Green Cleaning: What It Means and Why It’s Important

As the saying goes, cleanliness is next to godliness. Whether you are religious or not, the saying holds water. Maintaining a tidy space, whether at home or at the office, is a good practice for a variety of reasons.

For one, a clean area can keep the people around healthy. It is also a great way to keep the mental state clear, as the surroundings often reflect the person’s own mindset. These are only a few things that cleaning can offer. Overall, cleaning is a good practice with many benefits.

However, what if we told you that the current state of cleaning is not all it’s cracked up to be? What if we told you that cleaning using the popular tools and agents of the day does more bad than good?

This is an unfortunate truth that not many people are privy to; the truth that the popular cleaning products marketed and sold in all manner of stores cause more harm to people and the environment.

If you are just finding this out and are alarmed, you should be. This is not something that is readily known by people. Even more unfortunate is the fact that people do not know the available solution to this cleaning conundrum.

The solution is known as Green Cleaning.

Green Cleaning: An Important Solution

Go to your bathroom, your closet, or wherever you keep your cleaning products. Take a look at them and what do you see? You see the vibrant branding, along with messages telling you how fast the cleaning process is. It may even have some bonus words like “environmentally friendly.”

The one thing that people often overlook from these products is the ingredients included. The manufacturers may or may not print all the ingredients used. However, even if they do, you’ll need to be quite knowledgeable in chemistry in order to make sense of them.

The fact is that many of the ingredients in these popular cleaning products are toxic and can do harm to the environment and to the people around.

The solution here is to turn to Green Cleaning.

Green cleaning is the practice of using cleaning products that are totally safe for the environment and to the people around you. Turning to green cleaning is very important as it is the truest form of cleaning that not only leaves your area devoid of dirt, but also keeps people healthy.

Common cleaning products have chemicals that negatively impact the health of people. According to a study by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), these chemicals contribute to things like asthma, cancer, and even defects for a newborn.

Furthermore, for businesses that are conscious of their ecological footprint, green cleaning products do not emit any pollutants into the environment. Thus, the ecological footprint of a business is increased and sustained.

A business that has a high ecological footprint – buffeted by green cleaning products – allows for a healthier and more productive work area. This also extends to the customers who come into your workspace.

With green cleaning as beneficial as it is, it may still be worthwhile to look at the pros and cons of using these superior products.

Pros and Cons of Green Cleaning

Pros

• The Ingredients you Know

Green cleaning products are more open in listing the ingredients that are used. Common household cleaning products have ingredients that may require a certain understanding of chemistry to make sense. This is not the case with green cleaning products.

This allows for regular people like you and me to understand what we are buying, and feel safe in knowing that the choice we are making is the right one.

Furthermore, the natural ingredients used in these green cleaning products can significantly reduce the amount of eye and skin irritation, as well as allergic reactions.

The reduced use of chemicals in your cleaning products also means that these chemicals will not pass through the lungs and into the bloodstream. This can keep a person’s respiratory and nervous system healthier.

• Spend Less

People may think that buying green cleaning products is more expensive. This may have to do with how healthier foods are more expensive. For cleaning products though, the opposite is true.

The cost of natural ingredients is significantly less than the chemicals used in common cleaning products. Apart from that, people can easily mix together their own green cleaning products. Here are some examples of green cleaning products you can make yourself.

For an all-purpose cleaning solution that can be used even for hard surfaces, mix water and vinegar together in a spray bottle. Make sure that both quantities of ingredients are equal and there you have it, a simple and cost-effective cleaning product you can make yourself.

For laundry detergent, you can combine half a cup of washing soda, a cup of soap flakes, and finally, half a cup of baking soda.

There are many other do-it-yourself green cleaning recipes that can significantly cut down on costs.

• A Cleaner Environment

We have reiterated this point many times; using green cleaning products is better for the environment. With green cleaning products, it isn’t only the atmosphere that benefits, it is also the rivers, lakes, and oceans.

Investing in green cleaning products is also a step against climate change and a step towards repairing our ozone layer.

Cons

• Mindful Selection of Ingredients

As stated previously, green cleaning products have ingredients that are common and can be understood by the majority of the people. While it was stated that these ingredients contribute to a decreased risk of skin and eye irritation, this isn’t a guarantee.

Each person is different when it comes to how they react to certain ingredients. There is still a need to be mindful of each of the ingredients in green cleaning products, making sure that each person in the household or business is not allergic to any of them.

• More Time and Effort

Due to the fact that chemicals aren’t being used in green cleaning products, this also means that they aren’t as strong as regular cleaning products.

This means that people may need to put more time and effort into cleaning when using these green cleaning products. Depending on the rate of cleaning, it may take away more time, thus increasing the cost and effectiveness of using these products.

The loss of chemicals also means that people may not feel as clean as they would perceive. This is because common cleaning products contain chemicals that have a strong scent. People may look for this scent as a signal to indicate cleanliness.

• Careful Creation

One way to save on costs is to create your own green cleaning products with a variety of ingredients. We discussed several recipes above that are for general cleaning and even a detergent.

It must be noted though that the process for making these green cleaning recipes must be followed very closely. If not, people run the risk of creating something that is damaging and toxic.

Go Green with Green Cleaning

Every coin has two sides, and even something as beneficial as green cleaning has cons associated with. However, the overall positive effects of utilizing green cleaning products far outweigh the disadvantages.

It just takes a little more due diligence in ensuring that these cons do not negatively impact the environment further, or more importantly, the lives of the people nearby.

With a little bit of caution and some determination, enough people using green cleaning products can slowly turn others to do the same. Together, we can do right by our environment and the health of our family and friends.