Eco-friendly cleaning agents

Just read an interesting post from Hippiesque on using eco-friendly silver polish, entitled “Soap nuts as silver polish.” (Props to my buddy Rachel at BrazenDesign for her informative tweet!) Which makes me think a lot more about the types of chemicals we typically use as cleaning agents, and all the junk we just dump down our drains, expecting them to magically disappear.

Obviously, these things don’t just disappear! Instead, they get mixed in with our drinking water, contaminating everything around us, from the waterways they intersect with to the soil that we use to grow our crops. Why isn’t this a way bigger issue?

I think it may be because we like to believe that store-bought detergents and cleaning agents are good for us, even though for the most part they aren’t. They’re full of harsh chemicals that may cause us to break out in rashes, or that may irritate our allergies, or in the worst possible scenario, may cause us to wind up living in our own little bubbles to avoid contact with the contaminated outside world. Not pretty.

All-purpose cleaner by ATTITUDE

My husband and I tend to shop at IGA, where you always seem to get a random product if you spend more than $50 on groceries. One week we were handed a bottle of an all-purpose cleaning product made by Bio Spectra and marketed as Attitude, a certified eco-friendly company (they’re certified by EcoLogo(TM), which is an Environment Canada program). This particular bottle has some bold claims printed on the side:

ATTITUDE: Products that leave no trace on Earth or its inhabitants. Natural, ecological, biodegradable and non-toxic cleaning product that contains no petrochemical derivatives or color dyes. Made with water, coco and lauryl glucoside, alcohol and essential oils (lavender and grapefruit).

Pretty cool, right? If you go to the website, this product is also listed as a vegan product, as well as beig non-carcinogenic, hypoallergenic and free of artificial fragrances. Neat!

I really like this brand, because it’s super basic. The design as well as the listed ingredients are simple and straightforward. The packaging is non-existent (this bottle was sold as is, with no extra tags or boxes surrounding it), and the bottle is made of #2 plastic, so it is fully recyclable when you’ve finished using it. I’m not sure whether the company already does this or not, but if they offered refills that were just screw-top bottles, they could even encourage people to re-use the nozzle from their original bottle until it stopped working.

Overall, we’ve been using this cleaner around the house, and I have to say it’s impressed me both with its pleasant smell and its cleaning powers. We used it on a lot of caked-on grease we had on the stove after a night of cooking, and it sponged right off. I’ve also used it to clean windows and mirrors, and even my wooden desk (although I’m not sure you’d want to do this if your wood was untreated), so it’s been a good all-purpose cleanser for me.

In terms of other eco-friendly cleaning products, there are actually a lot of everyday items that clean a lot better than the crap you’ll get in a bottle from the store. Baking soda, vinegar and lemon juice are the triumvirate you’ll need to clean most things in your house. Here are some common uses:

BAKING SODA: Use baking soda to deodorize everything from your carpet to your trash cans to the inside of your refrigerator and freezer, to clean stubborn stains like coffee rings in your mugs, and as a paste this also works great on itchy mosquito bites or chicken pox.

VINEGAR: Another deodorizing agent, vinegar works great to freshen up the scent of your laundry (add it to the washer when your clothes are on the rinse cycle), comes in handy as an all-purpose cleaning agent, can unclog your drains (along with its trusty companion, baking soda), and cuts grease in a hassle-free way. And according to About.com, you can even use it as a cheap fruit and vegetable wash!

LEMON JUICE: Also according to About.com, lemon juice is great for cleaning copper, for mixing with vinegar to create a more neutral (or “clean”) smell, for freshening drains, and acting as a natural bleach. Apparently lemon juice “bleaches” things like white linens (or blond hair!) naturally, if applied and left to sit in the sun until dried. Neat!

Got any other eco-friendly cleaning tips and tricks?