EASY LIFESTYLE IMPROVEMENTS
and flies up into the air to add to the dust. Popular stain resis-
tance treatments contain arsenic. Cobalt, which adds “lustre” to
carpets, causes skin and heart disease after it has built up in your
organs. Use borax instead of detergent. Use boric acid to leave a
residue that kills roaches and fleas (but not ants). Add vinegar
that leaves a residue to repel ants. Nothing controls fleas
reliably, except getting rid of the carpets and cloth furniture
(keep pets out of bedrooms). Removing all the borax is what
brings luster to the carpet. Use citric acid in the rinse water for
this purpose. Adding lemon peel to the rinse also adds luster and
ant deterrence. Just drop the whole lemon in the tank so it can't
block the hoses.
Fleas and other vermin in the carpet simply crawl below the
wetness level when you wash the carpet. Spraying a grain alco-
hol solution with lemon peel in it (it needs to extract for a half
hour) on the damp carpet will reach and kill a lot of these, to-
gether with the residual bacteria. The damp carpet lets it spread
evenly and reach all the crevices.
We are trapped in our dwellings. Primitive peoples were
mobile. This got them away from accumulations of filth and
rubbish in their living space. Much living was done outdoors, the
cleanest space of all.
Now, air conditioning has made indoor living more com-
fortable. But also has added new hazards. The strong currents of
air blow the dust about continuously. Molds and bacteria that
grow right on the air conditioning unit get blown about for all to
inhale. Never, never use fiberglass as a filter or to insulate your
air conditioner around the sides. It is a carcinogen. And the
danger of freon escaping from a tiny leak is another major health
hazard.
Forced air heating systems are undesirable, too. All dirt
brought into the house by shoes gets circulated throughout the
house by forced air systems of heating or cooling. Old fashioned
radiant heat from radiators or a stove did not distribute the