Blue Indicating Silica Beads, Cobalt Chloride, Cancer and Hearing Aids

There are many concerns by the public in general about the possibility of some food, chemical, or environmental factors that can cause us cancers. Blue silica gel indicator beads or cobalt chloride is one of the products that are considered a Class 2B carcinogen. They’re used for drying out your hearing aids at night while you sleep. We all know about those little packets of beads or desiccants that come with almost everything from electronics to vitamins that help keep them dry.

Just to be clear, there are two main agencies that determine if a product is carcinogenic. They are the IARC International Association for Research on Cancer and the NTP or US National Toxicology Program. Each organization has a slightly different determination of what a Class 2B carcinogen actually is. However they both agree that cobalt 2B is probably carcinogenic, while other research clearly shows it is carcinogenic.

A carcinogen is a substance that will lead toward the development of a cancer by causing changes to your DNA or genetic blueprint. Weather inherited or due to outside exposure or environmental factors. Nature and nurture are both at work here.

Carcinogens don’t cause cancer in every case. Some substances labeled as carcinogenic could have different levels of cancer causing potential. Some may only cause cancer after prolonged exposure at unsafe levels; like fumes from metals like cadmium, chromium or nickel for example. They can also have different latency periods. That means from the time of the exposure to the incidence of cancer.

Although laboratory studies alone cannot always predict if a substance will cause cancers in people, all the known human carcinogens that have been thoroughly tested, have also caused cancer in lab animals. In many cases, the carcinogens are first found to cause cancer in lab animals and are then found to cause cancer in people.

The most common uses of Cobalt Chloride 2B is in a type of desiccant named Blue Indicating Silica Gel. This product is in bead form and will turn from blue to pink when fully absorbed. This is one of the most widely used indicating desiccant products and poses health risks and strong environmental issues.

There are also indicator beads available today that reflect a trend in consumers who don’t want a class 2B determination. They are now using yellow or orange non toxic cobalt free silica indicating beads instead of the cobalt blue.

There are also blue cobalt 2B moisture indicating cards on the market that can tell you when a product you have contains a certain amount of water. They have three little dots on them that discern thirty, forty, or fifty percent moisture. Because of public demand, they are now also available in yellow or orange non toxic, cobalt free indicator cards.

Other uses for cobalt chloride is for making disappearing ink. The other is used for making T.R.U.E. tests. (Thin-layer Rapid Use Epicutaneous test.) A TRUE test is a patch used to determine if different allergens in the body can create a certain allergic reaction to compounds found in the body. Doctors can then advise their patients which compounds or chemicals to stay away from.

Researchers compare studies done on both animals, epidemiological (skin) samples, and studies of case histories. By combining the data from these different efforts, scientist can make an evaluation of the substances ability to be cancer causing or not.

The IARC’s bottom line is that blue indicator silica beads, Cobalt Chloride Class 2B, are “possibly carcinogenic.” They are third from the top.

• Group 1: Carcinogenic to humans
• Group 2A: Probably carcinogenic to humans
• Group 2B: Possibly carcinogenic to humans
• Group 3: Unclassifiable as to carcinogenicity in humans
• Group 4: Probably not carcinogenic to humans

However, the EPA Environmental Protection Agency places them second from the top of their list, and refer to them as “probably carcinogenic.” The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), an electronic database that contains information on the effects on human health from exposure to specific substances in the environment.

The EPA uses a rating system is similar to the one the IARC uses when describing the cancer-causing potential of a substance. Notice in their evaluation, the Class 2B carcinogen is second from the top.

• Group A: Carcinogenic to humans
• Group B: Likely to be carcinogenic to humans
• Group C: Suggestive evidence of carcinogenic potential
• Group D: Inadequate information to assess carcinogenic potential

Group E: Not likely to be carcinogenic to humans

The IRAC goes on to say that Cobalt chloride 2B may not only be carcinogenic to humans, it is toxic to marine life and could cause many long term ill effects on the environment. Other hazardous effects include contact to the skin, eyes or lungs. It’s very corrosive. Other class 2B carcinogens are arsenic and lead, along with pickled vegetables, coconut and palm oil, and as of just recently, cell phones.

The 2B classification list goes on to include anti-perspirants, baby shampoo, hot dogs and bacon, talcum powder and alcohol. Now include DDT, chloroform and gas exhaust. Throughout the whole world 3.5% of all cancer deaths are directly attributable to alcohol consumption, a class 2B product.

