Getting to know you

I got one of those silly surveys friends sometimes send to one another in an effort to talk about themselves. Sure I answered it.

What caught my attention was a question about favorite smells. Many of the women (all moms) said they liked the smell of a clean house.

After watching more daytime television than I care to admit, and having wandered down a cleaning product aisle at the grocery store every once in a while, I can tell you, that smell is not the smell of clean.

In fact, it's probably exactly the opposite.

Many cleaning products contribute to indoor air pollution, which can be 2 to 5 times higher in your house than outside. The chemicals (or volatile organic compounds) in cleaning products, air fresheners and dry-cleaned clothes can contribute to a number of health woes, including damage to the central nervous system.

Air fresheners are the worst in my book. They provide a very strong smelling product meant to conjure images of clean, when one organization found phthalates (known to cause birth defects and reproductive harm) in 12 of 14 air fresheners testing, including those labeled as "all natural."

The truly safe cleaning products, such as those sold by the company Seventh Generation, are great, but expensive. For most of my cleaning, I stick to baking soda, washing soda and vinegar. Try to buy soap instead of detergent, which contains petroleum products.

And for a fresh, clean smell, open a few windows. You might find the outside actually smells OK.