Green cleaning is the best way of creating comfortable and eco-friendly homes. More and more people are embracing the concept, as it is cheaper and effective in creating fresh, clean, and healthy indoors. Green cleaning removes toxic substances and minimizes the harm of potentially toxic cleaning products. The result is less pollution, increased well-being, and enhanced quality of life. If you’re yearning to transform your home into an eco-friendly haven, here are surefire tips that will give you a great head start.
Go for eco-friendly cleaning products
Conventional cleaning products have adverse effects on your health and the environment too. You can avoid the potential effects of petroleum-based products by opting for healthy, eco-friendly, and cost-effective cleaning products. Vinegar and baking soda are great ingredients for making home-mixed and all-purpose cleaners. Both are great for breaking down grease, and when mixed with lemon juice, can prove to be excellent abrasives. Baking soda also works wonders as a fridge deodorizer and water softener. Vinegar is an all-purpose cleaner that removes stains on stainless steel. You will also find it handy when unclogging blocked sinks or drains. Lemon juice is excellent for dissolving scum in hard water. You can also mix it with vinegar to create a cleaning paste.
Use natural & recyclable cleaning materials
Avoid using synthetic cleaners such as sponges to clean your home. Research shows that they have potentially harmful ingredients. Mops, rag, and old t-shirts are great alternatives, as they are natural and reusable. Unbleached paper is a fantastic substitute to paper towels. When shopping for cleaning materials such as mops and buckets, think about durability, your health, and the environmental impact of the materials. Reusable and eco-friendly cleaning materials enhance the quality of indoor air and eliminate dependence on non-renewable and potentially toxic resources.
Clean indoor air naturally
Indoor air quality is vital for healthy living. However, it’s contaminated with low levels of formaldehyde, a toxic gas emitted by gas stoves, flooring glues, sealants, paints, and furniture finishes. Formaldehyde is known to trigger cancer, allergic reactions, and asthma attacks in humans. You need to use indoor plants to filter and sanitize indoor air. Consider buying Boston ferns or palm trees, particularly dwarf date palm, to disinfect the indoor air in your home. Both are great in removing formaldehyde and equally efficient in removing other air pollutants such as benzene and xylene. Rubber plants are similarly great alternatives, and so is the peace lily. They tolerate low sunshine and have a high transpiration rate, meaning they can humidify the room as well. While green plants may not create the sweet aroma you want, they will filer the air and make it clean.
Avoid artificial air fresheners
Instead of using natural fresheners to scent indoor air, use either herbal or floral bouquets, or essential oils. Cinnamon and cloves are terrific sweet-scented herbs. Essential oils such as lavender, eucalyptus, lemongrass, and tea tree oils are equally fantastic in creating an an-all natural and scented atmosphere in your home. You can use them flexibly in your living room or your bedroom. Ideally, avoid using synthetic air fresheners as they are laden with potentially toxic ingredients.
Kill germs naturally
When cleaning, germs and vermin are certainly an issue of concern for many people. DIY green cleaners may not seem useful in eliminating germs, but they are reliable. Unless you’re dealing with drug-resistant bacteria, homemade cleaning concoctions will suffice. You don’t have to buy expensive disinfectants, ordinary soap and water will do for any cleaning purposes. Boiling and microwaving rags and sponges will also prove handy in killing germs.
Dispose of toxic cleaners properly
Cleaning your home doesn’t make it free of harmful substances. You need to gather and dispose of all toxic cleaners from your home. Synthetic cleaning products can be corrosive. The slightest exposure can trigger allergies, or damage the skin or mucous membranes. If you want to know what is dangerous, look for signal words such as “poison,” “danger,” or “caution” in cleaners. Often, these denote various levels of toxicity that can be harmful or even fatal. So, don’t just throw them in the trash or dust bin as they may end up in your water supply and harm you. Wrap and dispose of them in recycling centers.
Shine furniture using a natural polish
If you would like to dust then polish your furniture, you should consider using a mixture of olive oil and lemon juice. Wool is excellent for dusting as it generates static electricity that draws dust, and the lanolin causes dust to coagulate on the wool. For varnished wood, use a few drops of lemon oil with ½ a cup of warm water and for unvarnished, mix two teaspoons of olive oil and lemon juice and apply sparingly using a soft cotton cloth. Once clean, apply Citra wood, natural wood polish, or make a concoction of jojoba, carnauba wax, beeswax, and distilled water.
Avoid conventional dry cleaners
Instead of taking your suits to the traditional dry cleaner, use wet cleaning or head to eco-friendly dry cleaners near you. Conventional dry cleaners douse clothing with detergents that have Perchloroethylene, an industrial solvent that the EPA links to cancer and neurological damage. On the other hand, eco-friendly dry cleaners use liquid carbon dioxide, which is safer and environmentally friendly. Also, avoid buying clothes labeled “dry clean only,” as they’ll compel you to dry-clean them. Don’t overlook the idea of hand washing your suits in cold water instead of the washing machine. It is also a reasonable and suitable option.
Hang dry your laundry
Ditch your electric or gas dryers and revert to hanging your clothes on the clothesline. Both are energy hogs, and worse, environmentally unfriendly. Line-drying your clothes reduces pollution and at the same time, ensures your clothes dry and aerate naturally. You will also save on your energy consumption and improve the quality of indoor air. If space is an issue, install a retractable clothesline, which virtually requires little or no space.
Keep toxins outdoors
At any given time, your shoes carry tons of dirt, ranging from oil, animal waste, pollen, antifreeze, and even particulate pollution. When you bring all that indoors, you’re not just spreading dirt but exposing kids to vermin and disease-causing micro-organisms. Instead of walking with shoes, place a doormat outside and maintain a no-shoe indoor policy. Less dirt means less cleaning, sweeping, or vacuuming, which translates into less work and less usage of water and chemicals in the cleaning process.
As environmental consultants and contractors, the team at Atlantic Environmental hope you enjoyed reading our blog and have gained useful knowledge. If you are in need of environmental services such as oil tank removal, installation, cleaning, sweeps as well as soil and groundwater investigation, hydraulic lift removal, monitoring well, vacuum truck, and phase 1 and phase 2 assessments, contact us. We will be happy to assist you.
The counties we serve are Hudson, Mercer, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Morris, Bergen, Passaic, Union, Essex, Sussex, Warren, Hunterdon, and Somerset.
Contact
All American Environmental
136 Edison Rd.
Lake Hopatcong, NJ 07849
Phone: (973) 663-1680
Email: allamericanenviro@gmail.com
