What is Clean? or Overcoming my Suburban Notions

I was in Home Depot the other day and saw the Clorox Bleach Bottles on the shelves and I shuddered—this is a good thing. Bleach is toxic and not meant for an environment inhabited by humans or any other animals. But usually when I see Clorox (or more importantly, before coming to Common Ground) I thought Clorox just another helpful aid in cleaning things. But it is a pollutant we are putting on our floors and toilet bowls, and the residue that’s left after Clorox (concentrated chlorine) does its job is just as toxic to people and other animals. These are called Trihalomethanes. The municipal water in the industrial nations is chlorinated to prevent pathogens. When chlorine kills pathogens it leaves these THMs which are carcinogenic in themselves.

Okay, but what are we supposed to do? We need to drink water that’s free from pathogens. Well, we can catch rainwater to drink and use. It's free and it doesn't have bad things in it. (okay acid rain for the Northeast aside.)

But to clean things? Counter tops? Dishes? Contaminated homes? Efficient microorganisms are what we use here in the Lower Ninth. It has good germs as opposed to bad, pathogenic germs. It’s what we were cleaning contaminated houses with.