Dr. Samuel Epstein, a world renowned expert toxicologist and Chairman of the Cancer Prevention coalition said the: “Lifelong use of these type of products… clearly poses major avoidable cancer risks to the great majority of the U.S. consumers, particularly in infants and young children.”

This may seem like a pretty weighty topic, especially when all you came here for was to read an article about cancer, hearing aids and silica gel beads. So, on a lighter note, just to keep some sense of balance here, coffee is also considered a class 2B carcinogen. But there’s a catch.

There is an ongoing debate over the health effects of coffee. There are different studies that show an increased risk of some cancers, and decreases in the risks for others. In the early nineties a study showed that drinking coffee increased your risk of bladder cancer. While another study demonstrated that more than two cups a day increases lung cancer by fourteen percent.

Yet a more recent study claims that drinking over six cups of joe a day reduces the possibility of prostate cancer by a huge sixty percent. That’s incredible! Presently green coffee beans are now being used as a weight loss drug. Just ask Dr. Oz.

Suffice to say that when shopping around for a container of some silica indicator beads to dry out your hearing aids with, be careful which one you purchase. As suggested earlier, many consumers are getting smarter about these things and making wiser choices as a result. I hope this help you make that more qualified decision.

With all of the bad publicity that Teflon and aluminum cookware has received, many of us are searching for healthy non toxic cookware. It doesn’t make any sense to purchase healthy whole foods and then cook them in toxic pots and pans.

Although stainless steel cookware has been considered a safe alternative, it does have one drawback. Stainless steel cookware is made with a combination of stainless steel, chromium and nickel. None of these are harmful in small doses, but many people are allergic to nickel. If you are allergic to nickel, you should refrain from using stainless steel cookware.

Another concern that many people are not aware of is that some glazes used on crock pots have small amount of lead. The recommendation is to use terra cotta crock pots without the lead glaze.

The best cookware which is healthy and non toxic is anodized aluminum cookware. The process used in making the hard anodized aluminum seals the aluminum with an extremely hard surface coating which is non-reactive and prevents any aluminum from leaching into the food we are cooking.

The following three companies have excellent hard anodized aluminum cookware sets that are healthy and non toxic:

Calphalon is the leading manufacturer but many other companies are now producing cookware sets made with the hard anodized aluminum. Calphalon cookware cooks evenly on lower heat and is stick-resistant. They have stainless steel handles which will stay cool during stovetop cooking. The pans and lids can be used in the oven and broiler.

Cuisinart has introduced a line of non-stick cookware called Cuisinart Green Gourmet Hard Anodized Cookware. They work just like the Teflon cookware, except they don’t emit any of the toxic fumes that Teflon pans do. Just like the Teflon pans, they allow you to cook with less oil and they are also energy efficient and eco-friendly. This Green Gourmet cookware set is oven and broiler safe.

KitchenAid has their own set of non-stick anodized aluminum cookware called KitchenAid Gourmet Essentials. This cookware set features stainless steel handles coated with silicone grips. The lids are break resistant glass which makes it nice to see what you are cooking. These pots and pans are oven safe up to 400 degrees.

All three of these companies cookware sets are highly recommended healthy non toxic sets. I use the Kitchen Aid Gourmet Essentials cookware in my kitchen. It is the best value out of the three.

Broken people do broken things

It is funny how we expect damaged people to treat us the way we want to be treated. We don’t do that with anything else in life. If a fruit has gone obviously rotten and smells bad we don’t eat it and then ask why it tasted funny.

We do not drive a smoking clunker and then wonder why it stranded us on the side of the road either. No one drinks rancid milk on purpose (unless they are so thirsty or hungry they have nothing else).

Yet we do this with people all the time

We see the warning signs, we hear the thumping engine that does not bode well and somehow think we can fix them. Worse yet, if we are co-dependent- we seem to go out looking for others just like them.

Can you imagine doing that in any other area of your life? You don’t say, “Well, that one looks really broken, let me see if I can stand having no A/C in 114 degree heat.” Instead, you quite sensibly run away from those kinds of things in any way you can.

So why do we choose broken people? There are many reasons, but often it is because we are damaged too, just in a different way.

Maybe, we are just that thirsty for love, that hungry for acceptance or feel deep down, in some way, it is all we truly deserve.

Abusers can spot hunger. They can pick out a need at a hundred yards away. For them, it is the power they crave. Like a vine that leeches away the nutrients of the tree it climbs, they suck out that juice, that power over someone, to satisfy a perverted craving with themselves.

In one sense they are a toxic, narcissistic lock and we are the bent key that needs to be needed. We may keep going back or giving because we think we see a beautiful soul in pain. That may be, but we need to have just as much compassion for our needs, more in fact, than we do for the people who seek to break us again and again.

