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When it comes to green cleaning products you obviously want a  non toxic cleaner for your home.  Some of the green cleaners are easy to make with ingredients you probably already have on hand.  Just a few basic items are all you need to clean safely and completely.  You can even make flea powder for your pets in a natural way.

Vinegar is a neutralizer.  If you want to maintain the color of your clothing, add some vinegar to the wash water to set the dye.  With the addition of some lemon juice you have a powerful acid to dissolve hard water stains, tarnish, grimey build up and dull surfaces on wood.

Washing soda is an old fashioned product found in hardware stores.  It is similar to baking soda but with a higher pH factor.  Washing soda is sodium carbonate and offers no fumes with use.  You should wear rubber gloves when handling this product which does a great job on cutting grease stains like lipstick, petroleum products, softened candle wax and kitchen grease.

Washing soda should not be used on aluminum or fiberglass and should only be used on waxed floors if it is your intention to remove the wax.

Baking soda is like a cousin to washing soda.  It is made from soda ash and it neutralizes odors in refrigerators, water and air.  You can use baking soda to remove green scum from a flower vase.  If you sprinkle baking soda on a sponge it is an effective abrasive cleaner for bathtubs, kitchen counters, ovens and boats and fenders made of fiberglass.

Add ½ cup baking soda to the washing machine and you will find it neutralizes underarm odors in the clothing.  Sprinkle some on your carpets before vacuuming to freshen both the carpet and the vacuum cleaner bag.

Liquid detergent and other soaps are another non toxic cleaner, especially for grease.  Fat and lye are the ingredients in soap.  Liquid soap purchased in a health food store is adequate if you have soft water in your area.  If you have hard water, detergent is a better bet.

Detergent is made from synthetic chemicals and was uncommon before the 19th century.  They’re beneficial for not reacting with hard water to create soap scum.

Soap is a good disinfectant.  To add fragrance to the air while you clean, add 20 drops of essential oil to one quart of warm water.  Tee tree oil works well on mildew and mold and is a natural fungicide.  Tee tree oil can be irritating to the eyes so be sure to avoid contact with the face as you mix your natural disinfectant and mildicide.

To clean your family pet and repel fleas at the same time, combine 1 teaspoon dried fennel, 1 teaspoon pennyroyal and 1 teaspoon dried eucalyptus with one cup cornstarch.  Grind all ingredients and place in a jar.  Sprinkle on your pet and comb into fur.  It takes about 15 minutes for the mixture to permeate the skin.  The remaining product can be stored in the jar indefinitely however it will lose its potency in one month.

Essential oils make an excellent tick repellent.  Rose geranium, bay, eucalyptus, pennyroyal, lavender, rosemary and lemon balm all work to keep ticks at bay.  If you are pregnant, take care not to come into contact with pennyroyal.

Bug repellents cause much concern, especially for parents who don’t want to harm their children.  Try eating more garlic, leeks, onions and chives.  These get processed through the skin and have an unpleasant taste for mosquitoes and other flying pests.

Avoid using lavender soap when you go outdoors.  The floral nature of this non toxic cleaner will attract bees.  We invite your comments if you have some favorite green cleaning products that you would like to share with our readers, we would love to hear from you via the comments tab.

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Carpet cleaning chemical has always carried with it the thoughts of harsh dangerous ingredients. In today’s world this has changed. There is a demand for cleaning products that do not pollute the environment and many in the industry have addressed this.

Green Carpet Cleaner - flickr

Most companies are using the word GREEN to emphasize how their product is safe for the environment. The hottest topic is Greening your business, or the use of Some Green Products is common in advertisement but are they really green or good for the environment?

The truth of the matter is there are some really good cleaning chemicals out there that are considered green. There is one I found from CleanCraft Products Inc.  The ingredients of their all purpose green cleaner has only hydrogen peroxide and d-Limonene. The pH in the concentrated form is 3.0 to 3.5 but the application calls for a dilution which has a pH 6.5 to 6.75. It has the strong odor of citrus fruit or oranges.

