What can I use other than plastic bags to pick up after my dog?

August 1st, 2009

Plastic sandwich bags were a great discovery to pick up doggy poop, or so we thought. Such a simple solution. But I’m thinking maybe this isn’t a very green solution. So my question is, does anyone know of a good alternative to this? We don’t read newspapers, so don’t have that as an alternative. And we’re talking about handling something messy, so I’m hoping the solution isn’t a scoop and a pail…

Linda Green Pet Expert

Linda Green Pet Expert

EXPERT ANSWER: A very good question and I so hate seeing doggy gifts when I go for a walk so I’m glad you are being such a responsible pet owner.

Here is a ‘green’ idea for cleaning up after your pet when you go for a walk:
1.  Buy a newspaper (you don’t have to read it – and you can even retrieve some from someone else’s recycle bin or trash) and some brown lunch bags.  Cut the newspaper pages into half or quarters and fold and insert two each into each bag.  Leave them in a convenient place for your walk.

Use as needed on your walk.  The bags, newspaper and your dog’s contribution will all decompose nicely in the landfill or you can even put it into your compost bin.

2. Another solution I’ve resorted to is to use a big leaf to pick up and a local trash can or clump of bushes to deposit in. :)

LINDA

Anyone else have good green solutions they’d like to share????  You can do so in the comment section below.

To read more Green Pet Tips, visit our Articles Resources page and subscribe to our Green Guide Tampa Bay newsletter on the right side of our web pages.

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Posted in Pets, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Is there a non-toxic way to remove mold from the shower tile?

July 24th, 2009

I have tried the very effective but very toxic solutions to getting rid of mold in my shower, and it made my lungs hurt, even when I did everything to protect myself. I took this as not a good sign! So are there natural, non-toxic solutions to this problem?

 

Debra Lynn Dadd "Queen of Green"

Debra Lynn Dadd "Queen of Green"

 

EXPERT ANSWER: I’m going to give a number of the best solutions.

Borax and water. Spray it on and the mold wipes right off.

Hydrogen peroxide. A 6% concentration of hydrogen peroxide in water has been recommended. Let it sit a few moments, and sprinkle baking soda. Then scrub with a paper towel that is wet with the 6% concentration of HP. If you are dealing with a really bad situation, you can use the straight 35% hydrogen peroxide. IMPORTANT CAUTION: 35% hydrogen peroxide is extremely caustic (can eat through skin) and should be handled with goggles and protective gloves.

Water and tea-tree oil.  A tea tree shower spray is available at the larger health food stores, and it is called Shower Kleener.

Steam cleaners–which clean, sanitize, and deodorize using only hot water–also work great on mold. Shark Steam In A Bottle sells for about $50.

Towel-dry walls and floors. Once you have removed the existing mold, dry the walls and floor of the shower after each shower. After you dry your body, you can just use the same towel to dry the shower.

Bathroom fan.  Also, using a fan or increasing light will help keep the bathroom dry and mold-free. You might also try using a shower squeegee to wipe down the water after your shower.

Lotus Sanitizing System. This was recommended to me, and is at The Sharper Image stores. It is an appliance that oxygenates water temporarily (15 minutes). During that window of time ozone is infused in the water. This super oxygenated water can be used anywhere you need to kill bacteria, mold or mildew. It has been said to be stronger by 50% than any chemical, and work 3000 times faster.

Oxo-Brite by Earth Friendly Products.  Make a paste, and cover the area with the paste. Let it sit for a half hour or longer, then rinse. It has been recommended as an excellent mold fighter and grout whitener.

 

 

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Is there an easy way to convert my toilet to dual flush?

July 19th, 2009

I would love to have a dual flush toilet. Has anyone has done this, and do you have any recommendations?

EXPERT ANSWER: Clearing liquids from the bowl takes 1/2 the water needed to flush solids. By using a lower water option when you are flushing liquids, you can save thousands of gallons of water per year. One estimate is that one person can save 3.2 gallons per day and 1168 gallons per year. The money savings can be substantial but most importantly, you are saving water, which is becoming an increasingly precious commodity.

Dual flush toilets work by giving you a choice of how you flush. You can purchase a unit at some of the local hardware and big-box stores.

But you don’t need to get a new toilet to experience these savings. A less expensive option is a dual flush conversion kit.

And an even simpler way to convert your toilet can be found in the video Make Your Toilet Dual Flush (free DIY 20 min job).

The greenest options don’t use any drinking water at all:

• use water from your sink to flush the toilet. It makes a lot of sense, as toilet water does not have to be drinkable and the sink water just goes down the drain. There are a number of systems out there to choose from or you can do your own plumbing.

• use a dry compost toilet, which uses no water at all. You can also get a flushable compost toilet that will recycle the water to your yard. Both of these options can be built yourself, if you are handy, with easily acquired locally available materials.

