Environmentally-Friendly Home Cleaning
You can’t scroll through the news today without coming across some article referencing environmental issues.
When you clean your home, you might not realize it, but you could be harming the environment rather than helping it. To reduce your own personal carbon footprint, you want to be able to clean your home in a way that is going to help the environment rather than harm it.
Clean your home and the environment
There are many ways you can slightly change the way you clean that will be beneficial to the environment rather than harmful.
Use the best green cleaning products
Using cleaning products that are green and chemical free is a great way to start helping the environment at home. Many household items, which you probably have in your kitchen right now, are effective for cleaning. All-natural cleaning items include:
- Lemons
- White vinegar
- Baking soda
Each of these natural materials can help you effectively clean your home without harming the environment. As a bonus, none of these will harm you or your family as well.
Recycle to help the planet
While you are going through your home, cleaning the various rooms, instead of throwing everything in the garbage, determine what can be recycled. Items such as paper, cardboard, and plastic bottles are all items that can be placed in a recycling bin rather than in the garbage can.
Donate old and unwanted items for reuse
There are many items in your home that you may no longer need. As you clean your home, find the items that you no longer need and consider donating them if they are not broken or otherwise compromised. Donation centers are always looking for gently used items.
Clean your oven regularly
Through the regular maintenance of keeping your oven clean, you are helping reduce your carbon footprint by allowing it to work more effectively using less energy than if it had to run through all kinds of junk. A thick paste of baking soda and water that is left to sit for an hour or two will help make cleaning your oven much easier.
What Are the Benefits of Green Cleaning?
There are many reasons why you want to use green methods of cleaning your home. Each method provides environmental benefits.
- You will have a healthier home. Reducing harmful chemicals in your home will help your family to be healthier overall. Green cleaning products can help reduce the impact of chemical-laden sprays and cleaners.
- Using green cleaning products helps you to create a purer environment. In addition to reducing the harmful chemicals in your home, you are helping to reduce them in the overall environment. Through the use of green cleaning products, you are helping to keep our waterways cleaner and our air fresher.
- You will spend less money on greener products. Using items such as lemons and vinegar significantly reduces the cost of cleaning your home. These items are generally much cheaper than a ready-to-go spray or cleaner.
- When you use green cleaning products in your home, you are using safer products. Even if you don’t use lemons or vinegar and opt for specialized cleaning products that are environmentally safe, you are going to be using safer products in your home. You will have products that aren’t corrosive or dangerous to your skin or eyes.
Environmentally-Friendly Cleaning Tips
You are aware of the many environmentally friendly cleaning products. However, there may be a few things you can do in your home that you aren’t aware of.
Avoid using wet shampoo for carpet cleaning. These shampoos can easily increase the air pollution in your home and the environment as a whole due to their strong fragrances and intense chemicals.
Steam sanitize your furniture and carpets. You can use hot steam to remove bacteria in your home and to help sanitize your floors and fabric couches. The steam is great for sanitization.
Open your windows to allow fresh air to come through your home. The air inside can easily become polluted with cooking and the number of people breathing in the home. With insulation being as good as it is today, it is important you let fresh air in every once in a while.
In closing, reducing your carbon footprint at home is not a difficult task. You can help the environment by cleaning your home in a green-friendly way so that you are doing your part both indoors and out. Try utilizing these tips to help you maintain a safe and green home.
Resources—TreeHugger, Care, HuffPost, NCBI
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