Like an overflowing teacup that is jostled, we all spill out that which is already inside us. The truth is, broken people do broken things. Period.

They do not suddenly, as a rule, stop doing it because they are still broken and do not know any other way to be.

That does not mean that we have to remain in their path (or make excuses for them). It does not mean that they are not accountable either! It simply means that we can have compassion, both for ourselves and them, even as we step (or run) away.

There is another part to this as well. In order to truly access the healing we need, we have to learn to forgive. That is often a tall order indeed. Think of it this way though, hating someone, refusing to forgive or release the pain shackles us to the very suffering we want to escape.

An Unwillingness to release or forgive it pins us to the train track of victimization- again.

If we cannot forgive and release the pain, we remain tied the emotional wreckage for however long we continue to carry the burden.

It is one thing to be victimized once, to carry the scars forward and another to suffer over and over in a mental nightmare that keeps us chained to the same pain throughout our lives. We must then, love ourselves enough to cut the cords.

We all are who we know how to be.

No more, no less. When we make a decision we do so because it fits into our logic, our level of understanding, our view of the way the world works. We understand our decisions because we feel and remember whatever it is that we have experienced or come to understand as our reality.

Most of us, thankfully, are not sociopathic unfeeling robots. Those who are will never know the sheer joy of what it is to care, to touch and to love. Some of us have been the victims of monsters, but at the same time, we do not have to remain victims. We can become survivors. Overcomers.

We can (and we must) rise up, raise up, take back our power and live with as much dignity as we can muster.

It takes an amazing amount of courage to overcome our pain and not return hate for hate, evil for evil, blow for blow. Only the bravest of the brave manage to do so. I hope that you are brave today, as brave, maybe braver than you know you are. And if you have children, do it not for your sake, but for the ones who look to you to understand how life should be.

Something to think about. Namaste. Peace to all beings.

In the first days of the BP Gulf Oil Disaster, when I first heard the word Dispersant, my first thought was that this was a very bad idea. Why would we want to “disperse” something that needs to be gathered up, calculated, and contained? However, not being an oil expert, I tried to keep an open mind.

Perhaps it’s been our open minds toward the “experts” in the oil industry that has enabled this entire mess. Each of us has done this out of convenience, so as not to interfere with our prolonged dependence on oil. We want to get in our cars and drive, and not question. And that makes us all responsible.

Turns out this dispersant stuff, at 11ppm, is four times more toxic than the oil itself, at 2.61 ppm. British Petroleum has knowledge of this, so thereby continues to add deliberate insult to injury. The most apparent motive in applying dispersant is to make their Spill appear less catastrophic; it looks better, on the surface. Never mind the water columns below. Never mind that there were no studies required, or even contemplated, and thereby no data exists on potential effects to marine life.

Why did BP make the decision to use this particular chemical? Well, we only have to follow the money trail. Whether we’re talking Corexit 9500, or its sibling Corexit EC9527A, both have a hideous rap sheet of probable harm to human life including infant deformities and cancer, and, again, no peer reviewed studies on effects to a marine environment, at all. It continues to be dumped, at over a million gallons to date, because a company by the name of Nalco had already invested in its production. And if we look we’ll find the financial twists and turns and incentives between these two companies.

Why, instead, didn’t BP invest in better boom manufacture, ready access and training for timely deployment of such protection, not to mention the personnel on staff available for immediate response in the likelihood of this eventual accident? And use of boom is merely an example of age old, tried and true methodology. What of new, innovative impact control technologies not even funded? Not even glanced at?

It is clear today that BP, along with every major oil company, has invested nothing, relative to their profits, in negating damages of mishap that the Gulf of Mexico is bearing the burden of today. But the fault of this calamity ultimately falls directly on U.S. shoulders. It was our lack of vigilance, our substandard controls, our turning our heads to corporate malfeasance run amuck that has brought this trouble to our world. We need to take a hard look at our own ignorance, and arrogance.

There are hundreds of thousands of people with better ideas to remedy this Spill, from ways to plug the hole to cleaning up the vast expanse of waters already polluted. But what happens to these ideas? They are stifled in the wringer of bureaucratic nonsense that the makers of the Dispersant Corexit never had to be bothered with. Did BP have to ask anyone’s permission to dump an additional, known, higher level toxin in the waters of our Gulf?

Straw soaks up oil. It floats, it can be picked up, and replace. Why are barriers of straw not being invested in, along with a lot of other simply great ideas? Instead we have of a million gallons, and counting, of a toxin called Corexit.

