Benefits of Green Cleaning: Part 3
Since we have already taken a look at all the problems synthetic cleaners can cause (see here) and made ourselves familiar with all the things that are worth avoiding when cleaning your home; we can now turn it around and put a positive spin on it, by checking out all the benefits of green cleaning. To give you the good news ahead of all the details: Every single cause for concern that you might encounter with common household cleaners can be eliminated by simply switching to eco-friendly and more natural cleaning products . Here is how!
Reasons to Start Green Cleaning
1. Healthier for You and Your Family
- Having a green cleaning cupboard will get rid of all the chemicals used in your regular cleaning agents. This means that the air quality in your home will no longer suffer, which in turn will reduce your and your family’s risk of respiratory problems, asthma attacks, or allergic reactions. While environmentally friendly cleaning products also remove most of the common bacteria found in households, their anti-bacterial properties are usually less aggressive. This means that you are still exposed to a healthy amount of bacteria, while the chance of super-resistant germs is significantly reduced resulting in an overall healthier home environment. In case of any residue of cleaning products coming into contact with your skin, like it would happen with laundry detergent for example. A greener choice will likely cause less skin irritations or dermatological issues.
2. Safer for Your Home
The absence of any toxins or harsh chemicals in natural cleaning products will not just benefit the health of your family, but also ensures that your home is a safer environment in general. While you still need to take care of storing any types of cleaning agents (even homemade ones) out of the reach of children, it is significantly safer to use green cleaning agents alongside babies, pets, and even plants. As any living organism can be negatively impacted by chemicals commonly present in conventional cleaning products.
3. Protect the Environment
Fewer chemicals in the bottle mean fewer chemicals that could potentially pollute the environment. Most cleaners used in a home either end up in the air, the soil, the water supply, or the sea where they can create huge problems and even get into our food chain. This means the stuff that cleans your toilet might end up inside of your body! However, that is only the tip of the iceberg, as before toxins even get as far as the human food chain, they devastate nature by creating issues for vegetation and animals. The same goes for the bottles themselves. Most cleaning products are sold in plastic bottles, made from virgin plastic. This means even just producing the bottle adds to the carbon footprint of those products. And even though some of the packaging might be recyclable, hard to remove ingredients or misinformation will prevent them from ever getting as far as a recycling facility. Instead, they will either end up in landfill or in an incineration centre. The solution is simple: Shop for green cleaning products sold in recyclable, refillable, or plastic- free packaging!
4. Normalises Green Cleaning
Our society has the habit of following the masses. Whatever we see on others, we begin to perceive as normal and automatically strive to do the same. Cleaning your home in an environmentally friendly way is no exception to that. Choosing green cleaning products might not be normal at the moment, however, the more people that make a conscious decision and switch to eco-friendly options, the sooner it will be the “done thing”. Even more so, when you share your experiences with your family, friends, co-workers, and most importantly, your children. By being open about your choices, you have the power of directly influencing a healthier and safer environment AND future for all of us!
5. Better for Your Pocket
One Benefit, that might not be obvious at first, is that green cleaning can save you some money. Even though prices are higher, when you are comparing most common household cleaners in the supermarket with eco-friendly alternatives you will soon find them to be more budget-friendly as well. While conventional cleaners tend to be very specific and you have to have many different cleaners for different surfaces, desired results, or purposes. Green cleaning products tend to be more versatile and also more efficient. Of course, if you opt to replace some of the shop-bought cleaners with homemade solutions, your wallet will thank you even more, as common DIY cleaning agents like vinegar and lemons are considerably less expensive! There is also the aspect of refills. Rather than heading out and buying a brand new bottle of cleaning agent every few weeks, many green cleaning brands offer refills. These are either physical refills, where you bring your empty bottle to a filling station, or concentrated refills, where you order cleaning solutions like our popular neat cleaners to dilute and refill into your bottle. So while the initial outlay cost of bottles, cleaners, etc might look big, it will save you money in the long run!
For some DIY Green Cleaning ideas, stay tuned for Part 4 of the Green Cleaning Series.
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