Changes Urged : Home Major Battleground on Pollution

The oceans are dying, air quality is getting worse and the nation is running out of places to throw its garbage. But some experts say the most important battleground in the war against pollution isn’t on the sea or in the air--it’s in our own homes.

“You can live longer and help clean up the environment just by making a few changes around the house,” said Gerrie Kilburn, an official with the American Lung Assn. of Los Angeles County. “And that’s not all--most of these changes will save you money.”

The trick is to substitute nontoxic, biodegradable substances for commercial sprays, cleaners and other items that can cause health or environmental problems.

For example, most commercial drain cleaners are poisonous to humans and have toxins that can harm the environment when they’re washed down the drain, into the sewer and out to sea.

Cheaper and Safer

One-half cup of baking soda followed by a one-half cup of vinegar can open most clogged sinks just as easily, and they’re cheaper and safer than commercial cleaners, according to Susan Rich of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Her Washington, D.C.-based group supports environmental causes as part of its effort to protect animals.

Mothballs can be replaced with cedar chips or sachets of dried lavender. Fennel, rue and rosemary fed to pets can help repel fleas, according to Rich, eliminating the need for sprays or collars.

Home economists say a cup of white vinegar mixed with two gallons of water can remove dull or greasy film build-up on floors, while baking soda or mineral oil is good for polishing stainless steel. They’re safer and cheaper than store-bought cleaners.

A mixture of lemon juice and salt, or white vinegar and salt, can replace mildew-removers. Vinegar also makes a good toilet-bowl cleaner.

Three parts olive oil and one part vinegar make a good furniture polish, as do two parts olive oil and one part lemon juice, home-economists say.

Many insecticides are particularly dangerous to both personal health and the environment. Simply washing countertops, cabinets and floors with equal parts of vinegar and water will help keep ants out of the kitchen.

“As an alternative, you can pour a line of cream of tartar where they enter the house. Ants won’t cross the line,” Rich said.

Starting a back-yard compost heap is another penny-wise, environmentally sound move, said Brian Erwin, a spokesman for the Sierra Club. Leaves, grass, fruit rinds and other organic wastes account for about one-third of all trash collected from single-family homes.

Producing Fertilizer

Compost kits can be purchased for about $100, or can be built with a simple wood frame and chicken wire. Their mulch “makes a great fertilizer, but doesn’t have the chemicals (store-bought) fertilizers do,” Erwin said.

“So, you don’t have chemicals washing off your lawn into the sewer, you don’t send as much garbage to the dump, and you don’t have to pay anything for your fertilizer.”

It also pays to change shopping habits.

“The rule of thumb is to avoid most plastics, especially Styrofoam,” Jill Ratner of Citizens for a Better Environment said in an earlier interview with The Times. “Most plastics are not recyclable. Not only are they slow to decompose, their decomposition produces toxic chemicals and gases.”

As a result, shoppers are urged to choose paper bags and plates over plastic ones, and paper cups and egg boxes over those made of Styrofoam. Most of these paper products are recycled, said Erwin, which eliminates the need to cut down more trees.

Plastic Containers

Since shampoo, mouthwash, liquid soap and the like almost always come in plastic bottles, it’s best to “think big.” It takes more plastic to make two 8-ounce bottles than it does to make one 16-ounce container, and economy-size bottles are usually a better buy.

“Also avoid aerosol sprays. Look for non-aerosol cans or pumps, instead,” said Kilburn at the American Lung Assn. Aerosol sprays produce vapors that can easily be inhaled deep in the lungs, and the propellants destroy the earth-protecting ozone layer.

Terry Wilson, a spokesman for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, urges consumers to use up everything that comes inside a bottle or can.

“Don’t buy a whole gallon of paint or thinner when just a quart will do,” he said. “The unused portion creates disposal problems--especially if its a toxic substance--and the container itself will take up more space at the dump.”