While my demeanour is not to gossip or engage in rubbishy ridicule and hate this is sadly not the case with most of the posters on social media. It would be interesting to do a study on the average intelligence of those who spend hours just responding to posts on these sites. While my interest concerns only one of them, due to advertising my articles, one can’t help but leave comments on posts of interest.

The retorts are somethings so over the top that it is a real turn off. Unless those to whom the subject matters respond in a positive way the flack from others is a race to the bottom of both manners and language.

This drives thinking people off such sites and without them the toxicity builds even further. The expressions of hate, vulgarity, and swearing increases as they appear to be egged on by those who try to leave sensible, heart-felt, comments.

To think that teenagers are spending most of their free time on such sites is more worrying because of this total lack of concern for who might be engaging in them. What are they gaining and what depth of despair can one reach by being constantly downgraded and bullied by those who have no concern or the feelings of others.

Recently a pornographic image of female genitals was displayed in a post on my time-line. It appeared to be that of a young child whose legs were pulled back in such a way that nothing was left to the imagination. Reporting it and demanding that such should be banned the support team saw nothing wrong with it and stated they allow such images.

Their response was troubling to say the least. It is, however, indicative of the mentality and purpose of many who use that site regularly. Walking along the streets are people with their smart phones tuned into social media sites. Their sole purpose is to read and post more of the same and that virtually sums up the toxic nature of social media.

I’ll answer that and say “Yes you are!” with 100% confidence and certainty.

There is no doubt. I’m sure you’ve been hearing about it in the news for the past several decades. Heavy metal toxins like mercury in fish, arsenic in fish, lead in pain and gasoline. Toxins from the plastic in water bottles, in that convenient plastic wrap and zip-up bags that we store food in. Toxins in our water from industries in our area. Pesticides in our water and food from our agriculture. Even pharmaceutical drugs in our water from the pills that our neighbor flushed down the toilet (or urinated into the toilet). They’re everywhere!!! They’re everywhere!!! (And they’re affecting your health).

The Center For Disease Control, the health agency of the United States government assigned to monitor and protect the health of US citizens has done a number of studies of the toxins that are accumulating in our bodies. It is tested the urine and blood of Americans on four separate occasions between 2000 and 2009. Each time it tested about 2500 Americans for anywhere from 212 to 287 known chemical toxins of concern. What it found is consistent with other studies done by non-governmental groups. Our bodies are full of toxins. The average American contained a wide spectrum of toxic chemicals in their tissues, including mercury, arsenic, lead, fire retardants, pesticides, PCB’s and many more. Other comparable studies found that the average American has over 100 toxins in their body. The problem is that these studies can only test for a small percentage of the toxins that we know are in our environment–in the air we breath, the water we drink and the food we eat. There are many more toxins that are almost certainly circulating in our bodies that we don’t know about–what their effects are individually, and also what the cumulative effect of so many of them together may be. What we do know is that human health is declining in spite of massive expenditures on health care. It’s because we have yet to address some of the real causes, one of them being our toxic environment.

When we’re overwhelmed by something a common response is to do nothing.

We become paralyzed in the face of overwhelming information, feel hopeless and do nothing about it. I believe this is a universal response. At least, at first it is. Often the next step is learning about the problem and then finally we devise the best strategy to deal with it. My goal here is to define the problem of body toxicity clearly enough so that you’ll stop denying that it exists. I’m going to give you the bad news with the hope that it will motivate you to take action and detoxify your body before there is a large impact from these toxins on your health.

The bad news is that every living thing on our planet earth is full of toxic chemicals.

This is not something that any body is arguing about any more. The argument is more on the line of how much are these toxins affecting our health and what can we do about it? You have to realize that this is a completely unfamiliar territory that we’re in. There is no precedence. Our planet’s industry is dumping untold tons of toxins into the air and water daily. Fortunately toxins are not new to our bodies. We do have defenses. What is unprecedented is the total toxic load of all of these chemicals in our food, our air and our water. It has been called the “body burden”. It’s a body burden because our detox system can only take so much. When it becomes overwhelmed our health begins to pay the price.

Think of what happens when you come down with a cold or the flu. If your body’s immune system is strong, you’ll fight off the cold or flu virus quickly and you won’t be out of commission too long. Toxins are dealt with in much the same way. The body’s primary organ of detoxification is the liver. Toxins are routed to the liver where they are modified (neutralized as much as possible) so they are less toxic and also so that they can be excreted more easily. They are excreted in the bile which is secreted by the liver into the gall bladder and passes out of the body through the stool. Or they are secreted in urine after being filtered out of the blood by the kidneys.

