It can be all too easy to get bogged down in the complicated details of buying the “best” cleaning product, so we forget about the simple things we already have at hand.
I am a firm believer that we should all be making our cleaning regimens eco-friendly. I worry about all the horrendous chemical concoctions we bombard ourselves with, particularly in home cleaning.
We’ve already looked at what to avoid in chemical cleaners and what to look for in eco-cleaners.
But, all too often, we really don’t need to be quite so technically minded or determined to spend more cash to make cleaning eco-friendly. You probably already have the ultimate simple green cleaner in your home, you just need to recognize it and use it more!
The Best Simple Green Cleaner
The best simple green cleaner is not some secret formulation, it’s just something we tend to forget about. It really is the original and the best multi-purpose cleaner for us, our laundry, and our homes.
Without further ado, the simplest, greenest cleaner you can use in your home is simple soap and water! Do not underestimate the power of this combination.
The best simple green cleaner is not some secret formulation, it’s just something we tend to forget about.
Sure, it doesn’t always come in the nicest packaging, and it isn’t something that will tell everyone else how green and eco-minded you are. But utilizing this remarkable mixture to its fullest potential really is the way forward to ensuring you are an eco-friendly cleaner.
Of all the products out there, simple soap is the cheapest to buy. Budget liquid soaps are also really thrifty and easy to find. If you want an all natural cleaner, organic cleaner, or just a safe cleaner, there’s a soap that can easily be found to your specifications.
Ingredients
For eco-friendly cleaning, just any vegetable based soap is fine.
Soaps are a mixture of acidic oils; either vegetable or animal fat, with an alkaline base. Caustic lye is the general alkaline base used in all soap making.
It can be simple caustic soda (yes really, just the same as that harmful drain cleaner) or caustic potash (equally corrosive but made by leaching rainwater through wood ash). Although it sounds dangerous, once the caustic substance has gone through the soap making process it becomes more neutral. It’s now safer for the environment and for you.
All soap is made with such a caustic component, but the end product can be as mild and gentle as the maker likes, so the caustic part is not something to worry about.
Read the Label
Whether you opt for an animal fat or vegetable oil based soap is a matter of preference and environmental consideration.
I expect vegetarians wouldn’t chose an animal-fat-based soap. But, you do need to inspect the label carefully. Manufacturers will not state “animal fat.” Instead, terms such as “tallow” are mentioned, which seem less frightening to consumers.
The only way to be sure you are buying a vegetable oil based soap is if it states that the fat used is 100% vegetable oil. Palm oil, olive-oil, and coconut oil are the primary vegetable based oils used commercially.
Essential Oils
Often additional essential oils will be included to improve the lather, scent and appearance of a soap. For personal use, specific ingriendients may be more of concern, but for eco-friendly cleaning, just any vegetable based soap is fine.
Choosing Vegetable-Based or Animal-Based Soaps
Vegetable based soaps are literally ten-to-a-penny, all-natural, multipurpose cleaners
Soaps based with animal fats are often even better value for money, though they will not meet the strictest of eco-standards, as they will be fat from any farmed animal, with cheaper and more intensively reared standards which you may not endorse. If you eat cheap meat you should have no qualms about enjoying the benefit of cheap animal fat soaps. They are probably doing a lot less harm to the environment than any petroleum-based detergents you might use.
If, however, you want to find an organic cleaner, you will have to stick to vegetable based products which are more readily available and meet organic standards.
Or you can always make your own homemade soap from whatever standard of animal or vegetable fat you can afford.
Uses of Soap in Daily Life – Ideas for Green Cleaning
- Green Spot Remover – simply squirt a drop on stained laundry, rub in and wash as normal.
- Green Laundry Hand-Washing Detergent – a few drops are all you need in a sink full of warm water to wash all those delicates.
- Green Window Cleaner – a quick squirt in a bucket of water, sponge on and wash as normal.
- Green Multipurpose Surface Cleaner – Fill an old spray bottle with water and add a few drops of liquid soap. Then spray the cleaner wherever you like and wipe clean. I keep this under the kitchen sink and in the bathroom closet for most cleaning chores.
- Green Floor Cleaner – a quick squirt in a bucket of water, mop, and rinse as normal.
For tougher cleaning jobs, you can use a dishwashing detergent instead of a soap (more info below).
Liquid Soap or Detergent?
Never assume a liquid soap is ‘soap’ without checking the back of the bottle. Manufacturers understand we consumers are a fickle bunch, who much prefer the word ‘soap’ to ‘detergent’. So many products called liquid soaps are actually mild detergents.
Depending on the degree of green you abide too, a mild detergent such as a traditional dish washing liquid can be a perfectly acceptable product to use and an environmentally friendly simple green cleaner. This is particularly true if you ensure there are no phosphates in the detergent you choose, and that it is fully biodegradable, which many now are. Unless otherwise stated, detergents will be manufactured by refining oil – that is to say, your detergent purchase eventually profits the petroleum industry.
Of course commercially produced specific eco-friendly cleaning products will be made with soaps and vegetable based detergents, usually palm oil derived. But any traditional product is unlikely to go to this extra expense. If something says detergent, you can assume it is petroleum-based.
The free daily Eco tips available with Ideal Bite are a great source of free information on new green products and techniques for living a greener life, including eco-friendly cleaning.
Final Thoughts
The main thing to remember is that soap and water will be able to tackle most of your household cleaning tasks. Hopefully, this article gave you some fresh ideas and revealed new uses of soap in daily life. Besides, soap is so readily available, it makes for a cheap, ‘deep green’ eco-cleaning product.
While some may disagree with the ingredients within certain soaps and bases, there are plenty of alternatives and varieties to meet anyone’s needs.
Buying a simple green cleaner like a simple soap can make your cleaning regimen much easier, environmentally friendly, and hassle-free. It’s such a versatile product you can use for pretty much any cleaning task. Try it out and see if it works for your household!
Image Sources
- Huge Soap Bubble Floating in Nature on a Beautiful Day by Alexandra
- Towels on a Bathroom Countertop by Tom
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