Shower Time!

     I want to say a big thank you to those of you who took advantage of the 25% off sale on Branch Basics products!!!  I'm so happy you're on your way to chemical free cleaning.  If you haven't taken advantage of the sale yet, there's still time.  I'm offering 25% off your purchase of Branch Basics non-toxic cleaner until the end of August.  Email me at realrandr@gmail.com if you're interested.  You can also check out my posts, "Babies, Bubbles and A Branch Basics Giveaway" from July 20 or my post on July 16 entitled "Looking for A Non-Toxic Cleaning Solution" if you want some info first.  Three Branches Healthy Living also has some great information about the product.  I'm only promoting it because it is a product that I use on a daily basis and have been really happy with.  Plus, I know my house is clean without the toxic burden.  It is free of chemicals that mimic estrogens and disrupt hormone function, it is free of chemicals that affect how our bodies store fat, and doesn't create a chemical soup that lingers in your house!
     And now for today's post:  R2 and I spent Sunday and Monday at the Marriott Hill Country Resort in San Antonio.  He was there for meetings for work and I was there for....well, I was there so that I could take advantage of the pool, float the lazy river, and enjoy a mini vacation!  Both days I grabbed an inner tube and floated around and around.  With temperatures as high as 105, I could have spent all day in the lazy river.  It's clearly too hot to be anywhere but in the water.  However, as I floated and enjoyed the day, I couldn't help but think about all the chlorine in the pool and how unhealthy it really is.  I'm not trying to ruin your summer pool experience. I definitely need my pool time and spent my fair share of time in that lazy river.  But, I do want to share the small changes we can personally make to protect us from the chlorine and chemicals in the water around us.
     Water comprises two-thirds of our body weight.  We have to drink it every day.  We use it to shower or bathe every day and yet the water running out of the tap is filled with chemicals.  The Environmental Working Group did a study of the chemicals found in the water of big U.S. cities and the findings are pretty astounding.  Click on the link and see if you can find your city.  Houston was one of the cities with the most polluted water, coming in with a whopping 46 total contaminants found, the largest concern being radiation particles.  So what do I do other than freak out and consider boycotting the use of water at my house???   I started with the water that makes the most impact, the shower.  According to Three Branches Healthy Living, because our skin is such a large organ and soaks everything in, our bodies absorb 10 times more chemicals from the water in our showers than if we drank that same water.  I installed a New Century Shower Filter with a Bernoulli shower head and am cutting the chlorine and chemicals in our water by 90%.  It was really easy to install (I did it by myself while R2 was at work) and the filter is good for 18 months.  If you take baths or have kiddos you have to bathe, there is a Bath 3000 Filter that you drag through the water to reduce the chlorine.  Both can be found on the Three Branches website or if you Google them they can be purchased from a variety of sources including this link at Amazon.  Without all the chlorine in the water, there is instant relief from dry skin, scalp and eczema.  How's your shower water?