Eagle Valley Alliance for Sustainability

One of our green business partners, Organic Housekeepers, let us in on some green cleaning tips, and recipes. Green cleaning is simply cleaning without the use of synthetic and petroleum-based chemicals.

Why should you care?

Here are Organic Housekeepers' top 5 reasons to clean green:

1. Improves indoor air quality. The Environmental Protection Agency states that the air inside our home is typically two to five times more polluted than the air outside. Cleaning agents are one of the biggest contributors to indoor air pollution. Using green cleaning products is one of the easiest ways to improve indoor air quality.

2. Carcinogen free. Many popular, conventional cleaning products — like all-purpose cleaners, dishwashing liquids and furniture polish — contain known and suspected cancer causers. All of our products are free of Volatile Organic Compounds and suspected carcinogens. Green cleaning helps to reduce the deadly chemical cocktail building up in our bodies.

3. Water safe, fish approved. Toxic chemicals that are flushed down the drain eventually end up in our streams, rivers and oceans, polluting our drinking water and choking the wildlife. You may not want to, but you could drink the products Organic Housekeepers chooses to clean with.

4. Healthier for our employees. Cleaners who are exposed to harsh chemicals end up having big health problems, including neurological and respiratory issues.

5. Disinfects without causing the super-bug. Vegetable-based soap and vinegar kill germs just as effectively as harsh toxins. But soap and vinegar disinfect without breeding the super-bug.

What to Use On...

• Windows - Equal parts vinegar and water
• Showers - Equal parts vinegar, baking soda and lemon – or BonAmi scrubbing powder
• Toilets - ¼ cup pumice and enough vegetable oil-based liquid soap to make a paste
• Dishes - Vegetable-oil-based liquid soap, like Seventh Generation's citrus soap
• Wood Floors - Vinegar, water and a touch of orange oil
• Stainless Steel - Lemon oil or Simple Green Stainless Steel Cleaner
• Laundry - Eco-products (in Boulder) citrus laundry detergent, Dr. Bronner's Sal suds

Top 5 ways to clean with vinegar

Vinegar is probably one of the oldest cleaners, and it's Organic Housekeepers favorite all natural cleaning product. We use it to dust, wipe glass and to polish fixtures. Here are 5 other ways to clean with vinegar.

1. Laundry booster. Add ¼ cup vinegar to a load of laundry, along with your regular detergent, to brighten whites and colors. Vinegar also acts as a fabric softener and inhibits mold and fungus growth. It kills athlete's foot germs on socks, too.

2. Brass buster. Combine equal parts lemon juice and vinegar to create a brass and copper cleaner. Wipe it on with a rag and then polish with a soft dry cloth.

3. Drain maintenance. Keep drains clean by pouring in ½ cup baking soda, followed by ½ cup vinegar. In about 10 minutes, run hot water down the drain. Keep drains odor-free by pouring ½ cup vinegar down them once a week.

4. Glue be gone. Any old glue, from something light like leftover price tags to the super-duper hold-it-all glues, can be scraped away easily if first soaked in vinegar.

5. Wave odors bye-bye. Clean and freshen the microwave by boiling water and vinegar in it. Mix ¼ cup vinegar and 1 cup water in small bowl and then heat it in the microwave for 5 minutes. This will remove lingering odors and soften baked on food spatters.

Green Cleaning Recipes and Ingredients

Natural Cleaning Ingredients
Good & Bad Ingredients
All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe
Citrus Cleaner Recipe
Soft Scrub Cleanser Recipe