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What happens to food put down the garbage disposal?

July 19th, 2009

This is something I have been curious about for ages — if there is something unsustainable about putting food down the garbage disposal. It seems like a perfect thing to do. However, where does it go? Are there foods that could ultimately be unfriendly to wherever they end up? Are there rules to follow so I can be confident about using this tool? And…I live in an apartment with no land at all, so I have no garden to put my scraps, so that is why I am not composting. Thanks!

 

Debra Lynn Dadd "Queen of Green"

Debra Lynn Dadd "Queen of Green"

EXPERT ANSWER: The waste from your garbage disposal goes down the drain, through the sewer system to the water treatment plant, along with all the other waste you put down the drain in your house. All the sewer pipes–in Pinellas County, at least–go to the water treatment plant. None go into the Gulf or any other natural bodies of water.

PInellas Country offers a list of do’s and dont’s for keeping your pipes and the sewers flowing, including not putting toxic chemicals down the drain. That includes a lot of chemical cleaning products, so that’s another reason to go green with cleaning products. The tips are at http://www.pinellascounty.org/utilities/sewer-safety.htm. 

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Posted in Food, Nature, Waste, Water | 1 Comment »

Green dogs, unite!

July 5th, 2009

Any canine readers out there who have persuaded their masters to have a green household, and what they should be doing so that I can be a “green dog”?

Linda Green Pet Expert

Linda Green Pet Expert

EXPERT ANSWER: Hi Vito, glad to make your acquaintance!  I am not a canine reader, but I do have some good tips for other masters of green dogs to help them in getting even greener with their pets.

There is an article I wrote in our Resource Directory that has some good tips for Masters and their pups on how to do this.

To visit our Resource Directory, simply click HERE.

Sincerely,
Linda
GGTB’s Green Pet Expert

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Lead-free Faucets

July 3rd, 2009

I’m remodeling my kitchen and have heard there is lead in faucets. Is this true? And, if so, are there lead-free faucets? Where can I buy them?

Dan from Tampa

Debra Lynn Dadd "Queen of Green"

Debra Lynn Dadd "Queen of Green"

EXPERT ANSWER: First, there is no safe level for lead exposure, so anything you can do to reduce your lead exposure to any degree is good.

A 1996 amendment to the federal Safe Drinking Water Act called for “lead free” plumbing fixtures. At that time, a “lead-free” fixture was legally defined as one that had 8% or less lead in it (this is hardly “free of lead” but imagine how much more  lead was in faucets prior to 1986!)

According to NSF: Faucets. federal law now requires faucets to meet the lead leaching requirements outlined in their NSF/ANSI Standard 61, which sets limit to lead leaching to no more than 5 ppb of lead into drinking water. You can view their list of faucets that meet this standard at: NSF Certified Faucets. New faucets meeting the NSF 61 standard will have “NSF 61/9″ stamped on cardboard box.

Last year, my husband and I replaced the pre-1996 faucet in our kitchen. We had no problem finding NSF 61/9 faucets at all the local stores that sell faucets. It’s pretty much the standard now. But check the label to be sure.

Coming up on 1/1/2010, the NSF standard goes down to ≤ 0.25 percent lead. That’s better!

More info: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: Identifying & Purchasing Lead-Free Faucets.

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Organic Restaurants

July 3rd, 2009

I try to eat as much organic food as possible, but I also like to go out to eat. Can you recommend some organic restaurants?

Donna in Clearwater

Debra Lynn Dadd "Queen of Green"

Debra Lynn Dadd "Queen of Green"

EXPERT ANSWER: We’ve started a list of organic restaurants in the Tampa Bay area at
 Green Guide Tampa Bay: Food: Restaurants. Check it out. And please add any others you know of by adding a comment to this post.

 

 


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Salt Water Pools

June 25th, 2009

I went swimming yesterday in our condo pool, and it had salt water in it. Lovely! Seems like this would be a green alternative to chlorine, but this was new to me. What do you know about this? Does it disinfect the pool?

 

Cory Brennan Permaculturalist and founder of Create Clearwater

Cory Brennan Permaculturalist and founder of Create Clearwater

 

EXPERT ANSWER: Salt pools do not remove the chlorine, they only help regulate it. Salt is converted to chlorine with metallic plates, and then reconverts to salt. It is softer on the skin and hair (salt exists in your pool in about the same amounts that it exists in your body) and it eliminates harsh chloramines which give the pool the strong chlorine smell.

Another alternative is ionizing the water with copper and silver, which appears to have far less of a toxic footprint both for swimmers and the environment and may be less expensive than either salt or chlorine.

But natural pools, filtered by plants and soil, are the greenest alternative we know of.

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