Ten Tips to Keep Families Safe and Healthy this Holiday Season

Before holiday guests arrive
and every room of the house is filled to the brim with family, friends,
decorations, and holiday cheer, it’s a good time to thoroughly rid the home
from toxins and ensure gift purchases are safe for children.

“There is mounting evidence
that many cleaning products contain chemicals that are known or suspected
carcinogens, reproductive toxins, neurotoxins, or irritants to the skin, eyes,
lungs, kidneys or other organs,” commented Marie Stegner, consumer health
advocate for Maid Brigade, the only Green Clean Certified® company and the
national leader in green cleaning services.

“In addition to cleaning
products, the items used in your home for holiday cooking and storing and gift
toys need to be researched thoroughly before purchasing to ensure they are
chemical-free and safe for children,” she continued.

Below are 10
ways to ensure the holiday season is safe and healthy for families from the
green cleaning experts at Maid Brigade.

1. Avoid chemical cleaning products and
pesticides and instead choose natural ones. Baking soda and vinegar
can replace nearly any chemical cleaner.

2. Stop heating food or storing it in plastic, which contains bisphenol-A (BPA) that leaches
into the food stored in these containers – especially acidic foods. BPA has
been linked to thyroid and other hormonal problems.

3. Reduce your use
of fragrances. Most perfumes, colognes, candles, air fresheners, laundry
soap, fabric softeners, dryer sheets, cleaning products and other fragranced
products include toxic ingredients that have been linked to hormonal
imbalances, mood swings, fatigue, brain damage and many other symptoms.

4. Avoid risky toy purchases. Contact manufacturers for an ingredient list for
toys small kids are likely to put in their mouth. Recently, the New York Public
Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) found that certain baby toys, dolls and
backpacks had high levels of phthalates,
which are commonly-used chemicals linked to the early onset of
puberty, lower sperm counts, and reproductive defects.

5. Check out www.toysafety.mobi on your smart
phone when toy shopping to see if a toy is dangerous before you buy it. 
The site accepts toy-related injury reports.

6. Toss the non-stick pans.
Teflon, Silverstone and other coatings emit harmful perflourochemicals
(PFCs). The EPA classifies them as carcinogens.

7. Watch out for parabens,
diethanolamine (DEA), or phthalates in personal care products and
cosmetics. Read labels and avoid those ingredients with which you’re
unfamiliar. 

 8. Bring a toilet
paper tube with you while shopping.  For kids under the age of three,
don't buy any toys containing parts small enough to fit inside the tube.

9. Switch from sponges to natural cloths for cleaning. Most sponges have been
treated with a chemical called triclosan, which is toxic to the skin and
immune system.

10. Avoid using mothballs.
They contain paradichlorobenzene, which is very toxic. Instead
choose sachets made with natural herbs and essential oils like rosemary,
lavender, thyme and mint, which are natural moth repellants.

For
more information on holiday season tips visit Maid Brigade’s blog at http://blog.maidbrigade.com. For more
information on Maid Brigade visit www.maidbrigade.com.