A Green Look At Cleaning
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by: AazdakAlisimo
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Word Count: 442
We all have to clean our houses - it's a task everyone has in common. Each part of the house gets dirty, from the floorboards to the windowsills, and someone has to clean them in order to make sure that we are free of dirt and harmful germs. Unfortunately, many cleaners we use every day are full of danger.
Most household cleaners are made with a variety of different chemicals that are designed for specific tasks - which is why we often have to buy so many of them. There are bleaches, for example, which are sodium hypochlorite, a chemical which is very dangerous to human skin and tissues.
Then there are detergents - dish detergents and laundry detergents. These are often harmful not necessarily because of what they can do to humans directly, but because of what they can do to the environment. Many detergents contain petroleum based items that do not biodegrade.
Other problems come with items like surface cleaners, which may contain ammonia, and even specialized cleaners like furniture polish and items like air fresheners. Furniture polish can contain formaldehyde, and air fresheners can have nerve damaging ingredients in their containers!
Luckily, we have a choice when it comes to household cleaning products - we can go green. We don't have to buy the chemical laden cleaners that are found in the supermarket cleaning aisle. There's no way to give up cleaning for good, so there are other options to be had to clean your home.
Household staples like vinegar and baking soda can often take the place of surface cleaners and bleach, as they have whitening power. To kill bacteria, look for one of the approved Earth friendly spray cleaners to do the job, made by brands like Earth Friendly, Seventh Generation or Ecover.
The same companies that make disinfectant also make safe, natural laundry and dish detergents. These are much better for your home, especially when you look at the differences in laundry detergents. There are no more petroleum products or caustic phosphates, instead just plant extracts are used to clean.
As for polishing your silver and making sure that your furniture is in great shape, there are natural solutions for that as well. Olive oil mixed with white vinegar will shine wood, or lemon oil will work well. Toothpaste can make your silver shiny, and other scrubs can work on other metals.
Green cleaning products are a little harder to come by than the typical chemical cleaning products that are in most homes, but many stores are starting to carry these alternative cleaners. It is becoming easier and easier to care about how you clean your house and to keep your house chemical free.
About the Author
Aazdak Alisimo writes about home cleaning maids, their scope of services and other issues for HomeCleaningMaids.com.
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