All that scrubbing and scraping takes training, endurance and strength, right? Not if you know a few tricks that make it almost as easy as using the toxic oven cleaners — but without the risks to your health.

As the fine, pink fog filled the bathroom, leaving a light magenta dusting over the porcelain and as we breathed in the fumes and mist I wondered about the terrible joke I was playing on myself. 

No more good night. No more sleep tight. Bed bugs are back, exploiting our eco-friendliness to feast on our flesh.

The news is in for 10 residents of Washington state, who volunteered themselves last year as guinea pigs in a toxic chemical study. They gave samples of hair, blood, and urine, which were examined by the Washington Toxics Coalition. And, according to an article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer - one of several publications that reported on the results - "their levels of phthalates (found in such diverse products as shower curtains and fragrances), PBDEs (found in flame retardants, mattresses and furniture), mercury, pesticides, lead and other chemicals were high enough to make both scientists and subjects sit up and take notice." The paper's headline read, "We're walking, talking toxic waste dumps."