Why is “Green Cleaning”/“Eco Friendly” Cleaning Important?

Nearly 10% of all US households use a cleaning service and it’s projected that 80% of all dual income homes will pay for external cleaning over the next 4 years. Those numbers are drastically increased for commercial cleaning. 

You might wonder “What does that mean?” or “Why are these numbers important?” Well that’s just the paid cleaning service stats. Everyone is typically cleaning in some form or fashion in their households weekly at least and to anyone not using green/eco-friendly options… that’s where the concerns roll in, not only for the environment, but for the user. 

Traditional cleaners can cause a multitude of problems in some people more than others and some quicker than others. Especially those cleaning professionally or private people cleaning their homes often. Some of these issues include:

• Long-term lung effects

• Progression of COPD (and people in the cleaning industry are 43% more likely to develop COPD)

• Many traditional cleaners contain volatile compounds that release gasses into the air and create these long term effects. 

• Asthma (and people in the cleaning industry are 50% more likely to develop adult asthma)

• Migraines 

• Developing allergic reactions 

• Chemical burns

• Eye damage 

And that’s just a sample list of what they can do to the body. As for the environment? 

• Water pollution 

• Air pollution 

• Soil pollution 

Many cleaning products end up washed into waterways and then some of them will enter into the food chain by watering into crop lands and through the soils. The air pollution still stems at a higher rate from the toxic gasses. Waste is another issue as the plastics they’re put in are non recyclable. 

Now you’re probably like “What is the alternative?”

There are other options out there. First, quickly let’s cover a few terms that float around out there that seem to be used interchangeably, but they’re actually different, so let’s clear that up first. Terms like “non toxic” vs “green-friendly”/“eco-friendly” are often confused. “Non-Toxic” promotes the environment, but mostly focusing on the user themselves. “Green-Friendly” mostly discusses the carbon footprint and environmental sustainability. “Clean” products focusing on what’s NOT in the product. “Eco-Friendly” meaning not harmful to the environment. Wow that was a lot of words back and forth huh? It can get extremely confusing especially in marketing from large corporations. It can become daunting to sift through. 

We will cover these in the coming weeks. Keep them in the back of your mind fresh. 

As for the cleaners you could use in the interim things like plant based soap and water to actually clean the surface. Vinegar, peroxide and tea tree oil aid in cleaning and sanitizing without the toxicity. It’s even BETTER if you can get your soap from places such as eco refill shops. More and more cities and towns are having these businesses open up so be sure to google some locations near you! 

We will go into which natural option goes into which term category in those coming weeks, remember I said keep it fresh!