Our body’s detoxification system doesn’t have unlimited resources. Just as the immune system struggles to contain a virus when you have a cold or the flu, your body’s detoxification system now struggles constantly to keep up with the load of toxins coming in through our food, air and water. It’s not great news.

What are the toxins that we’re being exposed to?

Toxins come in many shapes and forms. Toxicology is an entire area of study within medicine. When I allude to toxins here, I am referring to environmental toxins. These toxins are unique to modern life, to life in an industrialized society. The scary part is that it no longer matters where you live on this earth, in an industrialized nation or otherwise. Atmospheric air currents carry air pollution across the globe. Ocean currents carry toxins dumped in one area across the ocean. No one is immune to exposure to toxins anymore. Having said that, there are certainly places that are more toxic than others.

Toxins can be classified in a different ways. One way to classify them is based on how they affect our body. This is based on the different ways in which toxins can impact our health.

• Toxins can be carcinogenic or cancer causing. Toxins damage the DNA or genetic material in our cells. The DNA controls things like when the cell divides or reproduces itself. When the DNA is damaged by toxins, cells may start dividing out of control which is a cancer.
• Toxins can be teratogenic, meaning that they can cause birth defects. Remember thalidomide? It was prescribed to pregnant women suffering from morning sickness by doctors in the late 1950’s. It caused sever birth defects in babies (it was teratogenic).
• Toxins can interfere with normal development in childhood, or can lead to damage of the reproductive organs and the ability to reproduce.
• Toxins can act like hormones in the body and disrupt the body’s inherent hormonal balance. With hormone balance thrown off, many health problems can result.
• These are just a few of the categories of how toxins can impact our health. Toxins impact our health in many ways that we are just learning about. There are neurotoxins (brain, nerves), immune system toxins (weaken our immunity), kidney and liver toxins (damage our detox organs lessening our ability to detoxify) and more.

There is good news too-you can help your body detoxify itself.

The good news is that holistic health providers are finding very effective ways to detoxify the body. The trouble is that people don’t bother to detoxify their body until their health begins to suffer. If the Weather Channel announces that there is a tornado or hurricane coming, you probably wouldn’t wait for the wind to pick up before going into the house and taking cover. But this is what most people are doing. We are playing croquet our in the yard while the storm clouds move in. Wouldn’t it be better to go inside and make sure that the flashlight has batteries? Or that the storm windows are securely fastened? Wouldn’t it be better to detoxify your body now and improve the chances of remaining healthy until a ripe old age? Why pay in premium for health insurance every month but do nothing more? In this day and age, one must be proactive to live a long and healthy life. Take the time to learn how to detoxify your body today.

Toxic relationships often challenge your feelings of self worth and it may seem very difficult to forge ahead and live life without your partner. It may seem overwhelming to go at first, but there are some definite benefits to getting out. If you are being insulted, made to feel inferior, or crazy, being removed from that influence can be very liberating mentally. Here are 5 benefits to leaving a toxic relationship:

1. Your capability for dealing with other areas of your life increases. You’ll find yourself with more energy and a space in your brain to consider your own hopes, aspirations, and goals when you are not consumed by maintaining the stability of a toxic relationship.

2. You will start to have greater confidence in your own decision making and competence. When you aren’t exposed to constant criticism about how you accomplish tasks or your approaches to things, you will begin to see there are different but equally effective ways to go about things.

3. Other relationships will develop and improve. While involved in a psychologically abusive relationship, it becomes very difficult to be invested in your other relationships, such as friendships. Your level of distraction over your unhealthy relationship may keep you from being capable of focusing on the concerns and issues of your friend or family member. If you’ve been discouraged from seeing others outside the relationship, that may have done some damage to the intimacy with that person as well. Spending more conscious and invested time with your loved ones will improve your relationships.

4. Your sense of dread will loosen its grip. When you are no longer living under the threat of criticism and control, you will begin to feel more relaxed. Your home environment as well as your mental space can become more a sanctuary.

5. Your symptoms of depression begin to ease up. Your depression has probably developed or increased because of the emotional abuse. If you find that you continue to feel overwhelmed, you may want to consider getting some counseling. It is important to seek help from the appropriate resources to help you through this challenging time.

There is clear scientific evidence that hypothyroidism can alter liver detoxification pathways and bile drainage leading to elevated liver enzymes (SGOT/SGPT).(1) The liver enzyme elevations are not commonly seen, but poor liver clearance leading to “Feeling Toxic” is commonly seen in my practice.

