Question from Kay

I have used this soap for laundry and liked it alot. I can’t find it on line at soapworks.com. Has she sold out and is it in any stores?

Thanks you.

Kay

Debra’s Answer

Just had dinner with Amilya last night in fact and asked her about this. Unfortunately, Soapworks products are currently not available. She hopes to bring them back sometime in the future. And when she does, I will be sure to announce it because I liked her products too.

Over the years I have received a lot of questions about Shaklee products. Shaklee recently reformulated, repackaged, and renamed their cleaning products into a new line called “Get Clean”–which has a cleaning product for every need in your home–so I thought it was time to take another look at them.

Shaklee has been well-known for their biodegradable Basic H since 1960, but I have not recommended Shaklee products in the past because I was not able to obtain ingredients lists or MSDS sheets. I still couldn’t obtain ingredients lists, but I did get MSDS sheets and took a look at their website.

In general, the Get Clean cleaning products are advertised to be natural, biodegradable, fragrance-free, and super-concentrated (which makes them very economical to use and reduces a lot of packaging). And, Basic H2, has so many uses, it is truly a wonder of a multi-use product.

Shaklee states that their Get Clean products “do not contain hazardous ingredients.” More specifically they state

• No napthalene


• No kerosene


• No formaldehyde


• No phenol


• No cresol


• No lye


• No hydrochloric acid


• No sulfuric acid


• No petroleum distillates


• No benzene


• No ammonia


• No paradichlorobenzene


• No sodium hydroxide


• No butyl cellosolve


• No phosphoric acid


• No chlorine

0 ingredients that are hazardous to humans.

0 chemicals like phosphates, chlorine, and nitrates that are harmful to the planet are in Get Clean.

0 volatile organic compounds, chemicals that produce noxious toxins and air pollution, are in Get Clean.

Their MSDS sheets do list a few items under “hazardous substances” but there are either minerals, which are considered hazardous because of dust exposure (not toxicity), enzymes (I don’t know why they are considered hazardous) or in the case of the one substance I would consider “hazardous”–ethyl alcohol–are present in very small amounts and is made from plant sources (this is not stated on the MSDS or the website, but I have an email from Shaklee stating this is so).

I have a small sample of the Basic H2 and it basically smells like nothing.

There are no ingredients listed on the labels (which are on the website, by the way, for each product), the “Product Bulletin” for each product tells some of what the products are made from. Basic H2, for example, is made from corn and coconuts; Nature Bright Laundry Booster and Stain Remover is made from natural enzymes and oxygen bleach.

Shaklee says their products are “safe for the planet” because:

• Sustainably sourced natural ingredients


• Biodegradable


• No phosphates


• No nitrates


• No borates


• No animal testing


• Recyclable packaging


• Recyclable wipes


• Recyclable dryer sheets

In addition, Shaklee has zero impact on global warming by offsetting 100% of its greenhouse gas emissions. They were the nation’s first business to be certified Climate Neutral.

And their world headquarters utilize the latest energy-efficient designs and sustainable resource materials. They also print on recycled paper, recycle, offer telecommuting, encourage use of public transportation, and more. They have received many awards for their environmental efforts.

Shaklee does not test its products on animals.

After all these years, I’m happy to have finally gotten some information on Shaklee products I can review, and having done so, decided to put these new Get Clean products on Debra’s List as “earthwise” cleaning products.

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Question from Eric Talaska

There are a lot of windows in my home with Vinyl PVC window blinds. I called the manufacturer to find out if they have lead and they don’t, so that’s good. But since they are made of Vinyl PVC, isn’t that toxic as far as outgassing, especially for the windows that the sun hits the most? I’m wondering whether I should go to the extent of replacing them with something more natural such as wood blinds. The blinds are two years old, so have outgassed some already, but I wonder how much more outgassing is left? Should I be concerned about the blinds that do not heat up from the sun? Will they still outgas without heat?

