We are always looking for ways to help people go green or to reduce the environmental impact they have on the world around them. One of the key ways to do that is by cleaning your home in specific ways. We’re not just talking about using cleaners that aren’t so toxic and damaging to the environment but also the other things that people don’t think of as much as contributing to their carbon footprint.
Hopefully, some of these will be ideas you can implement around your own home. The more of them you manage to do, the greener your life will be.
Use Green Cleaners
This is the big one and the one we want to start with. You have to be careful about the kind of cleaning solutions you are easing. A lot of commercial cleaners are not only bad for the environment, but they are also bad for you. they can harm sensitive skin, cause health problems of all kinds with their fumes and harm the environment with their manmade ingredients. We suggest either buying green cleaners from your local retailer or making your own home cleaners. Green cleaners are not usually any more expensive than regular cleaners, and they are typically every bit as effective.
If you make your own cleaners, you might be surprised at how easy they are to put together. You probably already have a lot of the ingredients you need in your home. Vinegar, baking soda, toothpaste and some dishwashing liquid are all you need to make a variety of cleaners that can handle surfaces, spills and stains of all kinds.
There are lots of recipes online for homemade cleaners, so just search for whatever you are trying to make and use the recipe that fits what you have on hand or what you think will be the best green cleaning solution.
Clean Regularly
The more often you clean, the less cleaning you have to do. As counterintuitive as that sounds, it’s true. If you do some light cleaning every so often, you won’t have to do any heavy cleaning. You will have an easier time of cleaning, and you will lessen your environmental impact. As you let messes build up, they can lead to dangerous fumes being released or damaging substances getting into the air. By cleaning often and thoroughly, you will prevent foul odors, stop corrosion, catch leaks and prevent other problems that could cause damage to your home, your health or the environment.
Use Tools instead of Chemicals
While a lot of cleaning solutions these days are pretty safe, the safest way to deal with messes in your home is to use something that contains no chemicals. Use a plunger or drain snake instead of a drain cleaner. You not only reduce fumes in the air, but you also use an effective cleaning solution that provides proven results. If you pour drain cleaner down your drain, it can be hard to tell if you got rid of the mess. If you use a drain snake, however, you will be more likely to see when you remove the blockage.
You can use this same method for other cleaning problems. Use cloths dipped in hot water to do much of your cleaning instead of chemical wipes or cleaners. You might be surprised at how many of the messes you can clean up in your home just using simple water and a cloth.
Instead of using harsher chemicals when the stains or grime are tougher, you can use better cleaning tools. Scrub harder or use higher quality tools to get rid of the mess instead of resorting to using potent chemicals with dangerous fumes.
Hire a Cleaning Service
Lisa with Diamond Cleaning Calgary explains “You can also hire professional cleaners from time to time to do your house cleaning”. If you are concerned about your environmental impact, then ask them what kind of cleaners they are using or simply request that they use green cleaning methods. Most cleaning services will be happy to oblige you, but their rates and methods may differ when using green cleaning solutions.
By hiring professionals to do the work, you can ensure a more thorough and effective cleaning. This reduces your workload and helps you maintain a cleaner house. It gives you a chance to do other things you want to get done and not have to worry if your home is being cleaned properly. It’s very possible that the cleaning company will be greener in their cleaning methods than you would be simply because of the kind of cleaning solutions they use and their experience in this kind of cleaning.
Use Proper Ventilation
Part of what contributes to environmental damage in your home and dangers to your health is a lack of ventilation when you are cleaning. Even when you use homemade or green cleaners, you need to ensure there is adequate ventilation in the room you are working in. You can open windows, turn on interior ventilation systems and set up fans to move the air around. You may even want to open the doors for a while to allow the air to circulate more freely and to get the fumes out of the house fast. In your house, fumes from cleaning solutions can coalesce and concentrate, making them more dangerous, but when you allow them to float outdoors, you reduce their environmental impact and their effect on your health.
If you start to feel lightheaded when you clean or like you are being made sick by the cleaning chemicals, then you should take a break and consider using a less potent cleaner. Even some of the green cleaning methods can have adverse effects on you if you do not use the proper ventilation.
With these cleaning tips, you will be able to clean safer and more effectively. You can directly contribute to the safety and longevity of the environment around you, as the way you clean plays a big role in your environmental impact.