Keeping Your Home Safe and Clean With
Green Cleaning Products

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Creating a healthier home for you and your family starts with green cleaning products. Whether you decide to make your own or buy your cleaning products at the store it's the ingredients that goes in to these products that make all the difference as to how safe and eco friendly they are.

I'm no different than you. I want cleaning products that work quickly, easily and safely and I don't want to have to spend too much to have a clean home. The cleaning products available today for the most part do just that but we are learning more and more about many of the ingredients being used to create cleaning products that are harmful if not toxic to people and planet.


When it comes to product claims conventional cleaning products or "green cleaning products" are no different than products we use on our skin. There really are no regulations. Product claims may mean very little. As we've seen with companies that make skin care products the words "natural", "environmentally safe" or "nontoxic" used on any product may be leading us to believe we are buying a natural, safe and earth friendly product.

Even reading the label may not provide the answers we want. Companies do not have to disclose all ingredients used so we are left wondering "Is this a good product to use?"

For those products that do provide more extensive ingredient lists knowing what specific ingredients that are considered toxic is helpful to at least warn us off this product when we see certain ingredients.

Ingredients To Avoid

First if a product has Toxic, Poison, Danger or any other kind of warning that sounds frightening written on the label, don't use it.

The below is only a partial list of frequently found ingredients.

Ammonia - found in glass cleaners, floor or bathroom cleaners. Poisonous when swallowed and a big irritant to the skin or when inhaled.

Diethylene Glycol - found in glass and bathroom cleaners. Poisonous when swallowed and irritating to the lungs.

Cholorine Bleach - found in a variety of cleaners or by itself. Very irritating to eyes and skin and is an environmental hazard.

Triclosan - found in antibacterial cleaners and thought to be contributing to antibiotic resistant bacteria.

DEA and TEA - found in many products and used as preservatives. When combined with nitrosomes can produce carcinogens.

Petroleum based ingredients - all kinds of cleaners. These are products that are no friend to the environment.

Fragrance - air freshener and almost all cleaners. usually contains phthalates used to stabilize synthetic scents and a known carcinogen. Fragrance is frequent cause of allergens in products.

1,4-dioxane - found in dishwashing and other household cleaners. Has been found to be a cancer causing ingredient.

Formaldehyde - found in a variety of cleaners. It is a known carcinogen.

What Do You Use?

The average household will use detergent, bleach, fabric softener and stain removers for the laundry, dishwashing soap, counter cleaner and disinfectants, floor cleaners, waxes and polishes, oven cleaners, window cleaners, bathroom and toilet bowl cleaners and air fresheners of all kinds. Some of us getting by on less while others use even more.

We are breathing in fumes and mists when we use cleaning products - volatile organic compounds (VOC's) containing all kinds of unhealthy ingredients in combinations that are impossible to know how they react together when used or when inhaled and absorbed into our bodies. Plus they tend to remain in the air creating indoor air pollution in our homes.

Perhaps the ones we should be most concerned about are babies, children and even our pets. It is particularly important to protect them from unnecessary exposure to chemicals. This is an area in our environment where we have a great deal of control and choosing green cleaning products is a big step in the right direction.

We need to remember that babies, children and pets put things in their mouths whether it's just their own hand or paw or other things. The cleaning products we use are not only available for them to breathe but residue from floor, counter or bathroom cleaning may remain behind only to be ingested by a child or pet. Just having potentially dangerous products around the house can be a problem. According to Poison Control, 70% of poisoning from household products involved children under 6.

These products also contribute to pollution in the environment. Many of them do not break down readily and remain within in our air, water and soil. This is not something I can ignore and I'm hoping you feel the same way and begin to seriously look at green cleaning products to provide a solution.

How To Find Green Cleaning Products

To keep green cleaning affordable I use a mix of homemade cleaning products and store bought green cleaning products. My preference is shopping locally and that limits my selection somewhat at least for me as green products are a little harder to find. Green cleaning products are more readily found health food stores and shops like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and for us in Texas, Central Market.

Some more easily available brands are switching to safer and more eco friendly formulas and are seeking certification by the EPA. This allows them to use the DfE (Design for the Environment, a division of the EPA) logo.

Products with this logo have been reviewed by the DfE scientific review team for health and environmental safety. The DfE list of approved products contains companies like Bissell, Chlorox and Method and since this is a relatively new certification I expect others will follow.

Animal Testing and Cleaning Products

Animal testing of our cleaning products is very common. The long list of chemicals used in our cleaning products is often tested on animals first to determine their safety for us. Many companies have found that that do not need to use animal testing to determine safety anymore.

Often times companies can rely on previous test results or by choosing safer, natural ingredients. When we choose to use green cleaning products especially those that carry a cruelty free logo we can be sure that no animal testing was used when this product was created.

A Few Green Brands To Consider

Whenever using any products remember that unless we can somehow verify their claims we can never be sure that what they say about their products or ingredients is true. I believe some companies honestly try to provide the safest or most natural products and these are the ones you will find listed here.

Simple Green Naturals

Simple Green has been creating non-toxic, biodegradeable cleaning products for 30 years. I have used this for many years myself. When I couldn't find or afford natural cleaning products there was always Simple Green. Years ago I could only find it in automotive supply stores because it was very useful for cleaning auto grime and grease. Now, it is readily available at most any store.

It has always been a great, affordable, easy to find all purpose cleaner eliminating the need for cabinet full of cleaning products. They have released a line of greener products containing "naturally derived ingredients". This is a term you may see on other cleaners. Check out their website for a good definition of the difference between a product labeled natural versus naturally derived.

Ecover

This company has been a leader in green cleaning products since the 80's. Their wide range of products include many plant and mineral based ingredients and they do carry a cruelty free logo.

They are more readily found and many conventional grocery stores now carry some Ecover products. I have a few favorites which include their fabric softener and dishwashing liquid both of which work very well for cleaning and softening without having an overpowering fragrance.

Seventh Generation

Another company that has been around for a long time and has a proven track record of safe, non toxic naturally derived ingredients. They too carry a cruelty free logo. I have used various products and have been overall pleased with the results but in many instances have found them to be pricier than other brands. They do offer a wide range of products for the home including paper products and may be found locally.

Mrs Meyers

This is a fairly new brand that has hit the market. Created from a combination of non toxic, safe ingredients and naturally derived ingredients like essential oils. They call themselves aromatheraputic cleaning products. Essential oils of lavender, clary sage, basil or geranium among others are used to fragrance their products and provide the benefits of aromatherapy.

I happen to like how their products perform but find some of their fragrances a little overpowering. We are using their fabric softener right now and while the fragrance really lasts it is quite heavy. They claim to not do any animal testing but do not carry any certification. This is also one of the more costly lines of green cleaning products.

BabyGanics

Don't let this name fool you. These green cleaning products are free of harmful chemicals and toxins make good all around cleaners safe for the whole family and the environment. They say they disclose all their ingredients proudly and rely on many vegetable based surfactants along other naturally based ingredients and fragrances. BabyGanic can be found at many local stores like Babies Are Us, Costco and Sears making shopping for green products more accessible. They too state no animal testing but do not carry certification.