The liver is our main detoxification organ. There is a two step process by which detoxification occurs – Phase I and Phase II. Low thyroid function can substantially decrease the livers ability to function in both Phase I and Phase II.

Symptoms of Toxicity:

• Acne
• Bitter, metallic taste
• Brain fog
• Circles under the eyes
• Constipation
• Digestive problems
• Excessive mucous production
• Fatigue
• Gas, bloating
• Headaches or Migraines
• Inflammation
• Joint and muscle aches
• Nausea or vomiting
• Poor concentration
• Ringing in the ears
• Skin rashes
• Strong body odor or bad breath
• Weight gain

Health Issues Related to Toxicity:

• Arthritis
• Chronic fatigue
• Fibromyalgia
• Leaky Gut
• Multiple chemical sensitivity
• Obesity

How Does The Body Detoxify?

A good 80% of detoxification is done by the liver. Many chemicals and toxins are fat soluble so they need to go through a process of detoxification to make them water soluble so the body can excrete them through the kidneys, lungs, skin, etc. Phase I is the first process and actually makes most chemicals more toxic while creating free radicals. The next step, Phase II, is critical so these highly toxic intermediate chemicals can be conjugated (bound up and packaged) for elimination from the body.

If Phase I is too fast then Phase II may not be able to keep up with the demand and the excess toxins can re-enter circulation leading to symptoms. If Phase I is too slow then we continue to have various chemicals/toxins continue to circulate leading to symptoms mentioned above. Hypothyroidism is known to slow down Phase I but can also slow down Phase II processes.

Certain foods can improve detoxification: sulfur containing foods (cruciferous vegetables, onions, garlic, eggs); vitamins B6 (avocado); zine (shellfish); and protein (meat and legumes).

The detoxification process is a high energy business requiring ample supplies of all the necessary nutrients and vast amounts of energy to process the never ending toxic load that comes out way each day.

Addressing liver detoxification health is an important part of our thyroid program. The liver is also responsible for converting ~60% of T4 (inactive thyroid hormone) to T3 (active thyroid hormone). If the liver is compromised or burdened by poor detoxification ability that can make handling the thyroid hormone conversion difficult as well.

Liver health is a pivotal player in how we feel. It plays a key role in the 10 steps of thyroid metabolism and must not be over looked when helping support thyroid patients.

1. Saha B & Maity C. Alternation of serum enzymes in primary hypothyroidism. Clin Chem Lab Med. 2002;40:609-611.

You will find several household products you are able to use for cleaning black mold. This is a short list of commonly used items that are safe to use.

Mold is really a fungus that thrives in moist or humid conditions. It could be discovered in locations from the house that remains damp, for example the bathroom, kitchen or basement. Mold can be damaging to the surface it grows on, discoloring or corroding it. It can also affect people with allergies and can cause a fatal lung infection if breathed in. The key to mold control is moisture control.

It is essential to dry water damaged areas and items within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth. If mold is a problem in your house, clean up the mold and get rid of the excess water or moisture. Fix leaky plumbing or other sources of h2o. Wash mold off tough surfaces with detergent and water, and dry totally. Absorbent materials (for example ceiling tiles & carpet) that become moldy may have to be replaced. These house remedies can help get rid of mold effectively.

1. Cleaning Black Mold With Detergent and Water

You are able to use a solution of detergent and water to clean off surface mold from non-porous material such as glass and tiles. Detergent is not a mold killer, the solution is meant for scrubbing off the visible mold from the surfaces. When mold grows on non-porous material, it’s good enough to have all the surface molds cleaned thoroughly. It’s not necessary to kill the mold. For cleaning black mold off outdoor cushions, mix a gallon of water and 1/4 cup of soap in the bucket. You can stir the mix around with your hand and the sponge.

The mixture should be slightly sudsy. Scrub the cushions with the sponge. You can scrub as tough as you like until you get the mold and mildew stains off. The detergent should kill the mold and mildew while it’s breaking down the stains. Dowse any remaining stains with lemon juice. You may still have some pale stains remaining on the cushions once you have finished cleaning them. These should be saturated with lemon juice. Let the cushions dry in the sun. The lemon juice will lift the remainder of the stain out from the cushion using the sunlight as a catalyst.

2. Cleaning Black Mold With Baking Soda

Sprinkle baking soda over moldy carpet to absorb the mold and freshen the air. Leave it on the carpet for as little as 20 minutes or overnight. Use a vacuum cleaner with an empty bag for maximum efficiency to vacuum up the baking soda. Baking Soda paste can be used to clean tile floors as well. It’s suggested that you mix enough water with the baking soda to create a soft paste, then apply it to the trouble spots on your tile, scrub, and rinse with a vinegar/water mixture to neutralize the baking soda to avoid residue.