This chemical has been known to be an irritant for both the skin and respiratory track. Long term exposure is not recommended but short term exposure has not caused any ill side effects. This chemical has been used by the cleaning industry for some time and can also be used as a paint stripper for wood. Another use is as a botanical insecticide and it also can be used as a biofuel.

d-limonene is biodegradable but has a very low flash point and must be treated as a hazardous chemical when being disposed of. As a Green carpet cleaning chemical this might be considered by some but not by others, the choice is yours, read the warning labels.

Note: the above research on this article was done by a professional chemist, however we neither endorse or encourage use of any products mentioned in this post.  Do your own research just as you should on any product you select to use.

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People want safe cleaning products and they ask us all the time for some recommendations.   You’ll see they save money in addition to saving the environment.  All you need are a few basic items which are probably already in your pantry.

First, get a box of biodegradable Borax.   This product is billed as a laundry booster, but without phosphates or chlorine, it is a safe household cleanser when diluted with water.

Borax can also be used as a pot scrubber.  Sprinkle some in the pan, wait a few minutes and then clean with a damp sponge and some muscle.

Another use for borax is eliminating mold.  Sprinkle and scrub borax in moldy areas like the corners of the shower.

For caked on food stains on pots, pans and baking dishes, pour water in the pan, sprinkle borax in the water and simmer for ten minutes.  Once the water is cool, you can scrub the coating away.

Baking soda is another old time product with a variety of modern uses.  Is your shower drain plugged?  Sprinkle one-quarter cup of baking soda onto the drain and add two cups of plain white vinegar.  The mixture will bubble and hiss to create a non-caustic rinse.  Wait ten minutes then run hot water through until the clog is gone.

To scrub your stainless steel sink clean, use a little baking soda.

Vinegar can also be combined with equal parts of olive oil to produce a natural furniture polish and hardwood floor cleaner.

For a handy soap scum cleaner, take a plastic mesh onion bag and ball it up.  Sprinkle with baking soda and scrub away the scum on your shower tile and glass shower door.  Rinse and wipe clean for extra shine.

Other safe cleaning products include a natural air freshener made with simmering orange peel, cloves and ginger on the stove for 15 minutes.

To remove a musty smell, crumble up newspaper and place near the offending odor.   Leave it in place for 24 hours and remove.  The absorbent newspaper should take the smell with it.

To rid the kitchen cutting board of odors, cut a lemon in half and rub the lemon juice back and forth along the surface.  This is better than any strong chemical cleanser in erasing strong odors like onion and garlic.

For carpet stains, sprinkle cornstarch on the stain, dab with some water, and allow to sit for 15 minutes, scrub and vacuum.   If the stain is small, pour some club soda onto the spot, blot and let dry.

Your herb garden is nature’s carpet deodorizer.  Bring in thyme, oregano and lavender, dry on the countertop for 24 hours, then crush the dried leaves and sprinkle throughout the room.  The fragrance will be released when you vacuum.

One note: the bagless vacuums don’t emit the fragrance since the herbs get sealed in the plastic dust vessel.  If you have a vacuum like this, make a potpourri with the herbs instead.  Place the crushed blend into a cotton hankie or napkin, gather up and tie off with a ribbon.  The aroma will last about two weeks.

To clean a flower vase of algae, sprinkle a generous amount of salt into the vase, add hot water and allow to sit for two hours.  Rinse and dry.

Natural cleaning products such as these have many benefits.  They save the environment of harsh chemicals, and they eliminate the clutter in your home of a different cleaning product for different tasks.  With safe cleaning products you are providing a clean eco-friendly environment for your family and the family of man.

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There are a wide variety of natural homemade soaps available on the market place. It all depends on what specific part of the world you are in for what is available. Each part of the world has its own different supply of raw materials. This accounts for the difference in the recipes.

The most unique soap I found marketed was the soap of Jesus. This is a Christian soap that only uses the ingredients found during the life and time of Jesus. The claim is that the recipes are based on homeopathic formulas that not only clean your body but also uplift and inspire your delicate soul.

Then there is French/African soap named Earth Essence. This one combines the deep cleansing power of French green clay with the moisturizing properties from shea butter that comes from the African shea nut.

