Keeping Your Home Safe and Clean With
Green Cleaning Products

Creating a healthier home for you and your family starts with green cleaning products. Whether you decide to make your own or buy your 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 spend too much to have a clean home. Many of the products we can buy at the store today work quite well but that's only part of the story. What about the ingredients in these products? Are these products really safe for us, our families and the environment.

The Product Label Said Natural

When it comes to product claims there really are no regulations.

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 a 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 and look to see if a safer option is available. There almost always is one.

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

What Do You Use?

The average household will use:

Quite a list. Some of us may be using less while others will use even more products.

We breathe 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.

Little hands touch surfaces and objects we clean and what happens next, hands or objects in the mouth. Same thing with pets. They lick something up off the floor. They clean their feet. Everything in the mouth.

It is possible that small amounts of cleaning products we use may not only be ingested but they hang around in in the air and are inhaled. Another problem. Just having potentially dangerous products around the house can be lethal. 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.

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. I prefer to shop locally for these kinds of items and that limits my selection somewhat. Green cleaning products are more readily found in health food stores and shops like Trader Joe's, Whole Foods and for us in Texas, Central Market. But don't overlook your local stores. In those long aisles filled with dozens of cleaning products you may find Seventh Generation or Ecover in the mix and look for Method at Target.

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 is broken down into type of product, laundry, general cleaning, floor care etc and contains lists of approved products. It does not mean that all the products in a company meet the requirements just those products listed. This list also does not include info on animal testing. When companies choose safer and more natural ingredients they often claim no animal testing which happened with Chlorox Green Works. Chlorox still relies on animal testing for other products just not the Green Works line.

Green Cleaning Products To Consider

Below are just a few products to consider. This list only includes those that I have found to be easily available locally. Many other choices can be found on-line just remember to look for a complete list of ingredients.

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 softening and cleaning without having an overpowering fragrance.

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.

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

Related Pages

Green Living At Home

Homemade Cleaning Products

Non Toxic Skin Care

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