How To Green Your Cleaning

1. Choose Non-Toxic Cleaners

Are your home cleaning products toxic? Many people are becoming increasing concerned about the toxins in home cleaning products. The CBC recently explored this topic in their fascinating show, Toxic Brew, hosted by Wendy Mesley. You may wish to view this show along with the Nature of Thing's feature "Toxic House". Both shows are available from the CBC Marketplace website.

As an alternative, many supermarkets offer a variety of eco-friendly brands to choose from. Beware of labels that simply say "natural". The word "biodegradable" is a much better indication of the impact of the product on the planet. There are many brands of healthy and effective products which will help you get your home sparkling clean. VIP, Nature Clean, Ecover, and Seventh Generation are some examples of effective products that are healthy for both you and the planet.

2. Dispose of Toxic Cleaners Responsibly

When you make the switch to healthier cleaners don't throw the old brands into the trash. They may end up leaking in the landfill and could end up in our groundwater and waterways. Check your local recycling program. In Vancouver you can take them along with other toxins like paint to a specific disposal site. Call the Recycling Hotline of the Recycling Council of British Columbia (RCBC) http://www.rcbc.bc.ca/ to find the location closest to you. Or check the directory of Product Care, http://www.productcare.org/BCzoom.html BC's new product stewardship program.

3. Make Your Own Cleaners

You can skip the commercial products and save money by making your own cleaners. A combination of simple ingredients such as baking soda, vinegar, and plain castile soap can be equally effective. A box of open baking soda in your fridge is a good way to keep your fridge smelling fresh. If you drop food on the carpet, try sprinkling it with baking soda, then vacuuming it up. If you accidentally burn food on the bottom of a pot, simply sprinkle with baking soda then pour on boiling water. Wait an hour or overnight; next morning the pot will be easy to clean.

Check out this site, Clean and Green, for an extensive listing of home cleaners you can make. http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Prairie/8088/clngrn.html

Dr. Mercola has a good article which examines the concerns about toxic home cleaners and your family's health. He also provides some useful guidelines for making home cleaners. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2008/2/12/demand-for-quot-greener-quot-cleaning-products-sparks-industry-changes.aspx

4. Employ a Green Cleaning Service

If you don't have time to clean your home, there are many people who would be happy to do so. Green cleaning services are becoming more and more common and are available in most areas. Use the happy frog directory www.happyfrog.ca to find a local service, the bulletin board of your local green supermarket, or even Craigslist. http://vancouver.craigslist.ca/

5. Avoid Anti-Bacterial Soaps and Products

"Do Bugs need Drugs?" is the slogan of a Canadian campaign aimed at reducing the use of anti-bacterial soaps. http://www.dobugsneeddrugs.org/

Several studies have shown that these cleaners don't clean any better than soap and water. They are hazardous to our health in that the bugs that survive the product breed more resistant offspring. This can contribute to "super germs", bugs who have developed the ability to be resistant to other anti-bacterial and microbial products including antibiotics.

Many common antibiotics are becoming less effective because of overuse and because of the use of anti-bacterial soaps. Don't let the advertisers fool you. Anti-bacterial soaps don't work any better than good ol' soap and water. In fact, they put the health of you and your family at risk by encouraging the development of stronger bugs.

6. Leave Shoes at the Door

Employ the shoes stay at the door policy. When you walk into your house with your shoes on who knows what you're tracking in with you: dirt, pollen, petroleum, animal excrement, bugs, etc. By bringing it in you just make more work for yourself to take it out. Help keep your indoor floors, carpets, and air clean by leaving shoes off the door. Keep a mat or shoe rack at the door and a pair of indoor shoes or slippers handy so you can easily slip them on and off when you and your family enter and leave your home.

7. Skip Store-Bought Air Fresheners

This is the age of a chemical buffet: every day our bodies are subjected to thousands of potentially harmful chemicals. We often don't know the full impact of chemicals on humans until after the damage has been done. What the long-term effect of inhaling and ingesting a chemical soup of noxious substances is no one knows. So it's best to err on the side of caution.

Don't buy commercial air fresheners unless it's a brand you know you can trust. Aura Cacia, for example, makes wonderful sprays that are essentially a blend of essential oils. Aura Cacia is available at whole food supermarkets such as Capers, Choices, and Queensdale Market.

Instead of cheap air fresheners:

• Boil herbs you like such as cinnamon, cloves, or a mulling wine spice mix
• Heat essential oils in a diffuser or put them into a spray bottle and spray your room
• If you are not sensitive to pollen, you can indulge in the perfume of blooming plants such as peace lilies.

8. Filter Your Air

Numerous studies show that air from residential homes is more toxic than the polluted air outside. This is because furniture, paints, and carpets off-gas-they release toxins into the air. Help filter these toxins by:

• Using planets that naturally filter your air such as spider plants
• Keeping the windows ajar a little when you're home so fresh air can flow in
• Using a good quality air filter. Many air filters are also combined with ionizers. These help to counteract dust and toxins. Ionizers release negative ions which help you feel great; you may also find you're less tired and more productive. Negative ions are what you experience with that fresh, wonderful feeling after a thunder or rainstorm.

9. Clean Carpets with a Green Cleaning Service

Just as you can employ a green cleaning service to clean your home, you can find carpet-cleaning companies who will take the same care not to fill your home with toxic chemicals. Many people are sensitive to the chemicals used in commercial carpet cleaners. Look for a green cleaner on the happy frog directory www.happyfrog.ca/

10. Avoid Disposable Cleaning Products

Disposable cleaning products such as paper towels and the latest gismo will cost you money and fill up the local landfill. Instead, buy reusable cloths and microfiber wipes that you can clean in the dishwasher. If you feel you need to disinfect them, use hydrogen peroxide. Another option is natural sponges. These are biodegradable and can be broken down or composted when their life is done. (Check the labels when purchasing to make sure the sponge comes from a commercial sponge farm and is not from a wild ecosystem.)

11. Take Your Clothes to a Wet Drycleaning Service

Regular drycleaners use a toxic chemical called Perchloroethylene (PERC) that has been linked to cancer. This form of drycleaning also produces that awful chemical smell you find on your clothes when you pick them up from the cleaners. Avoid this hazard by choosing a drycleaner that uses the new, non-toxic system called wet cleaning. (See Greening Your Clothes for more details.) (Please make Hyperlink to that section)

Summary

Your home is one of the few areas in life that you have control over. You may breathe in smog when you're in the city and work in an office with a sick building syndrome. When you're at home, however, make it a policy to keep your home a toxin free zone as much as possible. Make your health, the health of your children and family, and of the planet a top priority.