Aphrodite soap from Greece has the claim of being 80 to 100 % pure extra virgin olive oil with potent Mediterranean herbs from the sunny, unpolluted Greek hills.

From India there is Nag Champa Herbal soap. With a mixture of 21 different plants along with a coconut base and other unnamed oils. This soap has a very strong herbal scent.

France has another contribution with the Cote Bastide or Cotton Soap. The fragrance shifts from the subtlety of cotton flowers to the gentleness of sweet almond. For added gentle exfoliation cottonseeds are added.

No natural soap list would be complete without that good old American Lye soap. All you need is lard, lye and water. What could be more natural? For added cleaning power powdered bleach can be added. No wonder Americans are such thick skinned individuals.

There naturally are more but this just to say that because it is different does not mean it is not natural just from another part of the world.  How about you?  Do you have a homade soap recipe or source for your favorite?

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To properly determine if you are purchasing non-toxic cleaning products you must first know what is toxic. First check the label of the products you use or plan to use. Do you see a warning on the label?

Are the words WARNING, DANGER or CAUTION present?  Is KEEP OUT OF REACH of CHILDREN present? With these words present a clear sign that danger lurks within the product exists.

Toxic substances have short and long term consequences of use and exposure. Products that contain heavy metals and are absorbed through the skin could cause liver damage. If repeatedly exposed permanent liver damage could occur or even death. This is not immediate but a cumulative effect cannot be ignored.

One of the most commonly used toxic substances that might be feared the most is pesticide. These are used in almost every household.  The local government agencies in America even spray whole communities with pesticides in an attempt to control the mosquito population.

Present in those aerosols are chemicals which their sole purpose is to stop nerve cells from communicating. Year after year the accumulative effect could have detrimental effects on your health. Just look at the dead mosquito’s and the danger is clear.

Our environment is the only one we have. It needs to be taken care of and treated with respect. When you decide to only use non toxic cleaners please dispose of the toxic cleaners that are presently in your house properly.

In 2002 the U.S. Geological Survey conducted a study of the percentage of contaminants in the streams across our nation. They found that 69% of the streams contained residue from detergents and 66 % had disinfectants present.

We at Way to Go Green suggest the following.  We all need this water to live. Please be responsible with your chemicals. The sooner people switch to non-toxic cleaners, the safer and healthier we all will be.

Check out another article on green cleaning products.

For Commercial or Industrial green cleaning products check out the Janitorial Products Blog.

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A natural carpet cleaner is what is advertised by many companies in our country claiming to have such products or services. It is a surprise to see the different approaches.

“Naturell” claims to be powered by nature. This sounds good. They have a patented cleaning product made from sea kelp and only natural occurring processes. The EPA has recognized this completely organic product. Naturell was the recipient of their SDSI Champion Award.

Some of the good points regarding the way Naturell cleans your carpet are encouraging. Their process uses 95% less water than most conventional cleaning companies. All the dirt from your carpet is collected in bonnets with no waste water to dispose of. With no detergents used there would be no sticky residue that would remain on your carpet. The carpet dries in less than thirty minutes.

“Naturalist” is another all natural carpet cleaning service. Their system utilizes the natural cleaning properties of citrus along with oxygen. This company also makes the claim of only cleaning with minimal water, but neglects to state how much. The non-toxic process dries in less than an hour without the use of detergents or soaps.

For the natural carpet cleaner that you can do yourself use good old baking soda and vinegar. A mild soap like dish soap will help with most common stains. Use a damp sponge and scrub. If the stain is stubborn add the baking soda and vinegar and let it bubble.

The combination of these two natural and common household products can do wonders. Most of their cleaning ability comes from the reaction between the two. When the carpet is dry you just vacuum away your dirt. Yes this is a little more work that hiring someone, but you get to control the ingredients and there is no waste water.

There are many other natural carpet cleaners but we believe baking soda and vinegar are the cheapest and eco-friendly to use.

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A good hardwood floor cleaner is hard to find if you wish to use all natural ingredients but it is possible.  The first thing to consider is the finish your floor has on it. A polyurethane finished floor or aluminum oxide finished floor should be cleaned differently than a hardwood floor that has been just waxed.

