We love helping our clients find cleaning solutions that suit their lifestyles. As more homeowners look for sustainable cleaning ideas, we’ve compiled our top nine eco-friendly cleaning tips to help keep you and the planet healthier and happier.
Why You Should Embrace Sustainable Cleaning at Home
There are several benefits to choosing sustainable cleaning products and methods at home, including the following:
- You reduce pollution and water waste.
- You help protect the local ecosystem.
- You improve the air quality in your home with less harmful chemicals and toxins.
- You create an overall healthier home for you and your family.
- You can save money by opting for reusable cleaning tools over single-use items.
- Eco-friendly cleaning products are gentler on surfaces to prolong their life.
Eco-friendly cleaning tip #1: Think reusable packaging
One of the most important aspects of sustainable cleaning is learning to pay closer attention to cleaner packaging. To get started, we recommend investing in products with concentrated formulas or that come in tablet form to reduce packaging.
You then mix the products at home in a reusable spray bottle with a small amount of water, helping reduce the waste sent to local landfills. Other products to consider are those that come in recycled plastic bottles or that use recycled paper.
These little details help save the planet by eliminating unnecessary disposable and non-biodegradable materials.
Eco-friendly cleaning tip #2: Look for certifications
While reading labels takes time, it’s an easy way to become more familiar with eco-friendly brands. Simply look for baby products with certification such as EcoLogo or Green Seal.
Eco-friendly cleaning tip #3: Purge your cleaning products
Do an inventory of your current cleaning products to determine which ones you should stop using. Some ingredients to look for include:
- Ammonia
- Phosphates
- Sodium hydroxide
- Triclosan
- Quaternary ammonium cation
- 2-Butoxyethanol
- Phthalates
- Nonylphenol ethoxylates
- Tetrachloroethylene
Be careful, though. Don’t pour these down the drain or flush them down the toilet. This can create noxious gasses that can cause injury. You’ll also be sending them directly into your local water systems, which is basically pollution. Instead, check your municipality to find where to drop off hazardous waste.
Eco-friendly cleaning tip #4: Clean smart, not hard
A big mistake many DIY cleaners make is using the wrong cleaning products for the job. While this might not seem like it would impact the environment, it often increases the risk of water wastage during the cleaning process. The harder you try to clean and scrub, the more water you tend to use rinsing and reapplying your cleanser.
By shopping for eco-friendly cleaning products designed for specific cleaning tasks, you clean faster and more effectively. This not only helps reduce water consumption, but also prevents you from falling back into using less sustainable cleaning products to see the results you desire.
Eco-friendly cleaning tip #5: Do your research
Researching highly rated eco-friendly cleaning products is always a good idea. You want to choose brands that perform well so you are satisfied with the results.
However, finding brands that share your values by reading their mission statement, learning more about how they source their ingredients, ensuring they follow sustainable best practices, and so on will also help you find eco-cleaning products you are proud to use.
Eco-friendly cleaning tip #6: Don’t forget about your cleaning tools
Sustainable cleaning is not just about choosing eco-friendly cleaners; you also want to choose cleaning tools made from renewable resources. So, when doing your research, look for products that are free of things like petroleum-based plastic handles or require constant replacement.
These items might be harder to find and cost more money, but they’re worth it. For example, products such as brooms with bamboo handles and straw sweepers not only use sustainable materials but are also biodegradable when they’ve outlived their usefulness.
Keep in mind that you’ll also save money by investing in products such as mops with reusable mop heads, as opposed to single-use products you toss after each use. So, in theory, you should see things even out cost-wise.
Eco-friendly cleaning tip #7: Think before you toss it out
Although we’ve recommended that you remove all the dangerous cleaners in your home and invest in sustainable cleaning tools, we do add a word of caution: think before you toss items out. The reason we say this is that you might unintentionally contribute a pile of waste if you just toss things out randomly.
Instead of replacing your tools all at once, only do so when they are broken or have outlived their usefulness. This will ensure that you make the most of the tools you already have and avoid producing unnecessary waste.
Eco-friendly cleaning tip #8: Know the eco-friendly “lingo”
The world loves its buzzwords, but sometimes those words can be misleading. When shopping for eco-friendly cleaning products, it’s important to become familiar with eco-friendly lingo, focusing on words such as:
- Plant-based
- Biodegradable
- Plant-derived
- Essential oils
- Sulphate-free
- Phosphate-free
- Phthalates-free
Sometimes, labelling can be sneaky, prominently featuring these sustainable terms while also containing some less-than-friendly ingredients. So, do a good all-round review of the label, front and back, so you aren’t misled.
Eco-friendly cleaning tip #9: Reduce water waste
As mentioned, it’s easy to waste water during the cleaning process. According to the University of Toronto, wasting water creates a labour-intensive process to make the water drinkable again. This wastes energy and resources, including increasing the use of fossil fuels. You can improve water consumption efficiency in a few ways:
- Use dry steam cleaning instead of water for heavy-duty cleaning jobs like tiles.
- Use microfiber cloths when dusting instead of a damp rag or paper towels.
- Use a more frequent cleaning schedule to reduce the amount of water needed to clean big messes.
- Choose sustainable cleaners that don’t require rinsing.
- Use efficient eco-friendly cleaning products that are designed for the task to improve cleaning efficiency.
- Apply the minimum amount of cleaning solution to reduce the need for excess rinsing.
- Avoid running the water when cleaning the tub, shower, sinks, etc., until you actually need it.
Contact the Cleaning Experts
Using the above tips will help you become a more eco-friendly cleaner in order to reduce your impact on the environment.
If you simply don’t have the time to clean everything yourself, click here to learn more about our services at Maid4Condos. You can call us at 647-822-0601 or contact us online.
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