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Clean "Green"

 

Get the Dirty on Eco-friendly Cleaners
Have you ever considered that when you are cleaning your house, you may be adding something more harmful than what you are cleaning away?  Many commercial cleaning products contain toxic chemicals that release potentially harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the air.  You also flush these chemicals down your drains and toilets and into our water system.  

Studies show that because of the multitude of chemical-based cleaners in the average home, the air in most homes is 2 to 5 times more harmful than the air outdoors.  To clean up your act, consider buying non-toxic cleaners or making your own all natural all purpose cleaner.  

What Makes It Green?
Commercial, chemical-based cleaning products contain ingredients like glycol ethers, monoethanolamine (MEA) and phthalates.  They sound scary and they are for your family and the earth.  These nasty chemicals can cause common symptoms like irritation of the eyes, nose, throat, headaches, fatigue and dizziness.  But they can also possibly lead to more chronic conditions such as asthma, inflammation of the lungs, respiratory disease, heart disease and cancer.  
Harmful VOCs are emitted from these toxic chemicals and not only get into the air in your home, but also into our environment through the air and waterways.  

What You Can Do
  • Switch out all of your toxic cleaning products for natural and biodegradable ones.
  • Don't throw away your unused toxic cleaners. They will only pollute landfills and waterways. Instead, find a local hazardous waste facility to take them to. Check for the one closest to your home at (www.earth911.com).
  • Consider making your own all purpose "green" cleaner. You can either combine equal amounts of white vinegar with water or mix 3 tablespoons of baking soda in warm water. Put either mixture into a spray bottle and you're ready to go. To give the mixture a scent, try adding a few drops of your favorite essential oil.
  • If you decide to buy "green" cleaners, read the labels to make sure what you are getting is actually good for the environment. Unfortunately there are a lot of companies who claim their cleaners are "earth friendly" or "green", but when you read the fine print, you'll see their claims aren't true.
  • Consider using reusable cloth towels for cleaning rather than paper towels. If you can't live without paper towels, buy ones made from post-consumer recycled fiber and don't contain bleach.
  • If someone else cleans your house for you, ask them to use earth-friendly cleaning products and cloth towels (if they don't already). To make sure they use a cleaner that meets your requirements, you can offer to provide the cleaners for them to use. You can also hire an eco-conscious cleaning company - I like Welcome Home Maids (www.welcomehomemaids.com).
didyouknow
If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of virgin paper towels with 100% recycled ones, we'd save 544,000 trees.  Think how many more we could save if we all switched to reusable cloth towels!

handson
I love Mrs. Meyers Aromatherapeutic Household Cleaners - especially the Basil scent.  Their products are natural, earth-friendly, biodegradable, hardworking and great smelling!
 
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