Pet Prattle and Products

Store bought cleaning products and air-fresheners are made with chemicals, or combinations of chemicals. Most of the labels tell us they are harmful if swallowed, or if they get in your eye or open cuts. Granted that is not likely to happen, but what about constant exposure? Things like frequent headaches, loss of energy, dizziness can all be attributed to over-exposure to chemicals. The issue is How much exposure is too much? Here’s a common complaint: Your pet is sick and the vet can’t figure out why! Vets are trained to treat the symptoms from something that is likely to be transient.  They are ill-equipped to treat a constant health threat, like cleaning and air freshening products.

I hope that you have never experienced any of the afore mentioned symptoms, but what about your pets? Remember one of our years is the equivalent of 5-7 of theirs! Their exposure is 5-7 times greater than your own. While it is very important that the areas your pets roam are clean and disinfected, it is also important that you know what you are using to do so. Chemical cleaners can be very toxic, even when properly diluted, but the tendency is to use a more concentrated cleaner for the areas your pet frequents to protect your pet and your family. People who are unable to clean and disinfect regularly, often place air-fresheners near the bedding and resting places. And when they do get to clean, they are likely to use more concentrated products. Unfortunately, your pet can’t say “Hey,this is burning my eyes, nose, my mouth, or my paws!”

The chemicals used in cleaners, disinfectants, and air-fresheners can burn your lungs and eyes. They can cause the pads of your pet’s feet to burn. In response, your pet licks their pads (often incessantly), and ingests the chemicals. This is often an unknown cause of diarrhea, vomiting, and numerous misdiagnoses. Now, imagine you are your pet. You spend most of your home life at floor level, inches from where fumes and germs are the most concentrated, and you are inhaling these fumes 5-7 times faster than the humans in your family.

You can make your pet areas clean and germ-free without exposing your family or your pet to toxic chemicals. Hydrogen peroxide and vinegar are inexpensive off-the-shelf harmless items that clean and disinfect better than most off-the-shelf cleaners. They make your pet areas clean and germ-free without exposing your family or your pet to toxic chemicals. Susan Sumner, a food scientist at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, developed a cleaning and sanitizing combination that consists of 3% hydrogen peroxide (available at the drug store). Hydrogen peroxide is much cheaper by the gallon. Concentrated hydrogen peroxide is available from beauty supply stores. If you go that route, make sure you handle it with gloves. Dilution ratios for 3% are available on line. It is best to dilute with purified water. To enhance the disinfecting power, I add colloidal siver to the hydrogen peroxide. You can buy a colloidal silver generater for around $200 that will last a lifetime. Also, you can buy gallon jugs of concentrated hydrogen peroxide at a beauty supply store and dilute it to 3%. If you make a gallon, you can use some to mop floors, put some in a spray bottle to disinfect the air, bedding, walls, door handles, countertops, fruits and vegetables, cutting boards, remote controls, cell phones… Fill another spray bottle with plain white vinegar to use as a cleaner. The combination is also good for cleaning food bowls, water bowls and litter boxes.

In tests at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, pairing the two mists killed virtually all Salmonella, Shigella, or E. coli bacteria on heavily contaminated food and surfaces, making this spray combination more effective at killing these potentially lethal bacteria than chlorine bleach or any commercially available kitchen cleaner. The best results came from using one mist right after the other- it is 10 times more effective than using either spray by itself and more effective than mixing the vinegar and hydrogen peroxide in one sprayer! When cleaning fruit; liberally spray both the vinegar and the hydrogen peroxide, leave them on for several minutes, then rinse under running water, preferably filtered. There is no after taste, or toxic residue.

Somehow, we have gotten away from basic, safe, yet effective cleaners and replaced them with potentially harmful off-the-shelf chemical cleaners and air-fresheners. The burning question (no pun intended) is “Why?” Clearly, Madison Avenue is very good at what they do, but at whose expense?