3. Cleaning Black Mold With Borax Powder (this one is possibly the easiest!)

Use a solution of 1 cup of borax powder to 1 cup of h2o to mop floors. Scrub the black mold with the disinfecting solution over a small area. Wipe away the fluid and scum of mold and disinfecting solution with old rags, but do not rinse the cleansed area. Leaving some borax behind will help prevent the black mold from returning. Repeat steps until you have cleansed all the black mold. Leave your work area open to ventilation and exposed to the sun if possible. This will help speed the drying process and blow out any spores in the air. That will also help reduce the possibility of a recurrence of black mold.

4. Cleaning Black Mold With Vinegar

Clean mold on hard surfaces using a solution of equal parts vinegar and water. Fill a plastic spray bottle with the solution. Spray surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom with the solution and scrub the area with a tough brush. The latest trend in mold and mildew control is the shower and bathroom sprays that use once you’re done taking a shower. These products work just fine, but they act on the same principle as the vinegar spray. Vinegar can substitute just about any bathroom cleaning product sold today, with the exception of heavy duty abrasive cleaners like Comet.

5. Cleaning Black Mold With Chlorine Bleach

Use a solution of one part chlorine bleach to one part h2o to clean carpeting and upholstery that has been affected by mold. Soak a sponge or cloth in the solution and swipe it across the mold to trap the spores in the cloth. NOTE… While leach will clean the black mold, it will not kill it on porous surfaces. You must still use a mold killer before or after you clean the black mold with chlorine bleach.

6. Cleaning Black Mold With Hydrogen Peroxide

Get a bottle of hydrogen peroxide with 3% concentration from your local drug stores. Transfer the hydrogen peroxide into a spray bottle and spray it onto the mold infected surface. Leave it for at least 15 minutes for hydrogen peroxide to take action and kill the molds. After that, scour the area to remove all the mold and mold stains.

For stubborn mold in tough to reach places, like the grout of tiles, use full-strength hydrogen peroxide. Simply apply a number of capfuls to the affected area, allow it to sit for 15 minutes and scrub with an old toothbrush. Note… Keep the spray bottle of remaining hydrogen peroxide in dark place as light reduces the effectiveness of hydrogen peroxide. For more effective mold removal, you may consider using hydrogen peroxide with vinegar during the cleaning process.

Hydrogen peroxide is effective at killing molds as it has the elements of anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal. It is a much safer mold cleaner as compared to bleach because it does not produce toxic residue or toxic fumes that harm the environment. Hydrogen peroxide is good at cleaning mold on almost any materials including clothes, walls, bathroom fixtures and other kitchen appliances. For removable rugs, lay them outside on a sunny day with the back of the carpeting exposed to the sun. Mix one part of 3% hydrogen peroxide with five parts h2o. Spray the solution onto the back of the carpet and allow the sun to hit the carpeting for a day. The combination of direct sunlight and hydrogen peroxide will kill mold spores.

7. Cleaning Black Mold With Ammonia

Make an ammonia solution using a ratio of 1 part of ammonia to 1 part of h2o. Fill a spray bottle with ammonia solution and spray it onto the moldy surfaces. Leave the solution to sit for a number of hours before rinsing with h2o. After rinsing or wiping with water, allow the areas to dry completely. For vinyl seats like in your boat, combine 1/4 cup of ammonia with 1 cup of water, and pour this solution into a spray bottle. Spray the mold with this mixture, and scrub it with a bristle brush. Rinse the solution off with clean water to remove it from the vinyl seats. If you still notice mold on the seats, use rubbing alcohol.

NOTE… Ammonia, similar to bleach kills mold growing on non-porous materials like bathtubs, tiles, countertops, and glass. However ammonia is not an effective killer for mold growing in porous materials like drywall and woods. Ammonia is a harsh chemical, it emits toxic fumes when mixed with bleach. Use ammonia with care.

8. Cleaning Black Mold With Liquid Laundry Detergent

Pour two cups of cold h2o and 1 tbsp. liquid laundry soap into a bowl. Mix it up vigorously with a whisk to create thick suds. Dip a rag into the bowl to scoop out the suds. Rub the suds gently onto the moldy carpet. Switch to clean portions from the rag and apply more suds often. Rinse the carpeting with a rag and plain water. Blot thoroughly with a dry rag to remove excessive moisture. Mix 1 gallon of warm h2o and 1/2 cup borax powder into a bucket if the mold remains. Dip a scrub brush into the borax solution and scrub the carpet until the mold is gone. Rinse the carpet with a rag and plain water, and dry thoroughly with a clean rag.

