How to Clean Green

Many household cleaners are poisonous, carcinogenic (meaning they cause cancer), flammable, or contribute to poor indoor air quality and asthma. The product labels contain these warnings, but far too often the warnings are overlooked. You can green clean most things in your home with baking soda, vinegar, or plain old soap and water.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Soap
• Water
• Vinegar
• Baking Soda

1. Green clean with vinegar. Fill a spray bottle with vinegar and keep it in your kitchen and bathrooms. Vinegar works well to clean mold, hard water spots, soap scum, and rust stains. I use vinegar frequently to green clean the bathroom and kitchen sinks. Vinegar works to clean alkaline substances because it is acidic. It has a strong smell, but the smell will subside and the fumes are natural and non-toxic. You can drink vinegar and it will not harm you, unlike the toxic cleaner most people use in their bathroom.

2. Green clean with baking soda. Baking soda is alkaline and works to clean greasy areas. It is slightly abrasive so it works well in the bathtub, or when scrubbing hard surfaces. You will not have to worry about your kids assisting with the scrubbing, because baking soda is also green and non-toxic!

3. Green clean with soap and water. You can sanitize most surfaces with soap and water. There is really no need to purchase expensive, toxic cleaners with "Caution," or "Hazardous," warnings on the label. The next time you mop your kitchen floor mop green with soap and water? You will breath easier.

4. Green clean everything else. There will be times that you need to purchase cleaners, such as automatic dishwashing detergent or carpet cleaner. Commercial green cleaners have become widely available including Seventh Generation, Planet and Ecover. All of these are completely bio-degradable so they will not pollute the environment. Also, green cleaners are formulated with essential oils rather than synthetic fragrances, so they will not contribute to poor indoor air quality. These green brands can be found online, or at your local health food store. My neighborhood grocery store also carries green brands.

Tips & Warnings

• If you would like more information on toxic products in daily living, check out the Human Toxome Project. It is also known as "Pollution in People." There is a link below in the Resource section.

Resources

• Human Toxome Project
• How to Make Your House Smell Wonderful Naturally

[NaturalRemedies]

on 2/16/2009 Excellent green cleaning tips!

[heatherbluesky]

on 2/16/2009 Super green cleaning tips! Vinegar and baking soda green clean necessities!

[CanningPreserve]

on 2/13/2009 I hope everyone knows it's best to clean green! Thanks

[Carolsue]

on 9/15/2008 So true! Most people are not aware of how toxic common cleaning supplies are to the environment and thier health. The EPA has a list of common household cleaners that are detrimental to all concerned. Visit http://www.squidoo.com/cleanandgreen for more information on how you can create a healthy home environment and save our earth

[Chicken2]

on 8/3/2008 Some of the window cleaners give me problems breathing, I will take this article very seriously