If you are not sure what type of finish you have take the time and run a few tests first. Does it have a glossy finish or a matted finish? For a glossy finish pour little paint cleaner on the floor.  If the finish does not bubble the finish is a water-based polyurethane. If it bubbles it is aluminum oxide.  For a matted finish, see if you can feel the grain of the wood. This could have been finished with a penetrating oil or stain.

Some home made recipes have included the use of warm water and tea.  Tea does contain properties that are capable of mild cleaning. One draw back is that it also stains. There are those that like to use mild dish soap.  If this way is done make sure the soap does not contain dyes or fragrances. This one will cut most grease stains and will not harm most finishes.

One must be sure before adding water or any liquid to the floor is to dust it.  The dirt, grime and sand that accumulate in time can cause scratches.  This should be avoided if the final result is a clean floor that shines.

A mild soap will clean all types as long as there are no petroleum distillates present.  Make your own and be on the safe side.  A natural hardwood floor cleaner is easy to make just take your time and know what you have first on the floor.

Do a search with the little search box here on Way to Go Green for more cleaning information.

For more great Wood Flooring Tips go to the: Seneca Hardwoods website.

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In my search for all natural cleaning products I have found many companies that make this claim and to approach it in many different and natural ways. Solay is a company that advertises simple natural cleaning products. They have many different products all being safe for the environment and non-toxic.

I looked at the different products to see what I could find. A good general example is the dish soap that contains purified water, coconut derived surfactant blend and Himalayan salts. It is free of fragrances, phosphates, animal byproducts, dyes and any petroleum based ingredients. All natural and by the many testimonials it does work quite well.

The secret and specialty to the Solay line of products are the natural salt crystals. They use Himalayan, Polish and Persian salt crystals. The main product line of this company is a salt crystal lamp that helps ionize the air and is natural. The natural cleaning products are just a part of this natural way of cleaning.

The salt crystal lamps ionize naturally. The same way Mother Nature uses the oceans to purify the earth; these salt crystals can purify your home. Salts are bonded together with an ionic charge like most metals. This is unlike other chemicals that are molecularly bonded. Upon heating the crystals, the molecules become positive and negative ions that attract the moisture and pollutants in the air. This is done by the negative charges chloride anions. Since there are more chloride ions than sodium cations the crystal will remain intact. For the moisture that is collected, when the crystal dries the salts is reformed in a crystalline structure and it remains the same as if never being melted or dissolved. This is of courser it does not become to saturate. These crystals are for inside use only.

This is an all natural cleaning product for the air and it does work.

One way to go green is with Hard Floor Cleaners.  We advocate using all natural and home made recipes for most of our cleaning recommendations however in some cases with modern hard floors you must follow the manufacturer’s or the installer’s instructions so as not to void any possible warranty.

The hard floor cleaners that are discussed in the following article will be good advice to consider bearing in mind that we also respect the environment and the health of our families in the choices of any hard floor cleaners.

Cleaning Hardwood Floors – Tips on Cleaning Products For Hardwood Floors

There are many chemicals out there that are good at cleaning carpet stains, but are there any natural ways of doing it so to help avoid the harmful toxic chemicals most cleaners contain? The answer is yes.

The best-known way to clean a carpet stain is to use club soda.  First you should take a clean dry rag or cloth and dab at the stain until all possible liquid has been absorbed.  Remember to dab at it, if you rub the stain it will only smear and get bigger. Then take club soda and liberally pour it on the stain.  Soak up the club soda with a new clean cloth or rag.  Do not reuse the previously used cloth because you may restain the area by accident. Let dry and the stain should be removed.

There are other cleaning methods that are natural but more specific to the type of stain.  Like red wine stains, this is the strangest I have ever known.  If you make or see a stain made of red wine immediately, yes speed does matter here, pour the equivalent amount of white wine on it. The white wines will counteract the staining effects of the red wine and the stain will disappear.  If there is a little bit of a stain or residue from the white wine use vinegar to dissolve it and dab clean with a clean dry clothe.  It’s enough to make a grown wino cry I know.

