In this series we will look at some of the ways you can keep your house mean, green and clean !
An in depth look at how to clean your house in a more environmentally-friendly and less hazardous fashion.
1. Check that ’stash’:
Check all those cleaning products that accumulate over the years: the shoe cleaners, floor waxes and insect sprays. Most of these products contain volatile chemicals that often seep and leak out of their containers over the years and are also a big danger to your family, especially if you have children and/or pets.
Carefully check the hazard labels on these products to make sure you are storing them in an appropriate manner and/or disposing of them in the proper fashion.
Keep in mind the more potent the chemical is, the more dangerous any spillage or leakage is for you and your family!
2. Proper disposal:
As mentioned above be sure to dispose of all harmful and hazardous chemicals in an adequate and appropriate fashion. Never pour them down the kitchen sink, it is not only dangerous for your family but also extremely bad for local water systems.
It is even harmful to put most chemicals in your regular garbage, it is not unlikely that it will seep out of whatever landfill or storage facility it ends up in. For the most part it is best to call up the city and find out when ‘Hazardous Waste Pickup Day’ or where the ‘Hazardous Waste Center’ is in your neighborhood.
3. Opt for the safer alternative:
Although the eco-friendly or non-toxic versions are often a bit pricier to purchase they are often much more safer for your family and the environment and even easier on surfaces/materials.
“Poison/danger denotes a product of most concern, one that is highly toxic, and ingesting small amounts — in some cases a few drops — can be fatal. Warning means moderately toxic, as little as a teaspoonful can be fatal; and caution denotes a product that is less toxic, one in which it would be necessary to ingest between two tablespoons and two cups to be fatal. Corrosive products can damage skin and mucous membranes, and a strong sensitizer is a chemical that can increase allergies.”
If there’s a safer alternative use it! You can even try to use all-natural homemade products. Using all-natural renewable alternatives to clean is easy as pie; something as simple as baking soda can be used a carpet deodorant, it not only absorbs moistures and smells but is also an environmentally safer alternative for you and your family.
-see this link for more alternative non toxic cleaners.
4. Popular Do’s are actually Don’ts:
While the popular new trend these days of using disposable cleaning rags and sanitation sheets may seem quick, convenient, and efficient, they are in fact horrible for the environment and contribute to a large percent of cleaning waste material in landfills.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with using an old t-shirt, microfiber cloth or cotton towel as a cleaning rag; combined with a cleaning solution they can clean up just as well and even be re-used after a quick wash.
5. Hanging it up:
Hang up those non-essentials to dry after they have been washed instead of tossing them in the dryer. This can not only save you some cash on energy bills but in many cases also keep the color vibrant and prolong the life of the fabric.
Cleaning rags don’t need to smell like Fleecy so you might as well let them air dry!
Stay tuned for more tips later this week on how to keep that house cleaner while making your life greener all at the same time.