Debra’s Answer

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Question from Eric Talaska

Hello, this is my first entry here. I appreciate this service Debra provides. I have a concrete slab floor with oil based floor paint on it that is 2 years old. It has surely outgased toxic fumes a lot already. How do I keep it from outgassing or otherwise releasing toxic fumes or chemicals? Is it better to remove it and then start over with something nontoxic? If so, how do I safely remove it? If leaving it on is recommended, what can I put over it that would keep it from outgassing? Thanks.

Debra’s Answer

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Question from Julie Westbrook-Finch

I am gradually changing over to natural products, but I have a question about safety.

I know you can’t mix certain things like bleach and vinegar due to causing toxic fumes so how long after using normal bleach in the toilet do you have to wait before changing over to using something natural like borax and vinegar or a natural toilet cleaning product? Do you need to wait a certain amount of days without using bleach before its safe?

This question also applies to putting bleach down drains and plugholes, how long do you need to wait before using natural products so they don’t clash and make toxic fumes?

Thanks,

Julie Westbrook-Finch

Great Britain

Debra’s Answer

You’re not supposed to mix bleach and vinegar together, but I don’t think there would be enough bleach left in a toilet to react with vingar after one or two flushes. If you want to be super-cautious, wait a day or two before using vinegar.

Drains would clear as soon as you flow water through them.

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Question from Katy Swanson

Hi Debra-

I work for an environmental non-profit in Jacksonville, Fl and one of the individuals that have been working with had a question about the ingredients in MAAS metal polishes. I have reseached the website and found no information regarding what they are using to get results that are apparently “amazing” on all kinds of tarnished metals.

If you have heard anything about these product or the ingredients in these products I would appreciate any sharing of information. I do not feel comfortable recommending a product that does not disclose this information, especially if they are toxic or environmentally and socially harmful, but maybe i am not looking in the right spot.

Thanks for any help and your time.

-Katy Swanson

Debra’s Answer

I went to the MAAS website and they had neither ingredients nor MSDS posted, so I called. They offered to fax me an MSDS sheet, but my fax isn’t working, so the person who answered the phone read the “Hazardous Ingredients” section of the MSDS to me over the phone.

The hazardous ingredients in this product are calcinated alumina, hydrocarbon mixture, and triethanolamine. Triethalnolamine is a petrochemical of moderate toxicity (see Environmental Working Group Ingredient Report on Trienthalonamine). I’m most concerned about the hydrocarbon mixture, which could contain any number of petrochemical solvents with varying toxicity, which could change from batch to batch. The calcinated alumina is basically aluminum.

I would suspect that this product has a strong odor from the solvents. I wouldn’t use it.

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Question from Mindy

I washed my sleeping bag in the bathtub and the outer surface of it must still bleed color (it is blue) and when i finished soaking it, it stained the tub (which had been refinished over a year ago). I tried bon ami with the rougher surface of a sponge and it didn’t seem to work very well. Then I tried using a wet pumice stone which I read about in a household cleaning book I have and it seemed to start getting some of it off, but not completely.

Do you have any great solutions for this that are non-toxic and will restore my tub back to the pristine white, not that the blue is ugly?

Debra’s Answer

This seems to be the week for getting sinks and tubs white (see next entry below). Readers?

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Question from Natalie

Hi Debra,

Are pots and pans that are accidentally left on the stove and boil dry still safe to use?

Thank you.

Debra’s Answer

I don’t know the answer to this one. Readers?

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Question from SLJ

I admit I like to use Febreze now and then to refresh the fabrics in my house. However, with a dog and two cats I now would like to explore alternatives. I haven’t seen any natural substitutes that are safe for fabrics and smell nice. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Debra’s Answer

I haven’t seen any such products, but I don’t see EVERYTHING 🙂

Readers?

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Question from Sydney Blum

I am looking for a non-toxic snake repellent. I tried an herbal mixture from Australia and the snakes just sat in it without a care. Any ideas that really work?

Debra’s Answer

Readers? Anyone have any experience with this? We only have small garden snakes here, so I don’t know how to repel snakes.

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