the good bacteria in your septic tank, potentially shortening the life of your leach field.
Drain-cleaning Procedure
To clean a clogged drain, simply pour 2 cups of vinegar into the sink and let it set for at least 15 minutes before running warm water to flush the pipe. If it doesn’t work the first time, put in another 2 cups and wait at least 30 minutes befroe rinsing again. For persistent clogs, I recommend buying a hose-type hydraulic drain cleaner that attaches to your faucet, with a hose small enough to push down the drain and flush out the clog.
You don’t need to wait for your drain to get clogged to use vinegar. Use vinegar in any drain that is slowing down, pouring 2 cups into the drain and leaving it there as long as you like before rinsing.
Warning: Be careful not to use boiling or near-boiling water to rinse out the vinegar if you have plasctic drain pipes, as the hot water may warp or melt those pipes, causing leaks.
Home Safety Help is Here
As a professional engineer, I'm here to help you make your home safe by identifying potentially dangerous chemicals and other substances and getting rid of them. I'll also suggest alternative products, often called "green" products, that are safer and work just as well. Feel free to tell your friends about this site. Leave a comment telling me what you think, or ask a question.
