The EnviroVac

A greener vacuum cleaner is now being manufactured by Electrolux.  It’s called the EnviroVac and it uses 50% of the electricity that other vacuum cleaners use.  The EnviroVac is bagless (less waste) and has an upholstery attachment (so you can clean your sofa and curtains effectively) and a dusting attachment included.  This vacuum cleaner also has a HEPA filter (for the allergy sufferers amongst us), a 7m cable (to prevent you having to switch sockets) and a stretchy hose (to reach all the way up the stairs).

£99.95 from John Lewis.

Steam Cleaners

Steam cleaners clean your home without any chemicals, so are a very good option from an environmental and from a health point of view. A steam cleaner holds water in a tank where it is heated to make pressurised steam.  The steam is applied to the area to be cleaned with an attachment at the end of a hose.  With one of these you don’t need to use chemicals to clean tiled areas, bathroom suites, carpets, garden furniture, upholstery, hard to reach areas, grills and decks. Steaming eliminates odours and disinfects.

The steamer pictured is the Simac Vapor Steam Cleaner. It costs £124.99 and comes with an assortment of attachments.

Hands have to contend with cold weather, as well as water and hard work on the allotment (or in your veggie garden) in Autumn.  So it’s important to find a hand cream that can help repair and moisturise rough, chapped skin.  This Gardener’s Hand Cream is a wonderfully earthy mix of patchouli and lavender essential oils mixed with calendula oil and beeswax.   To me patchouli is one of the most amazing smells on earth, so slathering my hands with it is not just a treat for my hands, but for my nose too.   A soothing therapy for hands, made in the Lake District.

The  eco.kid range of haircare products for kids from Australia is everything a eco-parent could want, and more.  It’s biodegradable, wild harvested, waterway friendly and organically certified.  And while it’s not a head-lice shampoo, eco.kid products do help to prevent head lice because as with many things in life, prevention is better than cure.  They do this by creating an environment that is very unpleasant to head-lice.

eco.kid Prevent Shampoo gently cleanses the hair without damaging the sensitive balance of natural oils on the scalp. It contains 100% botanical essential oils, releasing pure fumes from the hair and scalp which assist to repel insects. It also contains natural terpenes and hydrocarbons that will attack the outer protective lipase coating of head-lice, delivering phyto-chemicals which attack the insect’s nervous system.

eco.kid Nourish Conditioner carries on where the Prevent Shampoo stops, using the same natural technique of discouraging head-lice.  It also feeds growing hair.  Nourish conditioner contains plant-derived moisturisers that naturally bind and sustain moisture and nourish away knots and tangles. Gentle anti-inflammatory peptides soothe sensitive scalps and re-balance the natural protective mantle of the skin. It is an effective detangler and promotes healthy shiny hair.

eco.kid Daily Leave-in Tonic contains plant-derived moisturisers that naturally bind and sustain moisture to nourish away knots and tangles.  The natural phyto-chemicals contained in the essential oils that make up 3% of the product discourage head-lice and attack their central nervous system.

There are two eco.kid styling products for really cool hair a matte styling clay, and a shaping paste.  Again both of these contain natural bug discouraging ingredients.

And for when and if the beasties do strike, there’s the eco.kid Lice Bomb.  This product is 100% essential oils which delivers an aggressive attack on head lice and their eggs. The natural terpenes and hydrocarbons contained in essential oils are safe and completely non-toxic to humans, but instantly dissolve away any protective lipase coating on the exoskeleton of lice or lice eggs enabling the full potential of the essential oils to attack the insect.  Lice Bomb needs to be used in conjunction with a nit comb.

You see so many advertisements on television for air fresheners of one kind or another.  There’s the plug-in type (whoever invented that was obviously not thinking about energy saving) that lets off an artificial smell into the room, the battery operated sort that lets off puffs of aroma at set intervals, the one that hangs off the rear-view mirror of your car and then there’s the traditional aerosol air freshener, also known as toilet spray.  There seem to be an endless supply of these “smell improvers” on the market, including some that say that they eradicate the odour rather than mask it.  Sound good?  If you said yes to that question, you couldn’t be more wrong.  Because air fresheners are not good for your health.

Researchers at Brunel University found that the daily use of air fresheners could be linked with a significant rise in the incidence of maternal depression.  And it doesn’t stop there.  They also found an increase in headaches in women who were frequent users of both aerosols and air fresheners.  And in children, researchers found increases in diarrhoea and vomiting.

Enough to make you think twice about buying air freshener again?  Then have a look at these other options to chemically “clean” air.

