Green cleaning has become an increasingly popular trend in recent years. More and more people are realizing the benefits of using environmentally-friendly cleaning products and adopting green cleaning practices. Here are 10 compelling reasons why you should start green cleaning today:
It’s Better for Your Health
Conventional cleaning products often contain a cocktail of harsh chemicals that can aggravate allergies, asthma, and other health issues. Breathing in fumes from chemicals like ammonia, chlorine, and formaldehyde found in typical cleaners can cause headaches, nausea, and other short-term problems.
Green cleaning products are made from natural, non-toxic ingredients that are much gentler on your lungs and respiratory system. Plant-derived ingredients like lemon juice, vinegar, baking soda, essential oils, and Castile soap clean just as effectively without exposing you and your family to risky chemical fumes and residue.
Ditching conventional cleaners means you’ll breathe easier knowing you aren’t polluting your home’s air and exacerbating health issues. Who doesn’t want their home to smell like fresh citrus from natural orange oil rather than harsh toxins?
It’s Safer for Children and Pets
Babies and kids crawl on floors, put their hands in their mouths, and absorb more of the chemicals from cleaning products through their skin. Pets also lick floors and can ingest toxic residues tracked in on shoes or left on floors.
Choosing non-toxic cleaners is especially important if you have young children or pets in your home. They are more vulnerable to chemical exposures that can disrupt hormones, trigger allergies, and even cause cancer or reproductive harm from ingredients like phthalates and formaldehyde hidden in typical cleaning products.
Green cleaners give parents and pet owners peace of mind since they are made from gentle plant-based ingredients like essential oils, soap, and water. Keep your kids and furry friends safe by ditching conventional cleaners loaded with toxins and switching to green products made from natural ingredients that won’t harm your family.
It Helps the Environment
Conventional cleaning supplies often contain ingredients derived from petrochemicals. The manufacturing processes to produce these chemical cleaners and plastic packaging generate greenhouse gas emissions and require large amounts of energy. After use, the synthetic toxic ingredients also pollute waterways.
In contrast, green cleaners are biodegradable so they don’t leave behind harmful chemical residue to pollute our rivers, lakes, and oceans. Companies making eco-friendly cleaners also tend to use plant-based ingredients sustainably sourced from renewable resources. Green cleaning products often come in recyclable or post-consumer recycled packaging as well.
Going green with your home cleaning routine keeps nasty chemicals out of the environment and prevents pollution. Small changes like switching cleaners make a meaningful difference to protect the planet when multiplied by countless households adopting eco-friendly habits. Every bottle of conventional cleaner you replace with an eco-friendly alternative helps the environment.
Non-Toxic Ingredients Actually Work
Many people think you need to sacrifice efficacy for natural green ingredients. However, green cleaners made from plant-based soaps, essential oils, and other renewable botanical ingredients clean your home effectively without toxic chemicals.
Here’s a breakdown of some top non-toxic ingredients and why they work well:
- Baking Soda – This pantry staple is mildly abrasive to lift dirt, absorb odors, and gently clean and scour surfaces.
- Castile Soap – Made from vegetable oils, Castile soap helps remove grease and grime from counters, floors, and other areas using the power of natural saponification.
- Citric Acid – Derived from citrus fruits, citric acid cuts through soap scum, hard water stains, and stuck-on grime.
- Essential Oils – Oils like lemon, eucalyptus, and peppermint not only smell amazing but also have antimicrobial and degreasing properties to sanitize and clean.
- Vinegar – An acetic acid, vinegar dissolves mineral deposits, kills bacteria, removes grime, and cuts through grease.
You certainly don’t need toxins to get your house squeaky clean! Give green cleaners a try and you’ll be amazed that natural ingredients work wonders without the health and environmental hazards of conventional cleaning supplies.
Cost Savings
One common misconception is that green cleaning products are more expensive. However, when you look at the long-term savings, eco-friendly cleaners often come out on top.
Commercial cleaners are cheap upfront, but you waste money replacing them frequently. All-purpose green cleaners made with plant-based ingredients like vinegar, Castile soap, and essential oils often come in concentrated forms that can be diluted to make gallons of product. A small upfront investment saves you money for months of cleaning.
Going green also saves you money on health. Toxic chemical fumes can aggravate respiratory problems, allergies, headaches, and other health issues. The hidden costs of medications, doctor visits, and sick days quickly add up. Green cleaning prevents these expenses by promoting better indoor air quality.
Many green products like baking soda and vinegar do double-duty for several cleaning tasks, saving you from buying multiple conventional products for different uses. For instance, baking soda can replace scouring powder, carpet deodorizer, and tub scrub. Vinegar removes stains, sanitizes, unclogs drains, and more.
