Have you seen them yet?  The shelves of stores are beginning to fill up with them.  Green products. For this article, specifically cleaners.  I have to admit, I’m a bit skeptical of them.  All of a sudden when going green becomes the latest in popular trends they are popping up everywhere.

I have always been a great cleaner, in fact when the kids were still at home, I was probably way too anal about it.   I spent all kinds of money on every new cleaner that came out.  I wanted it clean and I wanted it to smell clean.  It liked to of drove Rick nuts.  He felt he couldn’t sit and relax as long as I was up running around doing things from sun up to sun down.  What could I say, I had an A-type personality.  We compromised and both gave in a little here and a tad there.  It took me years, but I have now conquered the A-type person in me.  Funny it began to happen as the kids moved away.  Each time one moved, I got better.  Now a-days, Rick finds his clean underwear on the couch.

Convenience and show; aren’t those the reasons we will buy the newest and best product on the shelf?  It certainly was for me!  I’m all grown up now though and frankly, I could care less.  With age comes some wisdom and that wisdom tells me to be practical and creative.  So my practical and creative side went to searching on how to clean greener.

My concern for our earth and its resources, the environment and the toxic levels we are talking about, is very real.  I’m very conscious of my actions and the effects I leave behind me.  It is becoming more and more a natural instinct as I search for ways to be greener.

Do you find yourself reading more labels now?  I do, but i must admit, I understand very little of what I’m reading.  Even if I were to become knowledgeable, I’m not sure how much difference it would make. Cleaning-product manufacturers are protected by a government trade secret law that keeps them from having to reveal their ingredients.  I do understand that, but it doesn’t help the consumer out.  There are the obvious reasons for knowing the ingredients of a product.  Many people suffer from respiratory problems that certain chemicals set off.  But did you know that some chemicals interfere with estrogen, testosterone and thyroid hormone production?  These particular chemicals(the names of which I am still searching for), are called “hormone disruptors” and have been linked to various health conditions.

Rarely will a label reveal all chemicals involved in its making, but almost always, if its to the benefit of the product, whats been left out will be listed.  No ammonia, no chlorine, etc.  So maybe those are the words we need to be looking for.  I’ll make it a point to hunt down a list of chemicals we want to avoid and list them at a later date.

Not all of the professed “green” cleaners are as green as they would like us to believe. There are a few green cleaners that have been given a good rating based on performance and absence of harmful chemicals.  This is not a complete list.

Clorox Green Works Natural All-Purpose Cleaner and Glass & Surface Cleaner.  They are both fairly priced and have been certified, ‘Design for the Environment’.

Seventh Generation Natural All-Purpose Cleaner and Natural Glass & Surface Cleaner.

Bon Ami Cleaning Powder

Bio-Shield Vinegar Cleaner

Shaklee’s Basic H Cleaner

Now are you ready for the greenest of the green cleaners? Those would be the ones you make at home using common ingredients most likely already in your pantry.

An all-purpose cleaner recipe
1/2 cup borax
1 gallon hot water

You can either mix for use in a pail or a spray bottle. (1/8cup borax to 1qt. hot water)

Glass Cleaner
1/4 cup white vinegar or 1 tbsp. lemon juice
2 cups water

Some other ingredients to use-
Lemon juice mixed with olive oil for polishing furniture
Baking Soda can be used to scrub stainless steel, iron, or copper pots.  Do not use it on aluminum pots.

To give the cleaner a nice scent add some lemon juice or even a few drops of essential oil.  Lemon juice cuts grease, tea tree oil is an effective mold killer and lavender oil is a natural disinfectant.

The next time I clean (in a year or so), I’m going to try the homemade cleaners.  I’ll let you know the results and if you’ll do the same for whatever green product you choose to try.  Use the comment section or drop me an email at tracie@turnitgreentoday.com.  I’ll post your comments.

Happy Green Cleaning!

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