1. Open the window - the most natural way to get rid of unpleasant odours.

2. Use oranges, lemons or fresh herbs to pleasantly fragrance a room.

3. Use essential oils in an oil diffuser.

4. Mix a few drops of your favourite essential oil with water in a spray bottle, then shake and spray into the room.

5.  Try Eco Mist natural air freshener in a pump spray bottle.  It comes in Zangy Citrus, Relaxing Lavender and Exotic Summer Fruits.

[via The Independent]

Photo credit: Paull Young

Drinking coffee and red wine, and the passing of years, have a habit of staining and discolouring our teeth.  But it’s no longer necessary to resort to expensive treatments at the dentist and chemical bleaches to get your pearly whites looking, well, pearly white again.  SUPER Dental White is a safe and natural solution that’s very popular in Germany, and having used it myself, I can attest to it’s being pretty effective.

The formulation contains only kaolin, silica, calcium carbonate and peppermint.  And it’s easy to use.  After brushing once a day, put a little of the powder on your toothbrush, give them a good going over, and rinse.  It’s as simple as that.

One bottle of SUPER Dental White lasts about 6 months, and costs £5.50.

Summer days in the garden, at the beach or around the pool are great for our sense of wellbeing. We’re getting our daily dose of Vitamin D and looking sun kissed. But sun, salt and chlorine can take its toll on our hair. Which is where this amazing hair masque comes in. Made by Barefoot Botanicals, Rosa Fina Brilliance Hair Repair Masque is first aid for dry or sun-damaged hair. It penetrates hair with rosehip oil repairing damaged hair cuticles, while olive oil extract gives your hair back its glossy sheen.

It’s made of 100% ethically sourced plant derived ingredients, so is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Treat your hair with this once a week and banish dull locks.

Priced at £16.45

Summer time brings with it the bugs that bite, and we reach for the bug-spray. Whether you’re away on your holidays, going camping for the weekend, or just spending some time in your back garden, instead of going for the usual toxic DEET option, try something more natural, and just as effective.

DEET (N,N-diethyl-m-toluamide, also known as N,N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide) has been shown to have adverse effects on people, especially in children and pregnant or breastfeeding mothers. The effects range from skin irritation to more serious problems like dizziness, disorientation, and difficulty concentrating.

These days there are many natural insect repellent options available to us, and they’re proving to be just as effective as DEET, although they may need to be applied a little more often. That’s not a bad price to pay for a less toxic product.

Try Lifesystems natural insect repellent, formulated from a derivative of the lemon eucalyptus plan; Bug Geroff Essential Oil Insect Repellent, for application on bedding, on floors or to be used in aromatherapy burners; and Mosi-guard Natural Aerosol, hailed as nature’s most effective insect repellent.

Named after the Icelandic moors by the wise old woman whose herbal expertise brings us this amazing 100% natural and organic balm, Moa is considered by some to be a miracle in a jar. It’s healing properties are highly thought of by many, including mountaineer and adventurer Jake Meyer who keeps it in his first aid kit.

Here are some of the uses of the green balm:

• prevents and treats frostbite
• helpful with skin conditions such as dry patches, rashes and burns
• helpful with the after-care of burns and scarring to promote healing, reduce itching, nourish and soften
• may help to soothe eczema and mild cases of psoriasis
• protects chapped and cracked skin on elbows, knees hands and feet
• use as a facial cleanser to remove make-up, whilst conditioning the eyelashes and balancing the skin
• softens cuticles
• revives dull looking hair; comb through to condition and restore lustre and vitality to tired looking locks
• helps to prevent nappy rash and soothe cradle-cap
• warm between the fingertips to use as a massage oil
• mix a teaspoon of móa with hot water and a little honey and gargle to ease a sore throat

The key ingredient in the balm is organic yarrow, which is combined with tea tree oil, Icelandic water, beeswax, coconut, sweet almond and soya bean oils to make up Moa - the green balm.

And remember, it’s easier than ever to be a cyclist in the capital now, so why not give it a try.

Hayfever is a widespread problem in the UK and as the pollen count rises Springtime can mean suffering and irritation to many. Here are some alternative natural remedies to sooth the discomfort of hayfever.

HayMax is an organic, drug-free pollen barrier that works by wiping a little HayMax around the bottom of your nose so that pollen is trapped before it gets inside your body. No pollen, no sneezing. It’s as simple as that.

Local honey can help desensitise you to local pollens. Just take a spoonful of locally produced honey (find it at a local farm shop or farmers market) every day from a month or two before the hayfever season starts.

The Bionaire BAP412 Mini Tower air purifier has a washable HEPA filter that removes up to 99.97% of all airborne pollution, allergens, smoke and odours, helping to make your indoor environment a hayfever free zone.

Green Tea contains catechins, which have a natural antihistamine effect.  Drink two or three cups daily during the hayfever season.