9. Cleaning Black Mold With A Homemade Disinfectant Spray

Once all of the mold has been cleaned, use a disinfectant spray to purify the area. In a plastic spray bottle, combine 1 cup of distilled (or spring) h2o, 1 cup of 91% isopropyl alcohol and the juice of a couple average lemons. The solution is safe enough to spray into the air and does not harm surfaces that it comes into contact with. Store the spray bottle in the refrigerator and use within a few weeks. This will give your house the sterile smell of a doctors office as well as a ‘Lemon Pledge’ hint creating the illusion of ‘dusting all day’!

10. Cleaning Black Mold With Grapefruit Seed Extract

Most households do not have Grapefruit Seed Extract in the cupboard but it’s readily available. Combine 20 drops of grapefruit seed extract to about 1 cup of water will make a useful mold killing solution. Simply squirt the solution on moldy surfaces while wiping with a soft cloth to remove mold and the harmless, light residue will prevent it from coming back.

11. Cleaning Black Mold With Citric Acid

Your local Whole Foods or co-op should have crystallized citric acid on hand and it is relatively inexpensive. Use about 1 cup of acid to 1.5 gallons of hot water. You are able to wring out your mop a little and spread it on lightly, but the chances of it evaporating before you get around to scrubbing increase when you use less. Soak the floor(tile floors only) if you have a large room and need time to do all the scrubbing. Letting the acid soak a little will also give it time to break up mineral deposits, dirt, rust and of course the black mold.

You will need to rinse a number of times with citric acid, it does not come up as easily as other products but it’s much safer around small children. Cleaning a tile floor with citric acid is not only environmentally friendly, it’s incredibly effective. You may already be familiar with the orange hand cleaner products, they use citric acid for cleaning as well.

And there you have it, household solutions to use for cleaning black mold

I am sure you would announce the whole world that your parents are OK. Your childhood was normal and happy in your life. But this is something opposite. That is why you are here, and you are reading my point of view on this matter.

You still want to come back to your denial state that you have “normal, healthy family.” But there is a little red light in your mind whispers something else.

Domestic abuse means hopelessness.

While parents try to grow up their children, they cover up their fundamental issues. It prevents them from doing it or at least in a normal, healthy way without many problems.

In other words, their intentions are optimistic at the beginning. There is a problem when you hold your emotional trauma too long. Then you are full of limitations, powerlessness, hurt and anger.

So, this state of mind can not stay long without any explosion.Then life is problematic in many ways. One day those unhappy parents decide to have kids. What they do it to cover up their emptiness, it is a matter of time when real drama and problem start to happen.

Children are innocent and sensitive from the beginning. What bothers parents, children accept it as their problem. Parents can burden them by their beliefs and negativity from the early start.

The abuse starts when kids are the main trigger to parents’ unsolved problem. Children can remind their past family drama. What we do not like in others, it is a mirror to our features we do not like.

Let’s be honest: growing up kids is hard work. It requires patience, high level of empathy and respects to their lives. A parent can deal with anxiety, depression or substance overdose. It transforms them into abuser with a short matter of time.

There is screaming, controlling, punishing, harassing or even inappropriate behaviors such as molestation. These are one of a few problems children deal.

The ridiculous thing is that all happens on a deep unconscious level. It is a hypnotic trance like, without much understanding what it is going on. It is like possession by an entity and inability to control mind and behavior.

Those people do not want to improve their parental skills and personality so that they will fail. They did nothing than destroy their children lives.

When you become an adult, you may feel something was wrong in the past. You mislead to the idea that all was OK. When you finally realize the truth, the shock is overwhelming.

Did my parents abuse me? No! They are such good people. He is my father and mother, and I should love my family.

This shock is confusing what to believe. You still had good moments with your parents. There are happy memories and some bad ones.

When constant abuse happened, it was all mixed up with something positive. It is the cycle of violence. One week, the abuser is nasty and hurtful but the other week is lovely and tries to show you so-called “love.”

This cycle can happen over and over again. It confuses small kids. They do not see the difference between love and hurt at this point so they accept violence.

The first good step for getting over your past problems is to acknowledge that your parents are not OK. This shock is paralyzing, freezing and frightening. But it is crucial for understanding your abusive past.

Then you can be free, resilient and independent to create a life you always wanted to have.