make a clean sweep - home cleaning and respiratory ailments

Vegetarian Times, Sept, 2000 by Victoria Moran

Practical, high-quality tools make the job easier. For example, having two buckets--or a double bucket--saves you from having to repeatedly empty dirty water. For washing and scrubbing, use a big sponge that can cover plenty of surface area. Avoid anti-bacterial sponges: They've been permeated with a substance the Environmental Protection Agency classifies as a pesticide. Besides, cleaning itself will eliminate the bacteria. Use soft cloths for polishing, buffing and spot-cleaning; 100 percent cotton terry works best.

An entirely different approach to cleaning is with a new type of cloth called Enjo Fibers. These microfiber cloths are specifically designed to clean a particular surface. There are different cloths for wood, glass, bathroom surfaces and sticky kitchen cleanups. They are so effective that some can be used dry, others with only water, and the rest with a minimal amount of cleaning solution. Enjo Fibers simply clean more surfaces and clean them better. A starter kit (four or five cloths) costs $50 to $60; the cloths can easily last five years. Call (714) 259-9055 or visit the company's web site: www.enjo-usa.com.

Another helpful piece of equipment is an angled broom with a swivelhead for getting under furniture, but a natural straw broom works well, too. All brooms, however, are designed to gather sizable debris. For smaller dust particles, which can actually be stirred up by sweeping, you should use a high-quality dust mop. My favorite is the Shine Mop from Gaiam's Harmony catalog. It has a good-size head, does both dusting and damp mopping, and its thick, terry-cotton covers can be tossed in the wash. (The Shine Mop is $20; three extra covers are $12; [800] 869-3446, or www.gaiam.com))

For clean floors and clean air, you'll need a vacuum that not only sucks up obvious dirt, but also microscopic irritants as well--and doesn't spew them back into the atmosphere as you vacuum. Consider the Italian-made, German-engineered Lindhaus line, which offers hospital-grade filtration in all its uprights and canisters. Prices start at $459; (800) 498-7526. For an additional $39, a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter can be added to any model. This guarantees retention of 99.97 percent of particles as small as 0.3 microns.

Although you might not think of a water softener as cleaning equipment, having one can make cleaning a lot easier. Typically installed in the basement near the hot water heater, this type of softener removes calcium and other minerals from the water from all the faucets in the house. Soft water, thanks to its low mineral content, reduces soap scum, mineral deposits and bathtub rings. And your laundry will look brighter too.

It's Easy Being Green

Many gentler, safer cleaners are available at natural food stores and through independent distributors. By and large, these products do what they say they do and won't give you a headache or make you sick to your stomach. Still, it's important to keep them away from children and consider your individual makeup: You might be sensitive to something that everyone else seems to use with impunity.