TAMPA, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The average home in the United States contains about 63 synthetic chemical products. Exposure to such chemicals has been linked to asthma and other respiratory problems, but there are ways to make your home a safer place to live.

The diapers Elizabeth Letsch users on her daughter are special. They are beige in color, but green in idea with no bleach and less plastic. "They work just as well, if not better than some other diapers," she told Ivanhoe.

Diapers are just one step Letsch has taken to go green. She has organic drapes, bamboo floors, and most importantly, she cleans green. "In little steps, the house is becoming more and more organic or more and more natural," she said.

David Berger, M.D., a pediatrician at Wholistic Pediatrics in Tampa, Fla., feels green cleaning is better for your health. He says we are over disinfecting our homes. "We don't need to live in a sterile world," he explained. "We aren't sterile people. We have bacteria in our throats. We have bacteria on our skin. So we are not supposed to be sterile." Dr. Berger has his office and home cleaned green to reduce exposure to toxins.

"Cleaning green just means cleaning safer," Bruce Sutton of The Green Man Cleaning Company, Inc. in St. Petersburg, Fla., told Ivanhoe.
 

Sutton doesn't over sterilize. He's the green man -- cleaning green by not only using natural cleaners, but also by using reusable supplies such as this linen napkin. "We've probably saved a rain forest or two just by not using paper products when we clean," he said.

Sutton says you can even use homemade products. Instead of store-bought air fresheners, try boiling cinnamon or cloves. Lavender, vinegar and oregano are also natural disinfectants. "If you wanted to use baking soda or borax in your shower or in your sink -- they work okay." Like any products, Sutton says you have to try them and see what works best for you.

Olive oil and lemons can also be used to clean surfaces in your home. Other tips -- keep windows open as much as possible to keep fresh air in and toxins out and take off your shoes before you go inside. This keeps you from tracking in what's on the bottom of your shoes inside your home such as antifreeze or anything else that could be harmful.