A Complete Green Cleaning Guide For Dummies

Why Go Green?

Nowadays, the campaign for going green is increasing, with our planet getting dilapidated for several reasons. Therefore, it is vital to protect the environment and improve our world.

Many cleaning products you use in your day-to-day activity are incredibly harmful to yourself, your pet, and the environment. The chemicals in these cleaning products can cause respiratory disorders, cancer, allergy distress, and skin and reproductive harm. Regrettably, antibacterial soaps, scrubbers, and sponges are also harmful.

Besides these, they kill bacteria essential to the intestinal tract while thwarting the production of vitamins, which protects your skin and mouth and impedes immune system development.

What Makes a Cleaning Product Green?

Green cleaning products contain ingredients that don’t cause any harm to the environment.

Interestingly, green cleaning products are defined by the things they don’t have, such as ammonia and bleach.

Some cleaning products are greener than others because product manufacturers unveil newer ways of building a clean environment.

Benefits of Using Green Cleaning Products

Cleaning a home without toxic chemicals is very important, especially if you want to help the environment.

Today, the demand to keep a home clean is very crucial. However, the cleaning supplies you use to keep your home clean can affect you, your children, and your pets.

Greener cleaning products are the way forward to keep your home clean without any potential drawbacks associated with older, conventional cleaning products.

Here are a few benefits of using green cleaning products

• Better for the environment
• They are less toxic, which is good if you have kids
• The same can be said if you have pets
• Less chance of damaging surfaces

7 Excellent Green Cleaning Ingredients

Today, with the influx of non-natural cleaning products, the concern for one’s health is paramount. If you aren’t ready to consider a greener cleaning product, it is also essential to know what safe ingredients to consider when looking for such a product.

You should always test cleaning products before you use them. They might be green, but they could still cause issues if you are sensitive to the ingredients.

Let’s look at some of a product’s best green cleaning ingredients.

Alcohol

You must be familiar with alcohol and its potency in disinfecting a lot of places.

Although there are a few safety concerns about its usage, it doesn’t fail to deliver. Alcohol is a strong odor remover, especially if you live in a place that has an irritating odor.

You can also use grain alcohol to clean and disinfect items in your home.

Baking Soda

Another useful natural ingredient in most green cleaning products is baking soda. Baking soda is one of the universal items that can deal with many issues.

Nowadays, you find baking soda in several cleaning products.

It can be used for water softening, deodorizing, and general cleaning in your home. In addition, you can make your toothpaste using baking soda.

Citrus Solvent

While citrus solvent can irritate some people with chemical sensitivities, it is still a good natural cleaning ingredient you find in most cleaning products.

It works well on stains, grease, and oil.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Hydrogen peroxide is a common disinfectant used both in bathrooms and the kitchen.

It’s another ingredient to make a green product at home and a great bleach replacement.

It contains a mild bleach effect, which helps remove stains from grout and fabrics. Similar to other natural ingredients, it can also cause mild irritation.

Washing Soda

Washing soda is a popular item that softens water, removes stains, cuts grease, and cleans walls, sinks, tubs, and tiles without causing environmental danger.

It is a natural ingredient to produce green cleaning products for your home.

Lemons

Not only do lemons make a fantastic summer drink, but you can also use them in your green cleaning repertoire!

Squeeze two lemons into a spray bottle and fill it up with water.

Voila, you have a cleaning product made of lemon juice and water!

Use sparingly on kitchen surfaces to give the place a nice fresh smell. Be sure to use it within two weeks, or it might turn.

White Vinegar

Hardly can we mention a green product ingredient, including white vinegar.

It is a natural product ingredient that removes:

• Wax
• Grease
• Stains
• Odors
• Mildew

Essential Tips for Making Natural Cleaning Products

You might be considering making your natural green cleaning product because of health and safety concerns or because you want to be more environmentally friendly.

It might even save you money!

Here is a guide for creating green cleaning products.

Start With a product.

With the variety of ingredients you have at your disposal, you might be tempted to try everything that comes to your head.

Well, you should start with the simple product before moving forward.

Choose one and test it! If it works for you and your situation, great, carry on using it.

Prioritize Frequently Used Products

Start with products you can use often.

For instance, if you want a green cleaning product for windows, start with that.

If you use it regularly, then you will be testing it regularly. That means you will know what works and what doesn’t work.

Once you are happy with your window cleaner, you can move on to another product.

Be Patient

You must be patient because you might not get it right the first time. So when trying to make your natural green product, give yourself room to fail.

The most important thing is to be patient during the process and celebrate when you get it right!

Bruce Lee once said:

Don’t fear failure. In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail

We can all agree that switching to green cleaning is ‘great’!

Easy Green Cleaning Tips and Tricks

Now that you’ve learned some essential tips to make your green product, the next step is how to clean your home properly.

These cleaning tips and tricks are effective in achieving a greener environment.

Invest in Baking Soda

Simply putting a cup of baking soda into your toilet bowl and leaving it for an hour can brighten the bow.

To get a better cleaning result, add a little white vinegar and allow it to stay for a while before flushing.

Any discoloration or nasty stains will naturally wash away as you flush.

Use Plants

This tip might sound odd to many people, but you can use plants to eradicate any pest in your home. It is a natural green cleaning process that helps remove unwanted pests.

You don’t have to rely on chemical products that might affect your health and your pet.

With a bit of citronella oil added to any essential oil burner, you can eliminate spiders in your home. However, if you experience mice infestation, spearmint and peppermint can help get them away.

These will help to keep your home clean!

Recycle Plastic Bottles

Although challenging, you can reuse old plastic bottles in a mini greenhouse or seed container.

Instead of littering the area with plastic bottles, you can convert them into something that will benefit the environment.

8 million tons of plastic hit the Oceans each year, devastatingly impacting all Ocean life. Let’s aim not to use plastic; if we have to, make sure you reuse it!

How to Pick a Green Cleaning Product

When shopping for a new green cleaning product, especially if you don’t have the time and resources to make yours, you need to pick a non-toxic brand.

Several misleading adverts misinform people intending to sell their products.

You might get tricked by these big brands, changing everything to look natural or green. While you may see several products marketed as green, it is essential to be careful because some contain harmful ingredients.

When it comes to picking a green cleaning product, make sure that:

• All ingredients are listed
• It has biodegradable packing and is eco-friendly
• It contains only natural ingredients

That way, you can be sure that you are helping the environment, even when cleaning your home!