Cleaning your home now is definitely not the same as cleaning your home ten to twenty years ago. The landscape has changed quite a lot, with more emphasis on what it takes to clean without endangering yourself or the environment. The vacuums available at www.vax.co.uk provide a number of examples of how vacuums and other floor cleaners have changed in recent times. A lot of cleaning products that still continue to dominate the market can actually cause quite a lot of damage to your health. It’s always worthwhile checking out the alternatives that don’t cause as much damage. We’ve listed five environmentally friendly methods of cleaning your household below.
Get rid of your old cleaning products
Before you move on to green and eco-friendly cleaners, you should probably think about chucking out all your old ones, too. You may think that they’re tucked away safely under the sink where the kids can’t get them, but you need to be careful – the chemicals and toxins inside the bottles leak out and drift around your kitchen, where you and your family could potentially inhale them.
Replace old cleaning products with environmentally friendly cleaners
Once you’ve gotten rid of those toxic products, head over to a retailer that stocks eco-friendly, non-toxic cleaners. Products that do contain toxins generally have clear warnings, saying ‘Poison’ or ‘Toxic’ or other similar words. ‘Corrosive’ products should be avoided, as they can cause quite a lot of damage to your skin while cleaning, if you’re not careful. A bagless vacuum will also benefit you, not only do they save having to throw plastic bags into landfill, they also maintain their power for longer, giving you better performance for the same amount of electricity.
Clean windows with your newspapers
This is a good little trick; and you won’t have to worry about ink smudges, as most newspapers are printed using water-inks. Forego the bleach-filled window cleaner, use a mix of vinegar and water, spray it on, and wipe away with the newspaper; you will be pleasantly surprised at the effect on your glass!
Baking Soda
As with vinegar, baking soda is a great, easy and eco-friendly way of cleaning quite a lot of things in your household. If you combine half a cup of crystals with a pint of water, you can clean tiles, grouting and shower screens with the resulting paste. You can also prevent drain blockages by pouring half a cup of crystals down the drain, followed by hot water.
Get rid of those air fresheners
These are probably the most deceptive out of all household cleaners. People use them frequently to mask pungent odours; the truth is that they can release chemicals to dull your sense of smell. The best way of masking smells is by simply opening your windows, regularly buying household plants and sprinkling some baking soda crystals into your bin to absorb the nasty smells. If you’ve not got anything cooking on the hob, you could cut a few slices of lemon and cinnamon and add them to a pot of boiling water.
(Guest Post)
I have a bagless hoover and have done for years. TBH, its more because I couldn’t be bothered to keep buying bags to put in it that I opted for bagless haha! Also, when I empty it, I pop in a cotton wool ball with a few drops of my favourite essential oil on, and every time I hoover it leaves a nice smell 🙂
I don’t have many cleaning products in the house, but I should try to be more eco friendly!
Will definately give the lemon and cinnamon in boiling water a go.
we have used ecover for years for dishwasher tabs etc and i always use bicarb and vinegar to clean, i hate chemical smells especially ammonia type ones from oven cleaners etc.
Ild rather have a dirty oven than a toxic one!!
vinegar for windows is amazing- my hubby uses it on the car windows too and instead of window cleaner in the squirty pipes he uses water with a small squirt of ecover washing up liquid.
the only place i do use a good cleaner is in the loo, with so many kids i feel i have to but otherwise we are chemical free!!!!