Washing soda (available from supermarkets) is an effective general cleaner for all kinds of uses, but do not use on anything made of aluminium. Dissolve a tablespoonful in a bowl of hot water.
You can use washing soda for washing paintwork; for cleaning baths and tile work; for washing floors; for cleaning windows; for washing cars. It is less effective than detergents or dishwashing liquids at cutting grease, so use in combination with one that you tolerate if you need extra grease-cutting power. Washing soda can damage some oven surfaces.
Amway make a general cleaner, LOC Regular, a concentrated and powerful detergent which is generally well tolerated. Available via Amway agents.
Livos make a range of low-allergen general cleaners. These are new on the market and we have no reports of how well they are tolerated. Livos will send small samples to try before purchase.
Glass and Tile Cleaners
To clean glass and tiles, you can use a general cleaner such as wash¬ing soda or Amway’s LOC Regular. If you tolerate vinegar, you can also mix white vinegar half and half with water. Apply lightly to the surface and polish with a soft cotton cloth.
To clean scum and mould from tiles and grouting, sprinkle Borax or sodium bicarbonate on a nailbrush and scrub thoroughly. Borax and sodium bicarbonate inhibit mould growth.
*307\117\8*
After the filling fruit, vegetable and unusual grains, you can then try other fruit and vegetables, such as apples, pears, courgettes, tomato. After nine months, you can try the less allergenic grains -rice, oats, rye and millet. Save the highly allergenic foods – wheat, cow’s milk, eggs, etc. -until babies are at least 12 months old and for as long as you can thereafter.
If your baby runs into problems on the suggested weaning programme, and starts reacting to the less troublesome foods, or else is very hungry, then you may be obliged to bring forward some of the more troublesome foods earlier than you would like. If you do this, then leave foods such as wheat, eggs, cow’s milk, yeast and corn to the very end of those you try. Try lentils, soya, meat, poultry, fish and nuts before the others, and maybe sheep’s milk, unless your doctor advises strongly against it.
Never overload a potentially food-sensitive baby with too many new foods at once, or too many allergenic foods. Keep to a varied, spaced out and simple diet. Babies’ digestions can usually cope better with simple demands.
Most babies are extremely happy on this kind of weaning diet, having known no different, until they are 12-15 months old. You need not worry, provided they are still getting plenty of breastmilk or bottle formula milk, are generally well and healthy, are keeping to their projected height and growth charts, and your doctor has given you any vitamin and mineral supplements that are necessary.
Do not be tempted, if you have very few foods that baby tolerates, or if baby shows a particular liking for something, to allow the baby to eat lots of that food every day. This can pre-dispose a food-sensitive baby to develop allergy or intolerance of that food. Craving and addiction can also be a symptom of food sensitivity. Keep the diet spaced out and varied.
*239\117\8*
In your own home, the key ways of reducing moulds are to:
• Keep your environment as dry as you are able
• Remove obvious sources of mould spores
• Keep a constant warmth if possible
If you cannot afford the money or time to keep your whole home free of moulds, then concentrate on one or two rooms, especially your bedroom, and try and confine damp, wet activities (like drying laundry) to certain areas away from where you spend most of your time. The most useful things to do first are the following basic avoidance measures:
Dry laundry outside the home if possible. If you use a tumble dryer, locate it outside the home if you can, or at least away from the living areas, and make sure it is well vented to the outside. Put any damp cloths or towels straight on to a heat source to dry off fast. Do not leave damp towels or cloths lying around.
Dry off any condensation and damp standing on windows, walls or work surfaces – a quick wipe in the morning or after a bath or shower does the trick. Open windows and doors to air for a while – good ventilation for at least a short period each day helps to dry things out, even on damp days. Keep plugs in sinks, basin and bath plugholes –this stops moulds wafting up.
Use extractor fans if you have them when bathing, doing laundry, or cooking, to ventilate and get damp out fast.
Airing beds and keeping them dry is a very effective way of reducing mould levels in bedrooms, and away from where you breathe at night. Humans shed about half a litre (nearly a pint) of fluid in sleep each night, and moulds like damp, warm places.
Fix obvious sources of damp and drips. If you have any persistent problems with rising or penetrating damp, or any leaking taps or pipes, then sort them out. Many millions of mould spores can be generated from small areas of damp.
Using gas fires or paraffin heaters can create condensation and damp problems, since they generate water when they burn. Do not use gas fires or paraffin heaters if you can avoid them. Solid fuel fires generate water, but the damp is usually drawn up the chimney and dried off, so they do not cause damp. Electric heating produces a dry heat and is advantageous. Gas central heating, and other forms of central heating, do not cause water problems. Do not use humidifiers on radiators. They can be a source of moulds and raise humidity.
Gas and paraffin cooking appliances also create damp when used, but, because they are usually not operated as long, nor as intensively, as heaters, they cause less problems with damp. If you use them, always ventilate well to clear the damp they create.
*170\117\8*