For oil or grease stains use the old reliable baking soda or cornstarch. This one takes a little time, usually overnight. In the morning vacuum up the area and most if not all of the stain will be gone.  If there is any remnants of the stain break out the baking soda or vinegar and blot or dab until the stain it totally removed.

Always remember harsh chemicals are not necessary for cleaning carpet stains, use the natural approach and stay green and toxic free.

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Here are some great household cleaning tips.  There are many different ways and ideas for cleaning your home. Most of which are known like to using newspapers to clean your windows. But I also have non-traditional ways of cleaning that most people have not thought of or use.

Window washer fluid for your car will work just fine on your home windows and it’s cheaper.

Vegetable shortening is great for getting grease off your hands or out of cloths. This one makes a lot of sense. As a chemist I know the principle of like dissolves like. Shortening is a grease but without impurities. This is why mixing cleaner grease with dirty grease, the two will join and the spot will disappear.

Vinegar is a wondrous liquid. In the laboratory it is known as acetic acid. This acid is very mild but has all the great characteristics of acids that are useful around the house from cutting grease in dishwater to reacting with baking soda to remove carpet stains.

The abrasive ingredients in most toothpaste can be used to clean and polish other items like rings and candle sticks that are made out of metal.

To repair scratches on furniture try rubbing a walnut on it. For dark furniture apply a little appropriate color shoe polish.

For those that have super glue around, make sure you also keep nail polish remover. This is actually acetone, which dissolves super glue.

If your iron has build up or rust from sitting too long, rub emery cloth on the base to bring back the new finish shine.

Yes another use for baking soda. On a damp sponge place a small amount of baking soda and watch those crayon mark on the wall just disappear.

Worcestershire sauce not only tastes good but cleans the bottom of copper pans. The heavier the stain the longer you let it sit on it before washing it off.

These are just a few helpful household-cleaning tips. Just remember keep it simple and it might just work.

For the person wishing to have clean windows but tired of using those harsh cleaners loaded with toxic chemicals, I have the window cleaner recipes for you. Please remember that all cleaners, either toxic or non-toxic should be handled with care and always kept out of reach of children.

1) Non-toxic, non-ammonia window and glass cleaner: into a labeled spray bottle add ¼ cup of vinegar, ½ teaspoon of liquid dish soap and 1 ½ to 2 cups of distilled water. Place lid on bottle and shake to mix. For added cleaning strength and a fresh lemon scent add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

2) Non-toxic window and glass cleaner: All ingredient need to placed into a mixing container before transfer to a spray bottle. Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to ¼ cup of ammonia, ¼ cup of vinegar and ½ gallon of warm distilled water; mix until all cornstarch is dissolved. The warmer the water, the fast the starch will dissolve. Transfer the solution to a labeled spray bottle and then cap the bottle.

Note: distilled water is used to eliminate dissolved solids in regular tap water.

Helpful hints:

1) Use your clean newspaper as the wiping medium. This is not only a useful reuse of your daily paper but for some reason it also reduces streaking.

2) Clean windows either in the morning or evening hours. If the window or glass is warm to hot, the cleaner could evaporate before being wiped off which would produce spots and streaking.

3) For windows, wipe each side in a different direction. This will make it easier to identify which side has a streak if any are present.

These are just a couple of handy window cleaner recipes and tips to help you do that chore that we all avoid. Stay seeing clean and green.

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For the moisturizing properties and gentle cleaning characteristics, Olive Oil Soap is a favorite of people desiring to look their best and to let their skin radiate with soft gentle warmness. With a lather that resembles a creamy lotion, this form of cleaning is a step above the rest for your skin. This soap is more expensive than most so I have found some of the best recipes to help you make your own olive oil soap.

When making your own soap you should follow the proper process to help ensure success. Make sure you have an area, even if temporary, to complete the whole process in one place to reduce the possibility of contamination. Next weigh out each ingredient separately on an accurate scale. Always use the same scale for all the ingredients. This will remove the error, if any, the scale might introduce into the process.

