Harsh chemicals get the job done -- at a price
I've spent far too much of my life cleaning my house only to realize a week or so later that I have to start all over again.
Since housecleaning, although a necessity, is blindingly boring -- frankly, I would rather watch paint dry than haul out the vacuum cleaner -- I've always embraced labour-saving cleaning products that promised to make my housework easier and quicker. And they did: tiles, tubs and taps sparkled, floors looked as new, the stove glowed, and it was all pretty painless.
That was until I learned what was in the stuff I was gaily squirting around my domestic domain. Turned out the instant magic did its work thanks in part to nasty chemicals, which ended up floating around my house being inhaled by my family and friends. On top of that, the buckets of dirty water I dumped down the drain contained cleaner contaminants that many municipalities can't necessarily remove. Yikes! In my quest to clean but clean fast, I'd been inadvertently poisoning not just the people in my house, but my neighbourhood as well.
But it was with a heavy heart that I switched to ecologically sound cleaning products. First of all, green cleaners cost more. Equally important, as far as I was concerned, they also require more elbow grease. We're not talking a spritz and you're done. It's more like several squirts, leave for 10 minutes, then come back and attack. You have to get down and scrub -- not something I find particularly engaging.
However, I soldiered on, locating products that not only did the job but had enticing natural smells to boot: lavender and eucalyptus and oranges. Others had no scent at all, which was another bonus, since I always hated the acrid tang of so-called “apple” or “lemon.” (If you believe either of those fruits have anything to do with your cleaning products, think again.)
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