Eco-friendly habits like making your own cleaners from pantry items or buying reusable rags over paper towels also minimize waste to further boost cost savings. Over time, green cleaning definitely wins on cost and value.
Easy to Make Your Own
One great perk of going green with your cleaning routine is that you can easily make many DIY cleaners using simple kitchen cupboard ingredients you may already have on hand.
Why buy a heavily marketed name brand cleaner when you can quickly whip up something effective with just a few common household items like vinegar, baking soda, and Castile soap? Here are a few easy DIY green cleaner recipes to try:
- All-purpose cleaner – Mix 1⁄2 cup vinegar, 1⁄4 cup baking soda, and water. Add 10 drops lemon essential oil to disinfect and deodorize.
- Glass cleaner – Combine 2 cups water, 1⁄4 cup vinegar, and 1⁄2 teaspoon Castile soap. Shake in a spray bottle.
- Tub scrub – Sprinkle baking soda in the tub and spray with vinegar. Let bubble then scrub.
- Toilet cleaner – Pour 1⁄4 cup baking soda into the bowl. Add vinegar and scrub.
Once you realize how simple and cheap it is to make homemade cleaners from familiar ingredients in your pantry, you may never buy toxic commercial cleaners again!
Better for Sensitive Skin
If you or a family member suffers from skin sensitivities like eczema, switching to natural cleaners free of irritants provides relief. Conventional cleaning products often contain detergents, fragrances, and other harsh additives that can further dry and inflame sensitive skin.
Plant-based soaps and essential oils in green cleaners are much gentler on the skin. Baking soda also has soothing and anti-inflammatory properties to clean without causing irritation. You’ll avoid red, itchy skin flare-ups by using natural cleaning products free of triggers.
hypoallergenic
Conventional cleaning products are often loaded with synthetic fragrances, dyes, and preservatives that can trigger allergic reactions, asthma, and skin irritation.
Green cleaners typically avoid these problematic ingredients. Brands focused on avoiding toxins formulate their products without common allergens and irritants. They rely on natural scents from essential oils and botanical ingredients that come from plants instead of made in a lab.
Switching to green cleaning products promotes a healthier indoor environment for those sensitive to artificial additives. Breathing in fumes from chemicals and preservatives found in typical cleaners can really take a toll if you have allergies or chemical sensitivities. Natural scents from plant-derived oils are much less likely to cause adverse reactions.
Promotes Sustainable Habits
Going green with your home cleaning routine fosters sustainable habits that span beyond just being cognizant of your cleaning supplies. Once you kick off this eco-friendly change, it encourages other small changes that benefit the environment.
Next thing you know, you’ll be seeking out greener versions of other household items, reusable versions of paper and plastic goods, energy efficient appliances, and organic cotton for laundry. Your online searches evolve from “best conventional cleaners” to “green home products” and “zero waste swaps”.
Making sustainable living an easy habit starts with small changes like swapping your cleaners. When you repeat eco-friendly behaviors daily, they stick and become automatic over time. The more little green tweaks you make, the more broad lifestyle changes follow.
Teaches Children Green Values
Making small eco-friendly changes at home like using green cleaning supplies sets a powerful example for kids to emulate. Children watch and learn habits from parents. Showing them the importance of caring for the environment in simple daily choices like cleaning instills green values they carry for life.
Get kids involved to teach them young. Let little ones help make DIY cleaners from vinegar and baking soda so they gain hands-on experience with natural ingredients. Show them how to scour sinks and tubs with gentle scrubs free of harsh chemicals. Their developing minds soak up these small lessons on sustainability.
Empower your children to go green outside the home too by letting them lead recycling efforts or get involved in community clean-ups. Instilling eco-friendly values through choices like green cleaning gives them tools to become environmental stewards.
Non-Toxic Cleaners Are Readily Available
In the past, green cleaning products were niche and tricky to source in stores. Today, there are excellent natural cleaning brands widely available at most major supermarkets, warehouse clubs, hardware stores, and online retailers. Whatever you used before, there is likely an eco-friendly alternative.
Look for products certified by Green Seal or EPA’s Safer Choice Label to know they adhere to stringent requirements on using non-toxic ingredients safe for human health and the environment. Or check the EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning to find safer products ranked on avoiding chemicals of concern.
From laundry detergent to all-purpose cleaner and more, quality green cleaning supplies are accessible in stores and delivered conveniently to your door. There are even eco-friendly cleaning services like CleenGreen using green products so you can outsource chemical-free cleaning. More availability makes going green a hassle-free choice.
Switching to eco-friendly cleaning habits benefits your health, family, home, and the environment. Give green cleaning a try – your body and the planet will thank you! What are you waiting for? The numerous advantages make today the perfect day to start green cleaning.
