The guide to sustainable cleaning

The guide to sustainable cleaning

The home is always especially beautiful when everything is freshly cleaned, isn't it? A clean home doesn't have to clash with your green principles. With a few little tricks and a little diligence, you can have both.

In this blog, we'll look at practical and easy ways to make your home shine and protect the environment at the same time. Let's get started right away.

Chemical cleaning products from the shop
If you go through a shop, you will find countless cleaning products that promise quick results and bacteria-killing effects. If you look closely at the label, you will also find a number of ingredients such as phosphorus, chlorine, nitrogen and ammonia. Many of these are known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and the United Nations refers to VOCs as air pollutants. Cleaning agents are often flushed down drains and can enter the water cycle, harm wildlife and take years to break down. One of the effects of even the smallest amounts of chemicals entering lakes and rivers is that phosphates accumulate over time. These act like artificial fertilisers and make algae grow faster, which is hard on aquatic life and is called eutrophication.

Symbol cleaning

A return to grandma's cleaning products
There are other ways to make your home shine and sparkle without conventional products. When it comes to ecological cleaning, grandma really knew best. A century ago, store-bought chemical cleaners were a rarity. Instead, people relied on tried-and-tested, homemade cleaning products that did the job without harming the environment. Made from natural ingredients like lemon juice, vinegar and baking soda, some cleaning products were even safe enough to consume! Using old newsprint, recycled textiles and reused jars and containers were Grandma's way of maintaining a spotless home at minimal environmental as well as financial cost. Let's see what tricks and techniques we can learn from grandma!

 Vinegar

  • Vinegar: Your Eco-Clean Secret for Countless Green Hacks

White vinegar is a cheap all-purpose remedy for a clean, green home. The acidity of the vinegar removes grease, rust and limescale deposits and has disinfecting properties. Try a splash of distilled white vinegar around the rim of the toilet and leave it overnight to fight limescale. For kitchen cleaning, you can put a few drops of white vinegar directly on the glass backsplash or tiles to remove cooking grime. Polish with a crumpled ball of newspaper or an old T-shirt cut into a cleaning cloth. Make a simple cleaning spray with 3 parts water and 1 part distilled vinegar to spray and disinfect surfaces. You can also add lemon juice to enhance the degreasing effect of the acid. In this case, use an old spray bottle and label it so you know the contents. It's better to make small batches so you can make your spray fresh each time. White vinegar is also a fantastic detergent additive that can soften fabrics, brighten whites and also keep your washing machine clean and odour free. Add up to ½ cup of white vinegar to your final laundry rinse. For a monthly washing machine clean, you can add 4 cups of vinegar to the machine while running an empty load.  

 Baking Soda

  • Cleaning with baking soda

Baking soda can be used as a cleaning agent, but is usually stored in the cupboard and is a staple in the kitchen. Bicarbonate dissolves mineral deposits and grease, has a disinfecting effect and neutralises unpleasant odours. Try sprinkling a cup of bicarbonate into the drain with a funnel once a week. Ideally, leave it to soak overnight. In the morning, add 1 cup of distilled white vinegar to make the drain fizz. Once the reaction has subsided, pour boiling water down the drain to remove the dissolved sludge.
Baking soda and vinegar are also team players when it comes to oven cleaning. Make a paste of equal parts of baking soda and water. Spread it on the inside of your oven and leave it overnight. In the morning, wipe it off with water and then use vinegar to give it a final polish. Bicarbonate can also be used in the fridge to combat unpleasant odours - leave an open container with a quantity of bicarbonate on the shelf of your fridge. The powder absorbs odours and will probably remain effective for up to 3 months. You can even use it against the stench of sweaty trainers: Sprinkle it into the shoe and leave it overnight before dumping it out in the morning. 

 Woman with soap

  • Castille soap: A vegan cleansing hero

Castille soap comes from the Castile region in Spain and is made from vegetable oils such as olive or coconut oil and caustic soda. The soap is completely biodegradable and can be used for a variety of cleaning tasks. You can use Castille soap as a detergent for washing dishes or laundry. Add 1/4 cup to a bucket of hot water to mop floors. You can even use Castille soap as a body wash and as a pet shampoo. This multi-purpose function means you don't have to buy dozens of different products for different tasks. 

Cleaning sponge

So green cleaning doesn't have to be a chore. There are plenty of hacks and tips online to help you discover more eco ideas to keep your home spotless and fresh. With a clear conscience and a shiny home, you can take the next step towards a green clean. 

 

This post was written by guest author Jade Piper.

Back to the blog

Leave a comment

Please note that comments must be approved before publication.