Good Living and Wellness
Making your laundry eco-friendly is one of the quickest ways to really improve your home’s impact on the planet. In this post, we’ll go through various ways you can improve your laundry practices with everything from washing detergent to dryer balls.
Read on and get cleaning!
Very special thanks to guest writer Sam Marquit for sharing these great ideas about green cleaning! Besides being a professional writer, publisher & editor, he holds a personal and professional interest in Long Island real estate.
My home is my castle and sanctuary. I like to treat it as such. Spring cleaning is my way to care for and give respect to the home that takes care of me. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship, and I want to nurture it as well as I can.
I’m careful about what I put into and on my own body. I try to use the same level of conscientiousness while cleaning my home. Being “green” is just an added benefit, and one I’ll take every time.
There are many “green” cleaning products on the market, but they’re so easy to make yourself. I’ll spend the extra couple minutes and a few household ingredients to mix them up myself.
There are really only a few simple things that I keep in my cleaning closet: white vinegar, washing soda, baking soda, borax, natural peppermint soap, a few spray bottles, sponges, rags and brushes. Some people like to add essential oils to their cleaners, but I’m not much of a fan of most fragrances.
One of the best things about using these natural cleaners is that I don’t have to worry about kids or pets getting sick if they get into them. My childhood nemesis, Mr. Yuck, does not live in my house.
Vinegar is probably the one thing that I use the most for cleaning around the house. It even has antimicrobial properties. I usually dilute it with water, from as little as a half cup of vinegar per gallon of water, to straight vinegar. The ratio depends on what I’m cleaning. If you’re less tolerant of the odor of vinegar, you’ll probably want to dilute it more, and maybe add a few drops of your favorite essential oil. A little oil goes a long way.
For my glass top stove, I usually use a minimally diluted solution. If I have a particularly messy spill and the resultant burned-on ring, I’ll sprinkle on some baking soda, spray it with the vinegar, and then let it sit for a few minutes. I may add some liquid peppermint soap to the vinegar solution for a little extra cleaning power. I’ll use the same general solution for tile floors, counter tops and bathroom surfaces. For mopping, I use a more diluted vinegar solution.
If you have a yard or container garden struggling with weeds, don’t dump your vinegar cleaners down the drain. Vinegar is also an excellent weed killer. I pour it directly on the offending plant, and it starts to wither in a couple days. For particularly hearty weeds, or if it rained, I reapply once a day until I see the weed start to die. Be careful though, vinegar is not discriminatory. It will kill any plants it gets on.
Not only my house gets a good cleaning in the spring. It’s the time of year that my family starts to really get outside and get dirty. Running, hiking, soccer and gardening all take their tolls on my families clothes.
Using the same short list of ingredients, I sometimes make my own laundry soap as well.
For this, I add either plain white bar soap or fels naptha soap. Either will work. The soap must be shredded, so you may want to buy powdered soap instead. Make sure it has no added chemicals or detergents. My recipe is equal parts borax, washing soda and shredded soap mixed together. If you like, you can add a few drops of essential oil. I use the same scoop from commercial laundry detergent to portion my homemade laundry soap.
When I don’t make my own laundry soap (or for those who prefer commercial brands), I add half a cup of borax and/or washing soda to a load of laundry. It increases the cleaning power of laundry detergent. Borax can also be used to keep fleas, mites, roaches, ants, bed bugs, mice and other pests away. I sometimes use it on stubborn pots and pans as well. Mixing 2 tablespoons borax and 2 cups of water can also be an alternative cleaner for those who don’t like the smell of vinegar.
The possibilities are nearly endless. I still experiment with other mixtures. Here’s a quick video for some other perspectives:
Happy cleaning!
In the green living community, there has been an ongoing debate about whether or not it’s a good idea to support commercial “green” cleaning products. Can something commercially produced really be good for the environment? Why should I buy into these massive corporate “green” initiatives when I can just make my own cleaning products?
It’s a heated discussion with great points on both sides. Below we’ll dive into each side and try to shed some light on this complicated issue.
Believe it or not, the truth of the matter is that commercial cleaning companies have a massive effect on the cleaning products industry. Unless commercial cleaners get on the green bandwagon, there will still be huge problems of pollution and potential health hazards brought about by the simple need to keep things clean.
Thankfully Commercial Green Cleaning is growing. As businesses feel the pressure to literally “clean up their act,” they are starting to integrate more environmentally friendly products into their inventory. This is great news for the planet, and this is why it’s actually important to support these green initiatives by big cleaning companies.
However, there are a few of the key things I feel more commercial cleaners should be thinking about:
Basically, at store, I’ll buy the 365 brand. If I’m shopping online, I usually go with 7th Generation. Both products lines provide great quality cleaning products.
Besides 365, Seventh Generation is also a great green cleaning line. Their products are high quality and clean well (though some people I know do say that the traditional dish soaps cut grease better – this is a good point of debate).
However, I do wish they would explain where they source some of their ingredients. But in general, people regard 7th Gen as a good quality company.
Typical paper towels are a recipe for excess waste. While recycled paper towels are typically more expensive, they’re at least a bit more environmentally friendly than their alternative. There are plenty of options, but I usually go with this option.
Of course, an even better option for the environment would be to use reusable microfiber towels and wipes.
The Whole Foods 365 brand has a great laundry detergent, dish soap, dishwasher soap and all-purpose citrus cleaner spray.
