Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Options For Your Home
Most cleaning products available these days rely heavily on caustic and toxic chemicals that seriously damage the environment. They often aren't good for your health either.
If you're thinking about not using these harsh chemicals, you could use an equivalent but more environmentally friendly cleaner. There are various options for cleaning your home in a way that’s environmentally friendly. Here are some ideas to consider:
Simple Green. Simple Green is an excellent industrial strength cleaner that happens to carry the Green Seal certification for environmental responsibility. The Green Seal guarantees that a product meets strict standards of environmental stewardship in the way it’s manufactured and used. It also indicates a product that is easily biodegradable. Simple Green is versatile, extremely effective and will clean the toughest jobs. It’s so strong in concentrated form that you may want to dilute it in one or more parts of water. This has the positive benefit of allowing you to control its strength when cleaning more delicate objects. Use it in your bathroom, kitchen, to wash your car, or just about anything else--while being confident you're using a product that won't harm the environment.
Baking Soda. Baking soda has great cleaning, scrubbing and deodorizing properties. It's also environmentally friendly. It has a large number of uses, including many you may not have thought about. In addition to its popular use for removing unpleasant odors from the refrigerator, it can be sprinkled on carpets and rugs to deodorize them. You can sprinkle it on a sponge and clean your counters without fear of scratching them. You can dilute it in water and clean your mop. It's a wonderfully versatile product.
Tea Tree Oil. If you’re attacking mold, there are several natural ways to get rid of it. One of the best is tea tree oil, which has great antimicrobial and antifungal properties. Mix a teaspoon of it with two cups of water, spray it on the affected area and allow to dry. The scent can be very strong, but it will dissipate in a day or two.
Going green often requires sacrifice, but not when it comes to cleaning. You shouldn’t have to put up with toxic chemicals when cleaning your home. You can do a great job with a green cleaner that will spare the environment and won’t put your family’s health at risk.
Green Clean in Your Own Home Environment
January 8, 2009 by Contributor
Filed under House and Home
Green Cleaning
Ditch your usual cleaning products in favor of a ‘greener’ solution and you’ll not only save the environment, you also save money! Green cleaning products are made from natural ingredients and many of them work just as well as the store bought cleaners, if not better. With these cleaners you won’t have to worry about dangers of skin contact and your kids will be safe. Plus you’ll have a few more pennies in your pocket!
Lemons and oranges are excellent cleaning tools. Limes can be also be used if you find them cheap enough. The power is in the citric acid. It is even a great way to clean grease. Mixed with water, lemon and orange juice is strong enough to clean yet gentle enough not to hurt most surfaces.
Make a room deodorizer by mixing 5 parts water and 1 part fresh orange juice in a spray bottle. This will get rid of smoke, cooking, pet and other nasty odors.
Want a great way to clean your microwave? Mix 4 parts water with 1 part lemon juice. Microwave in a microwave safe cup or bowl for 2 minutes. Let it stand for a few minutes you will find that all of the grease and splatters are easily wiped away.
Vinegar can safely be mixed with lemon juice to provide some very strong cleanser, while both are completely save for the environment.
Use baking soda and vinegar mixed together to clean up pet and other stains as well as mold and mildew. Most of your tough cleaning jobs can be made much easier by using a baking soda/vinegar cleaner.
Run a cycle on your coffee maker with little vinegar and a full pot of water. After the coffee maker has run the cycle, toss out the vinegar water and run one more cycle with just water. If you smell vinegar after this cycle, do another cycle with just water and don’t use as much vinegar next time. This will clean out the plumbing of the coffee maker.
Vinegar is also a great grease cutter. Try it the next time you have to clean a greasy stove.
Remove brown stains stove by soaking a rag in vinegar. Cover the stains with soaked cloth for 10 to 15 minutes and the stains will just wipe away.
Use rags when you are cleaning rather than disposables like paper towels whenever possible. Rags can be thoroughly cleaned in the washing machine and reduce your grocery bill. Try to wean yourself off of disposables as much as possible. If you do have to use paper towels, purchase recycled paper towels to reduce your carbon footprint. If you are using paper towels be sure put them out with the other paper waste if you have a recycling collection or take them to a recycle point. The paper can be recycled and is biodegradable if it makes it’s way into landfill.
These cleaning tips, if combined with using alternative energy can help drastically reduce your families carbon footprint.
