My guess, not many.  After all, most of us rarely even read such tiny instructions or warnings do we.  We tend to assume that if something is sold to us it simply must be safe.  But, though generally it is pretty easy not to kill yourself with multi-surface kitchen cleaner, all these products do have potential health risks.  It isn’t just the concern about toddlers drinking things they really shouldn’t either (though household cleaners are the main cause of child poisonings today).  No, the issue is how we use them and what we use them with.

Most cleaners will tell you that they should be used only in a well ventilated space.  But lets be honest here, how many of our guest bathrooms are well ventilated?  Ditto the oven and most of us do not own really great breathing apparatus, nor would we wear it when cleaning the oven?  But, fail to follow the rules and you will definitely be breathing in far more of the fumes from your products than that deemed safe in their product testing.

If your eyes are running, you start sneezing or your skin is irritated can you really be happy about what is going on inside?  Much better to choose greener cleaning products that are more mild to you who uses them.  This is one of the reasons the Simple Green Cleaner range has done so extraordinarily well.  After all, they are far from the most environmentally friendly ranges available.  But, what they do have is a history of being used as workplace cleaners.  Firstly this means that however green they are there first job is to be efficient.  The second issue is that to be sold as industrial workplace cleaning products requires passing far more stringent safety legislation than anything used in the home.  So, though they may have their detractors they are generally some of the safest cleaning products for you to be using, as far as your own health is concerned.

On the whole Green Cleaning Products are better for you, as well as for the earth.  Relying less on harmful irritants means they are less likely to lead to health issues for those who use them.  But, even if you use the most natural cleaner on the market do think about how you use them.  Leave all natural vegetable soap on your skin and it will damage it, drying it with its alkaline nature.  Vinegar may be the mildest antibacterial cleaner going but you wouldn’t want to inhale it when mixed with baking soda.

Green Cleaning Products are better for you and the earth, but only if you break the habit of a lifetime and read those instructions every now and again.  And, think very carefully before using two different products together.  The reaction to products mixing can be very different to when used alone.

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We are bombarded with ideas, guidelines and instructions to make our lives Greener and reduce our Carbon Footprint. But should we be making our Cleaning Eco Friendly, and if so, why?

Green Cleaners Use Fewer Resources

It makes no difference whether you are a believer in climate change or not. There is simply no denying that the fact that there are far too many souls on our little planet to allow all of us to use resources at the rate the developed world has been doing so for the last fifty years. Now, we are used to having certain things, and using certain products it is difficult to give them all up. The realm of housework and domestic cleaning is something that has come a long way over the last century. I doubt there are many who would be happy to revert back to the days when looking after the home was a full time job, not just for the wife of the family, but also her daughters or staff. But, all that being said there is still plenty that could be done, if not to eradicate our impact on the planet, then certainly to reduce it.

Switch to Safer Greener Cleaners

Turning to Eco Friendly Cleaning Products and Methods is just one part of reducing the load our family is on the environment. But, there is a more immediate gain too. Many conventional cleaners are full of allergens, poisons and toxic chemicals. These are all problematic to store and dangerous to use. Read the instructions on any conventional cleaning product and you will see how we should use them in well ventilated rooms, not in conjunction with anything else, and avoid breathing in the fumes. This is all much easier said than done, particularly for the busy house husband or wife. Most accidental poisonings affecting American children are related to chemical cleaning products. In addition, many scientists now blame the surge in cases of childhood asthma, allergies and other respiratory problems on the chemical cocktail in the average home. Even if you are not trying to save the planet, switching to less toxic cleaners is a great way to help save your kids.

Now of course, the average Eco Friendly Cleaning Product is unlikely to be suitable for human consumption. But, the key thing is overall they give off fewer dangerous fumes and contain less toxic chemicals. Still reading the labels is a must. Simple things such as citrus extracts are often used in both green and conventional cleaning products. They cut through grease and give a wonderful perfume. But, be warned many of us are allergic to these citrus oils, so even though they are natural and obviously less dangerous than a bottle of bleach, they can still be a concern.

Avoiding Petrochemicals with Green Cleaning Products

In addition many are composed of petrochemicals. While I know not many of us wish to give up our cars just yet, using less oil is something we all need to try before it is too late. It is not just that oil is hugely polluting as both an industry and in itself, there simply is not enough of it to go around. Pretty soon we really will need to prioritize its use, and surely an oil based detergent is a whole lot less important than keeping emergency vehicles running?

