A few weeks ago Serena gathered up all the toxic chemicals and cleaners she could find so we could get rid of them and replace them with more natural products. The previous owners lived in the house for 43 years. And so you can imagine, they accumulated lots of chemical cleaners, paints, acids, gases, and who knows what else. And they kindly left them for us.

A few months ago while rummaging through the basement, I found a large compressed gas cylinder. It’s the same cylinder in some home inspection pictures of the basement (you can see it propping open the door).

cylinder holding door open

I found it hidden behind some old doors in the basement. After getting a closer look at the cylinder, I was relieved to find out it was only carbon dioxide (a non-toxic gas, but still can be potentially lethal if leaked into a confined space blah, blah, blah…).

So what to do with all this hazardous waste?

Dump it down the toilet? Obviously not.

Give it away on craigslist? That’s a possibility, but I don’t want to be liable for this stuff.

Give it to the city? Sounds like a brilliant plan.

Fortunately many municipalities have household hazardous waste drop-off days. And thankfully they took the gas cylinder, and our myriad collection of other chemicals. (Did you know that batteries and light bulbs are hazardous waste as well?)