Slow Death by Rubber Duck - interesting book

[FiddleFit]

Hi,

I'm giving a heads up about a new book that would appeal to many people here. It's called "Slow Death by Rubber Duck", and it's about how the everyday chemicals in our environment permeate our body. These two guys used themselves as their lab rats, and measured the levels of regular household chemicals in their blood, before, during, and after they used them. It's interesting stuff. They didn't do anything extreme; just used the products in a typical fashion. I haven't read the book yet. I saw them interviewed on tv last week. I plan to buy the book the next time I'm near the book store. I have no personal gain from sales of this book; just thought many people here would find it interesting.

http://www.amazon.ca/Slow-Death-Rubber-Duck-Chemistry/dp/0307397122

Cheers!
Sandra

 

[PhyllisG]

Thanks for the heads up. I went over to amazon and looked at it. Now I am going to check to see if my library has it. I would really like to read this. Slowly we have been buying all natural products for cleaning etc. and I have been trying to also clean up my skin care products and shampoos. I also always wonder about building materials they are using in new construction like wall to wall carpeting etc. since modern houses are often sealed up to save on energy. Many years ago our local school built a playground that was supposed to be enviromentally friendly. My friend is a carpenter and refused to work on the project because of the treated wood and he took a lot of grief for that. Years went by and the company was shut down because it was found that the wood was harmful. Lots to think about.

 

[kirsten777]

Thanks for sharing! I too, have become increasingly aware of the toxins in my environment and have been slowly trading in my chemical based products for natural ones. And quel surprise! they work just as well if not better! Eventually, I want to get one of those filters for my shower that filters out most of the chlorine in the water. Gaiam has them, but they are a bit costly for a good one.

I wish the corporations would have just left well enough alone. If natural products work just as well, why bother creating toxic compounds that can clean the dirt off of a shoe! One time I was putting on bug repellent and a drop of it fell on my sneaker, that little spot was the cleanest white, and it never got dirty - I stopped using it immediately!!! What the heck is in that stuff anyways!?!

 

[kathryn]

If natural products work just as well, why bother creating toxic compounds that can clean the dirt off of a shoe!

Because companies don't make as much money off of natural products (just think of how much a huge container of white vinegar--an excellent natural cleanser and germ killer --costs vs. some cleaning products).

 

[kathryn]

I want to get one of those filters for my shower that filters out most of the chlorine in the water.

I use one, and I have a chlorine filter for the water I use on my outdoor plants (it attaches to the garden hose). After reading that you absorb more chlorine by breathing in the fumes during a shower than you would drinking a big glass of water, I was sold.

 

[sparrow13]

thanks for the info! I am off to track it down.

 

[horseshowmom]

Thanks for the info. I bought a similar book called ORGANIC HOUSEKEEPING by Ellen Sandreck and it has great recipes/suggestions for homemade cleaners,etc. I'm trying to replace my chemicals as they run out with organci products like vinagar and baking soda. Also have gone to paraben free shampoos ,witch hazel and plan to replace cleansers as they run out as well. I'm sure there are some things I won't be able to part with like my scented body lotions, but I figure if I change everything else, one or two synthetic products won't cause the cumulative effects. It truly is terrifying to discover how many chemicals we are exposed to daily. It seems overwhelming at times to try and avoid them. But it certainly explains the increase in so many diseases in the past 40 years.

 

[GMonkey]

I definitely believe that homemade cleaners work way better even than the so-called natural cleaners offered by the traditional cleaning product companies. My salon owner bought a bunch of the Green Solutions junk by Clorox and it doesn't work at all. I ended up having to get rid of it and just using vinegar for the windows and mirrors. I use borax to clean my showers along with a power scrub-brush and it works better than any of the junk at the stores. I've also replaced all of our chemical sunblocks with those containing titanium and zinc oxide rather than oxybenzone stuff.

Just so you know, when it comes to beauty products, proceed with caution about some of the "natural stuff". For one thing, they sometimes contain chemicals too. For another thing, lots of natural products are also skin irritants. Natural can also be dangerous--arsenic is natural. Peppermint, lavender, and chamomile are marketed as soothing, but tons of people are very allergic to these natural ingredients. Also, talc is now promoted as the new makeup bad-guy, but talc is a mineral and has only shown to be problematic when used in ladies and baby's "nether regions".

 

[horseshowmom]

Thanks for the heads up on natural body care products!
Quick question...what do you use instead of bleach for whites and disinfection?

Thanks!

Becky

 

[GMonkey]

Nobody in my family needs to dress formally enough to have dressy "whites". My husband wears a military uniform and his dress uniform is blue. I just keep my light colored clothing separate from dark clothing in the wash.

Perhaps this is going to make me sound filthy, but I just clean most surfaces with either vinegar or borax. In the kitchen, I use plastic cutting boards for meats, then I rinse and stick them in the dishwasher immediately. I do have a bottle of Simple Green and a jug of bleach in the house for "emergencies", though. I also have a steam-cleaner thingy which is supposed to sanitize surfaces, but I don't use it very often. I am a firm believer that disinfectants just create stronger germs, but there are certain circumstances which warrant their use--occasionally. My family is rarely sick, and I don't think that any of us have had any stomach issues in years.

 

[kathryn]

Perhaps this is going to make me sound filthy, but I just clean most surfaces with either vinegar or borax. In the kitchen, I use plastic cutting boards for meats, then I rinse and stick them in the dishwasher immediately. I do have a bottle of Simple Green and a jug of bleach in the house for "emergencies", though. I also have a steam-cleaner thingy which is supposed to sanitize surfaces, but I don't use it very often. I am a firm believer that disinfectants just create stronger germs, but there are certain circumstances which warrant their use--occasionally.

Actually, white vinegar has been shown to kill as many germs as bleach (because the acidic environment it creates is toxic to them), so it's not "filthy" at all!

For whites, it's possible to use hydrogen peroxide (there is a natural brand of non-chlorine bleach that is basically hydrogen peroxide, but costs more than you'd pay just picking up a bunch of the stuff at a pharmacy or Walmart). I just tend not to wear that much white (and the whites I do have--like Thorlo socks---often can't be bleached because it will damage the fibers).

ITA that using too many disinfectants and such creates stronger germs. In fact, that's what I've heard about using stuff like Triclosan (in a lot of "antibacterial" soaps): it kills off the weaker germs, but leaves the stronger ones to replicate, the same way overusing antibiotics (including eating meat that has been treated with antibiotics) creates stronger bacteria.