Detergents are often the cause of many sensitivities and allergies to things such as laundry products. Switching to palm oil derived detergents or better still natural vegetable oil based soaps is far kinder to your skin and the environment.

So Why Make Cleaning Eco Friendly?

We should all make Cleaning Eco Friendly because it is one small thing we are all capable of achieving. Our household cleaners account for a huge volume of the pollutants our family is responsible for. Change those and we change a big part of our problematic behavior. Moving to less toxic products keeps ourselves and our families safer too. Avoiding petrochemicals is something we simply must do whenever possible as there are so many alternatives that are not finite resources.

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Old fashioned cleaning products are often the cause of allergies and reactions, making them unpleasant to use.  Fine spray products such as window and glass cleaners are particularly problematic as they form such a fine mist it gets just about everywhere.  Breathing in something designed to dissolve grease is far from ideal, but who honestly can say they take all the necessary precautions to ensure they do not succumb to such obvious hazards.  Let’s be honest not many of us clean  the bathroom in a face mask and breathing apparatus, though if we use traditional cleaning products we probably should.

Using Green Cleaning Products helps enormously as they tend to be not just kinder to the environment, but kinder to us too.  This is not too say they are completely benign, but, on the whole green cleaners are a whole lot safer to be around than their ‘non green’ equivalent.

All Natural Green Cleaners are generally far less toxic to breath, and less likely to cause reactions if spilt on the skin.  Though we should still be careful with storage and use, that spillages are kept to a minimum and all cleaning products are safely out of reach of both children and pets, we can feel much safer in the knowledge that using the greener cleaner keeps the home a much healthier and less hazardous place to be.

Green Cleaning Products should still be treated with respect and used with care of course.  The key way to make your Cleaning Eco Friendly is to use less of whatever cleaners you choose, and even the greenest cleaner is far from beneficial to the environment.  Using less resources in our day to day lives is key to helping the planet keep us all thriving for as long as possible.  Every little bit helps and that includes using a little less ‘product’ and a little more elbow grease!

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But you do need to ensure you are still careful with those products.  When you buy Green Cleaning Products always read the labels.  They are likely to be kinder to you and your home as well as the environment.  But allergies, even to all natural products are not uncommon.  Citrus derivatives are widely used, being both anti-bacterial, insect repellent and offering natural enticing perfumes.  But allergies to citrus oils are extremely common so still take care.

Green Cleaning Basics

Remember that green cleaning is not just about choosing the most environmentally cleaner.  It is also about using less products full stop.  Using less water too all helps to lower your carbon footprint.  The fewer resources you use the kinder you are being to the planet.

Your home doesn’t need to be any less clean for using a little less detergent or forgoing the fabric softener though.  It just needs a little retraining.  We have grown accustomed to using vast quantities of products.  It isn’t helped by the manufacturers who insist on telling us to fill the cap to full for every wash or to use a certain volume in each pail of water.  The truth is you can usually get by using a lot less than the makers suggest.

A simple trick is to switch to Eco Wash Balls or Soap Nuts to do the laundry.  They are much kinder to your clothes and the environment and perform extremely well for most loads.  However, you will sometimes find people bemoaning their lack of power when dealing with really dirty washing.  That’s not something to concern yourself with and certainly no reason not to use them.  Simply keep a back-up supply of your favorite, green laundry detergent and some simple soap to use when things really need a bit more power to shift stains or stubborn dirt.

Doing your bit, by using kinder Eco Cleaning Products most of the time, is worth the switch.  Even if you still keep a secret stash of something far stronger to use on occasion.

Buy Eco Cleaning Products

Even if you don’t only buy Eco Cleaning Products it helps to purchase some.  As many as you are comfortable with.  But whilst the ingredients list is a good guide to their green cleaning credentials don’t forget the obvious common sense stuff too.

All environmentally friendly activity needs to look at the bigger picture.  So check the packaging, you want the least amount necessary and it should be easy to recycle of course.  Packaging produced from recycled materials is great if you can get it too.  Probably more important is that the contents are concentrated.  It might cost you a little more but it means you bring less packaging home in the first place.  Plus of course you use less time and energy traipsing your Eco Cleaning Products back from the store.

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