How to Wash Your Hands Properly

While hand washing is a mundane and trivial task, its importance cannot be understated. Our hands come into contact with literally millions of germs every day. Properly washing our hands reduces exposure to germs and helps keep us healthy.

To wash your hands properly, put them under running water and apply a small amount of soap. We recommend that you use Fine and Handy Foaming Hand Soap by BabyGanics. Rub your hands together lathered with soap for at least 20 seconds or the total time it takes to sing the Happy Birthday song twice. Once you’re done, rinse your hands in running water.

Frequent hand washing is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. You should always wash your hands before preparing food, eating, after using the toilet, changing diapers, taking out the trash, blowing your nose, putting in or removing contact lenses and any other time your hands may come into contact with germs.

If you’re out and about without running water and soap, BabyGanics has a handy solution – The Germinator Alcohol Free Foaming Hand Sanitizer which offers a quick and natural way for people on the go to sanitize their hands.

Common House Cleaning Myths

A truly healthy home requires a good amount of cleaning. But the desire to keep things neat can often lead to the unnecessary release of toxins, excess energy use and excess use of water. Here we discuss the common myths regarding household cleaning and alternatives to keep our homes not only clean, but safe.

Myth no 1: You should use chemical air fresheners to freshen a room. Don’t get fooled by the sweet, artificial scent of many commercially-available air fresheners. Many of them contain substances, such as volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), which can be harmful to the respiratory system or may even cause cancer. Exposure to 1,4-dichlorobenzene, a VOC related to the use of air fresheners, toilet bowl deodorants, and moth balls, at levels found in the US general population, may result in reduced pulmonary function. This common exposure may have long term adverse effects on respiratory health (Longnecker, Kissling, and London, 2006.) If you really want your home to smell fresh and clean, use safer alternatives like essential oils, cut citrus peelings or natural air fresheners like BabyGanics Breathin’ Easy Air Freshener & Odor Eliminator.

Myth no. 2: You should use a lot of detergent to clean your clothes better. Realistically, it’s the water that cleans your dirty laundry. You only need a small amount of detergent to clean your clothes. Using too much makes it harder to wash away excess soap residue. The reason soap is so good for cleaning is that it attracts dirt. This is great if all the dirt is rinsed away from the surface we were trying to clean. But if all of the soap isn’t gone, the surface will continue to attract more dirt. BabyGanics Loads of Love Laundry Detergent is made safe for the environment because it uses soaps that are plant-based instead of chemical-based. All safe, all natural for your family and the planet!

Myth no 3: You can use as much water as you want because the water treatment facility can clean it anyway. Phosphates in detergent can actually disrupt the sewage treatment process. These phosphates can also be destructive when dumped into waterways, sewers, rivers and ponds because it can cause eutrophication or the enhanced growth of choking aquatic vegetation. It is considered “choking” because they soak up the oxygen needed by aquatic animals, causing them to die. Natural products that do not contain phosphates are great alternative to chemical-laden varieties.

Myth no. 4: Dry cleaning and carpet cleaners are totally safe. The next time you use a carpet cleaner or take your belongings to the dry cleaners, remember that perchloroethylene or PERC for short, is potentially carcinogenic. According to the Environmental Protection Agency’s website, “breathing PERC for short periods of time can adversely affect the human nervous system. Effects range from dizziness, fatigue, headaches, and nausea. Laboratory studies show that PERC causes kidney and liver damage and cancer in animals exposed repeatedly by inhalation”. Opt for safer alternatives like organic carpet shampoos.

Myth no. 5: Bleach is the solution to all cleaning problems. Bleach is great for killing harmful pathogens like bacteria, viruses and fungi. However, it can also carry a whole host of potentially harmful chemicals which can cause irritation of the respiratory system and the mucous membranes. Consider using gentler alternatives, like Babyganics all purpose cleanser The Grime Fighter!

By dispelling these myths, we can all `ensure much safer and much healthier homes for our families.

References: Environ Health Perspect. 2006 Aug;114(8):1210-4. Volatile organic compounds and pulmonary function in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1988-1994.Elliott L, Longnecker MP, Kissling GE, London SJ. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709-2233, USA.

The Green Way to Keep the Flu (and Other Bugs) Away

Mums and dads everywhere know that to keep infants and toddlers healthy, one of the golden rules is to make sure that their homes are free from harmful germs. So, we arm ourselves with a wide array of household disinfectants and cleaning agents and wage a never-ending battle to keep the bugs off of our doorsteps.

The reality is that nowadays, the world is just not that safe. Bugs are becoming more virulent and diseases are still a harsh reality even in a medically advanced world. Take for instance the recent flu pandemic involving the Influenza A (H1N1) virus, more commonly referred to as the “swine flu” virus, which has spread all over the world in just a few months. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that people can be infected by the virus by touching contaminated objects or surfaces and then touching their own nose, mouth or eyes. It’s easy to see how you might infect your family if you attend to their needs with unclean hands. Infants and toddlers are especially vulnerable because they have weaker immune systems than grown-ups do. To protect them, the CDC suggests that you wash your hands with soap and water and use sanitisers frequently.

BabyGanics provides safe solutions to help you protect your family from all the Influenza viruses. First there’s Fine and Handy® Foaming Hand Soap which cleans and moisturises hands. Teach your older kids that foaming up with this soap can be fun and keep them healthy!

Follow up the hand washing with Germinator Alcohol Free Foaming Hand Sanitiser. This unique product offers a quick way for you to kill harmful germs without the drying or stinging effects of alcohol.

So don’t take your chances especially now that cold and flu season is here. Keep your defenses strong, keep little (and big!) hands clean, and show any flu viruses who’s the REAL boss.

BabyGanics lands in Australia!

Welcome everyone to our new blog! On this blog you will find information and advice, handy hints and tips on everything natural and organic! We are very excited to have such a remarkable product range now available in Australia! We are extending our retail force daily and soon BabyGanics will be available in more places making it easier for you to shop!

If you haven't been introduced to BabyGanics yet here are some things you need to know:

• There are over 70,000 synthetic chemicals in commercial production
• On average, three new synthetics are marketed each day
• According to the National Research Council no toxic information is available for over 80% of the chemicals in everyday-use products
• Traces of chemicals can be found in every organ of the body within 26 seconds of exposure

The statistics are scary, especially for new parents and parents-to-be. Happily the BabyGanics team has worked hard to create products specifically designed to address

Thanks for checking out our blog! Check back soon for more information!

The team at BabyGanics Australia