Speaking of Whole Foods, a few years ago, they launched a new way to sort through cleaning products in terms of their environmental impact. It’s called the Eco-Scale (trademarked). Basically, the scale consists of four colors – red, orange, yellow and green. Red doesn’t meet their standards. Green would be the most most environmentally-friendly. Here’s the breakdown from their website:
The color sticker is placed by the price tags on the shelves of most of the products in the cleaning section. The Green Mission 365 products usually rate green. I bought both the liquid laundry detergent and the all-purpose cleaner. The laundry detergent contains saponified soap nuts as the main ingredient. It doesn’t produce a lot of bubbles, I guess because it doesn’t contain SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate). I’ve tried it once in a HE/front loader at the laundromat and it seemed to work well. I also use it to hand wash clothes in the sink along with the Alaffia African Black Soap.
The all-purpose cleaner smells sort of like vinegar and works well while producing a lot of fizzy bubbles. In the last week, they’ve also added a Green Mission automatic dish detergent, a toilet bowl cleaner and those wet towel wipes.
A lot of Ecover’s products were yellow and orange. It seemed that Seventh Generation’s products had a few more that were orange (but still had a lot of yellows and the non-chlorine bleach that was green) but that may be because they have so many products so don’t take my word for it. I hadn’t looked at the packaging of cleaning products for awhile and was surprised to find SLS as one of the key ingredients to a few of their products. I’m not trying to make a judgement about SLS, but there may be better ingredients available for 7th Gen to use. Anyways, I still enjoy Seventh Generation’s products and I am using their Lavender dishwasher soap.
Some folks may take issue with Whole Foods, but I like the store and their commitment to environmental wellness, and think this rating system will help people make better decisions about cleaning products. It may also help nudge manufacturers in a good way.
Here’s a list of some Green and Yellow rated products available at Whole Foods:
7th Generation non-chlorine bleach
Earth Friendly Toilet kleener
7th Generation all purpose cleaner
7th Generation glass cleaner
7th Generation natural dish liquid
7th Generation shower cleaner
7th Generation bathrom cleaner
7th Generation free and clear dish detergent
7th Generation laundry stain remover
7th Generation natural oxy stain remover
7th Generation laundry powder free and clear
20 Mule borax
Biokleen oxygen bleach
Biokleen laundry liquid
Biokleen all purpose cleaner
Biokleen premium laundry powd
Dish out unscented dish soap
Dishmate liquid cleaner
Earth Friendly autp dishwasher
Ecover cream scrub
Ecover liquid laundry ultra
Ecover delicate wash
Ecover auto dishwashing tabs
Ecover rinse aid
Ecover floor soap
Ecover lemon frag all purpose concentrated
Green Shield organic laundry detergent oncentrated
Green Shield surface wipes
Method all purpose ginger yuzu cleaner
Orange Plus all purpose cleaner
Choosing to use Green Cleaning Products can be a simple way to not only reduce the damage you do on the earth, but also to reduce the damage you do to yourself. How many of us actually abide by all the ‘how to use’ information on our home cleaning products?
My guess – not many. We tend to assume that if something is sold to us, it simply must be safe. But, many products, especially cleaning products, do have potential health risks. It isn’t just the concern about toddlers drinking things they really shouldn’t either (though household cleaners are the main cause of child poisonings today). No, the issue is how we use them and what we use them with.
Most cleaners will tell you that they should only be used in a well ventilated space. But lets be honest here, how many of our guest bathrooms are well ventilated?
But lets be honest here, how many of our guest bathrooms are well ventilated?”
Fail to follow the warnings and you will definitely be breathing in far more of the fumes from your commercial cleaning products than that deemed safe in their product testing.
So, it seems that green cleaning products are better for you and the earth. Relying less on harmful irritants means they are less likely to lead to health issues for those who use them. But, even if you use the most natural cleaner on the market, do think about how you use them. Leaving all natural vegetable soap on your skin will damage it, drying it with its alkaline nature. Vinegar may be the mildest antibacterial cleaner, but you wouldn’t want to inhale it when mixed with baking soda.
Based on this entire debate, it seems that commercial green cleaning products are a happy medium for those who want to reduce their environmental impact, but don’t necessarily have the time or resources to make their own entirely natural cleaning products.
While there are some legitimate concerns about these corporate green initiatives in the cleaning industry, it is still a step in the right direction. Remember that we as consumers have the power to shift this, and many other industries, in the direction of a greener society, so engaging with these products and supporting these initiatives can have a great global impact, even though making your own cleaning products will greatly reduce your individual carbon footprint.
My advice – mix it up! Try out making some of your own cleaning solutions, but if you don’t find them effective, go for the green cleaning products on the market today. As I outlined above, there are many to choose from! Do your own research on this topic and figure out what would work best for your lifestyle and household. From there, you’re sure to make the best choices!
Dickson Falls by Michel Rathwell
I’m sure many people with good intentions buy green cleaning products to help the environment or reduce the risk of exposure to toxins for their families at home. But, before we start replacing a specific chemical cleaner with a green cleaning product, we need to see if it is worth making the switch.
Some of the chemical cleaners in our homes may not be so dangerous anyway, so it makes sense to look at the worst offenders first.
Start with the most toxic, dangerous or polluting chemical cleaners, and swap those for a green cleaning product first. That way your change has the biggest and quickest impact on the health of your family and the planet.
Continue reading “The List of 18 Toxic Cleaning Chemicals in Everyday Products”
More and more people are trying to find an effective green cleaning alternative for the entire range of cleaning jobs around the home. There are countless brands telling us that they are now the best, safe eco green cleaning product in town. But why are we so interested in switching to a safe cleaning product, and is there really any point? Do we need to make cleaning Eco friendly?
