Causecast

Tanaka’s take on green cleaning.

Let me start off today’s blog by adding some sparkle to my laptop since my dog has now officially left her mark by licking my screen…ewwww Saki! Cooties!
But there is nothing that distilled water with a dash of vinegar can’t fix! Don’t forget a proper rag to prevent your screen from being torn to shreds when wiping away.

So when I was younger, my parents would always make me clean the inside of the house while my brothers had to mow the lawn and clean up the backyard (dog poop, haha!!!) Between having to slave over dirty toilets, sweeping up grass and dirt, and vacuuming our inconveniently aqua-colored carpet, what I remember most is desperately trying not to get Clorox Bleach Cleaner on my clothes- let alone the bathroom towels, my mom would kill me! Who would enjoy bleach-spotted clothing and Windex in your eye? The smell of the various cleaning products I used would either burn my eyes, or cause me to hold my breath as I rinsed them down with water. If I knew how toxic household cleaners were back in the day, I would’ve used that as an excuse to get out of weekend cleaning! Darn…..

Luckily, cleaning products are slowly but surely coming along. Yes biodegradable, natural, and safe cleaning products may be a bit pricier, but if more people bought them and took a stand against toxic products we will be able to make manufacturers put better products on shelves. I’ve read Crissy Trask’s book It’s Easy Being Green: A Handbook for Earth-Friendly Living in the past, which suggested choosing Seventh Generation, Country Save, and Mountain Green. Some other products you can check out are BioKleen and Ecos. The best part is that they aren’t harsh on skin and they aren’t full of overpowering fragrances. Plus, if you are saving your greywater, these safe cleaning products won’t harm your garden when you throw the water on your plants.

As for other household cleaning tools, Tammy & I found some cool biodegradable rags from Bed Bath & Beyond that could be reused and thrown in the washer. The sponges we bought were Twist Biodegradable Loofah Sponges. I’m also a pretty big fan of Skoy cloths, which are similar to Twist.

Seventh Generation also has put together an enlightening “10 Quick Tips for Green Cleaning List”. I never realized a damp cloth could be so useful when preventing toxic dust in the air. Okay, maybe it’s more obvious than you think…but I thought as long as my wood oil cleaner was drizzled a little on a towel it would do the job, but now I know why I continued to sneeze afterward. sniff

By the way, if you’re in doubt while searching for the right brands or products near you, let GreenerChoices.org do the work for you. They help you search for the products that you may have questions about with their eco-label search.

I have to throw this in here…I LOVE watching Daryl Hannah’s little video snippets. This one in particular deals with green cleaning. Entertaining and informative! Rock on Daryl Hannah!

Well guys…more to come. Until then…happy cleaning!

“So fresh and so clean, clean…”
(Don’t hate…you know I had to say it!)