Place all of the solid oils in a container that is suitable for heating and slowly warm the solids. When the oils reach approximately 110 F eliminate the heat source but make sure all of the solids have melted. Add the liquid oils and bring the solution to 100 F. If you are going to add fragrances or colorants, make sure they are measured out and ready to be added.

Prepare your lye and water mixture. With the oil solution at 100F slowly add your lye-water mixture to the oil solution. The solution will become cloudy. Slowly but steadily mix the solution with a stick blender. This is when the ingredients start to inter react. Use short burst of 2 to 6 seconds with your blender. This process can be mixed by hand but the time involved for mixing could be up to an hour.

Keep blending the ingredients until the solution is completely mixed. The term in soap making at which mixing is completed is called trace. You can test for the trace by placing an instrument into your mixture and letting it drip back in the mixing container. If there is a trace or the drip is visible on the top of the mixture, you are close to being there. At this point add your fragrances and essential oils. The mixing from this point should be done by hand.

Next it is time to pour your soap into the mold. The mixture is still reacting so make sure your mold is insulated or wrap a towel around it. The soap will be hard enough to take out of the mold and use after 24 hours but the reaction in the soap will last for a few days.

Follow these amounts as closely as you can for 80/10/10 olive/palm/coconut oil soap use
40 oz olive oil, 5 oz palm oil, 5 oz coconut oil, 16 oz water, 6.7 oz lye. If preferred use 1.5 to 2.2 oz of fragrance or essential oils.

For an 80/20 olive/coconut oil soap use 40 oz olive oil, 10 oz coconut oil, 16 oz water, 6.9 oz lye. If preferred add 1.5 to 2.2 oz of fragrance or essential oils.

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There are many companies out there claiming to be selling environmentally friendly cleaning products, green cleaning supplies, eco friendly cleaning supplies. The products should be renewable, free of dyes and scents, recyclable or recycled themselves, non-toxic, phosphate free and biodegradable to be environmentally friendly.

All of this sounds good but read the fine print. I found a trash bag claiming to be biodegradable. This was in large print on the box. On one of the sides, in very small print was the time frame for the degrading of the bag. The claim was just over 100 years and the bag would be totally degraded. Not all companies are so misleading, but be warned, there are some out there.

One way that will help you, the consumer in making a wise and green choice is tp utilize the resources that are available to you. In Oakland California there is a multi-disciplinary scientific organization named Scientific Certification System or SCS. The SCS’s environmental Claims Certification program was established to give an independent verification of claims made by manufactures claiming to be environmentally friendly. This organization not only looks at the product but the container that houses the products. They ensure the word Green is appropriate along with other claims made by companies including recycled, recovered, biodegradable and organic.

Be well informed and make wise choices in your purchases. Just think about all those harsh synthetic chemicals you flushed down the drains before you were environmentally conscience that is now in the water supply. You utilize this same water supply to provide  your family with the life giving needs of water. Make sure your cleaning products are environmentally friendly.

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Lawsuit plans have been announced by environmental and health activists who say that companies need to come clean about the chemical ingredients in their cleaning products.  They feel that consumers have a right to know what’s in the products they use everyday to clean their homes, for the sake of themselves and their families.  If these companies refuse to disclose their ingredients, it’s just one more reason for us to turn to green cleaning products.

Now that more people know the harmful effects of certain chemicals, shouldn’t they know whether or not these chemicals are in products they use on a regular basis?  Of course, but then it wouldn’t be a secret and companies like Procter & Gamble and Colgate-Palmolive would lose money.  What a shame.

The chemicals in household cleaning products are linked to asthma, chemical sensitivities, and other health issues.  Even more reason to label cleaning products appropriately with the entire ingredients list and also remove chemicals that have been deemed harmful.

The lawsuit will be filed in New York on behalf of a number of states, as well as environmental and health groups.  The Sierra Club is amongst those involved as well as the American Lung Association.

Until companies are forced to list all the ingredients in their products, we as consumers are in the dark.  Instead of waiting around for this to happen, it seems like a good time to switch to more green cleaning products.  That and who wants to support companies that feel the need to hide things from their customers?

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