Changing your household cleaning products is one of the quickest and easiest ways to benefit the health of your family and the environment.
Conventional commercial cleaners are still popular but have come under scrutiny for their negative health effects and potential to pollute water and other natural resources. Commercial cleaners typically contain petroleum-based ingredients and toxic chemicals that can trigger respiratory problems, poison pets and children, or affect brain and reproductive development.
You have two approaches for greening your cleaning routine: buying healthier commercial versions or making them yourself.
Watch the following video to see how green and homemade cleaners work on cleaning mirrors and windows:
Comparison of cleaners
Conventional commercial
Advantages: Familiar, easy to find and sometimes cheaper than environmentally-friendly versions, especially when purchased in bulk or concentrated versions.
Disadvantages: Often contain poisonous and unfamiliar ingredients that contaminate the environment and are typically more expensive than homemade cleaners. However, more commercial brands have changed their formulas to be more environmentally friendly. The downside is that many of them do not list their ingredients on the bottle.
"Green" commercial
Advantages: Formulas for these cleaners are biodegradable, non-polluting and plant-based or animal-based instead of petroleum-based. They can be more effective than household cleaners and they are increasingly found in mainstream grocery stores.
Disadvantages: They may cost more money than conventional commercial cleaners. It also can be difficult to recognize "green hype" or products whose ingredients differ little from conventional cleaners.
Homemade
Advantages: They typically use non-toxic and multipurpose pantry ingredients, including vinegar and baking soda, that are cheaper than commercial cleaners and can be modified to personal taste.
Disadvantages: They may require more time and "elbow grease" than commercial cleaners. Some ingredients are toxic, including bleach and ammonia.
Tips for getting started:
Read the label and avoid products that do not list all of their ingredients. But don't rely on the ingredient list. Find out how the ingredients were sourced, processed and packaged and the corporate responsibility of the manufacturers. For example, how long does it take for the product's ingredients to biodegrade? Learn more about the products you use by visiting the Household Products Database through the National Institutes of Health at http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/
Look for a product that has been endorsed by reputable independent organizations, such as the Environmental Protection Agency, Green Seal or EcoLogo.
Start with the easiest, least expensive homemade cleaning method before tackling more complex projects, such as making your own laundry detergent. Also choose the mildest formula necessary to get the job done.
Experiment with different homemade recipes or green cleaning brands to determine what works best for you.
Store your homemade cleaners in clearly marked bottles and out of reach by children and pets.
Remember to test a hidden surface area to make sure a cleaner does not damage your property.
Cookprint: A term used by food writer Kate Heyhoe to describe the entire chain of resources used to prepare meals, along with its resulting waste.
Seeks to transform greater Greensboro area into into a more bicycle-friendly community.
Bicycle recycling project that promotes bicycling as a means of alternative transportation, a healthy lifestyle choice and a way to build community.
This network of locally owned and independent businesses in the North Carolina Triad formed in the summer of 2009 and aims to share ideas and network to promote locally owned brick and mortar retail businesses, to educate the consumers on the importance of shopping locally, and to encourage investment in our community be keeping our dollars at home.
"How you define an eco-friendly frame product, depending on your perspective, comes in a hundred shades of gray." - Robyn Feinsod, manager of marketing and merchandising for Graphik Dimensions Ltd in High Point.