Frequently Asked Questions About Green Cleaning
Green cleaning is growing in popularity as more people learn about its many benefits. But if you’re new to eco-friendly cleaning, you probably have some questions. Here we’ll address some of the key topics and concerns people have regarding green cleaning products and practices.
Are green cleaning products as effective as conventional cleaners?
The short answer is yes! Reputable green cleaning brands thoroughly test their all-natural formulations to ensure they are just as effective as conventional cleaners at cutting through grease, removing stains, disinfecting surfaces, and leaving your home sparkling clean.
Plant-derived ingredients like citric acid, hydrogen peroxide, plant-based soaps and surfactants, and essential oils have excellent degreasing, brightening, sanitizing, and cleaning properties without manmade chemicals. Safer Choice-certified products must pass EPA performance testing too.
Do green cleaners disinfect properly?
Absolutely! Strong natural disinfectants include hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, tea tree oil, eucalyptus oil, and thyme oil. Brands combine these botanical ingredients with plant-based soaps and surfactants to create effective disinfecting green cleaners safe for your family.
Look for the EPA’s Safer Choice label to confirm products’ disinfecting capabilities. Popular eco-friendly brands like Mrs. Meyer’s, Seventh Generation, and Method also use thorough third-party testing to verify disinfection efficacy and kill claims for green cleaners fighting germs.
Are green cleaners more expensive?
In the past, green cleaning products used to be pricier, but costs have come down dramatically as consumer demand grows. Especially when purchased in concentrated forms that can be diluted, natural cleaners now cost similarly or at most just slightly more than conventional options.
Any minimal extra upfront cost is offset by green cleaners lasting longer thanks to concentrated formulas. Plus, you’ll save much more down the line by avoiding health issues and medical costs aggravated by synthetic chemicals.
Where can I buy green cleaning products?
Green cleaners are now widely available at major retailers like Walmart, Target, Costco, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and Amazon. Natural food stores usually have a great selection too. You can also order directly from green brands online if you can’t find your new favorite cleaner locally.
How do I switch my entire cleaning routine to green products?
Start by taking inventory of all the conventional products you use for laundry, dishes, surfaces, bathrooms, windows, and more. Then research greener alternatives for each cleaner type and try swapping one at a time. Over several weeks or months, you’ll have your entire arsenal changed over to eco-friendly options tailored to each cleaning task.
How can I make sure I’m choosing really green products?
Look for the EPA’s Safer Choice label or Green Seal certification marks to ensure products meet strict standards for safer ingredients and performance. The EWG’s Guide to Healthy Cleaning provides in-depth ratings for over 2,000 products to identify truly non-toxic brands. You can also look up ingredient safety on EWG’s Skin Deep database.
What are some examples of effective natural cleaning ingredients?
Top non-toxic cleaning champions include baking soda, Castile soap, vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, essential oils like lemon and tea tree oil, citric acid, plant-based surfactants, and enzymes. When combined into green cleaner recipes, these plant-derived ingredients pack some serious cleaning power without toxic fumes or residue.
Switching to green cleaning does more good than you may realize. Small eco-friendly changes in your home benefit personal health, families, communities, and the planet. We hope these reasons and answers help you confidently join the green cleaning revolution! Let us know if you have any other green cleaning questions.
Conclusion
Green cleaning is clearly the way of the future with huge benefits for human health, homes, and the environment. Ditching harsh chemicals and synthetic fragrances found in conventional cleaners avoids indoor air pollution and stops toxic exposure through eyes, skin, and lungs. Natural cleaners with plant-derived ingredients work just as well without the health hazards.
Going green with your home cleaning routine is one of the easiest daily habits to implement that makes a meaningful difference for the planet and your family. Doing something small like swapping cleaners initiates a ripple effect where other sustainable changes follow once you realize the power of green living.
There are now more excellent eco-friendly options than ever before conveniently available at major retailers and delivered to your door. Affordable prices put green cleaners on par with conventional options, especially when you factor in the savings on healthcare costs down the line by avoiding toxins that exacerbate conditions like asthma.
Despite common misconceptions, legitimate third-party testing proves that natural ingredients like essential oils cut through grime, kill germs, and leave your home sparkling clean without toxins. Small tweaks make your home a haven of health. Once you experience the benefits first-hand, you may never go back to conventional cleaners again.
The compelling benefits for your family and the planet make now the perfect time to start green cleaning. Switch out just one toxic cleaner to start, and soon you’ll have an entirely green cleaning routine. Small daily actions to eliminate toxins in your home add up to make giant leaps for improving sustainability – one plant-based cleaner at a time.