When you think of clean, it brings to mind fresh, pristine, sparkling, great smelling and germ free. Depending on the products you use for cleaning, you could actually be polluting your own home or business with harmful chemicals that are in your cleaning products. Many cleaners contain dozens of harmful chemicals, read the label and you will be very surprised about what is actually inside that can or bottle. The list of chemicals that are harmful to you, to your children and to the environment is very long and reading all the labels in the store can take more time than you have for your shopping. So, what do you do if you want to Clean Green and are not sure how? Here are some guidelines to help you make good choices and learn to clean green.
What to look for
Terms such as green or non-toxic are used many times to boost sales. Some of the claims are true and sometimes they are not. How do you know?
One tip is to look for products that are rated “green” by independent, third party organizations that are designed to evaluate cleaning products.
If the product has a Materials Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) look for ratings of 0 or 1, which means that hazard risk is insignificant or slight.
Look for product label words such as Caution, Warning, Danger and Poison. These are signals that this product is not “Green”. If these words appear, look closer the cleaner likely has toxic chemicals.
What to avoid
Stay away from:
- Acid or base PH,
- Carcinogens,
- Cleaners in spray cans,
- Degreasers,
- Flammable substances (a signal that it has petrochemicals),
- Fragrances and dyes,
- Health hazard warnings.
- Reactive chemicals (warnings not use with certain other chemicals),
- Solvents,
- VOCs,
- Warning labels about eye and skin irritation,
If you must use a disinfectant, use it sparingly and make sure it is in a container that does not expose you to the chemical.
How to dispose of dangerous chemicals properly
Cities offer hazardous waste clean-up campaigns. Use this opportunity to get rid of these chemicals, spot removers, paint solvents, paint thinners, metal and furniture cleaners, drain cleaners and degreasers. Do NOT dump these chemicals down the drain; they end up in the sewage system where they pollute the environment and sanitary workers. Do not throw them in the trash, they get into landfills and can cause severe pollution there as well.
If you want great green cleaning services for your home or business from a trusted company that knows all about cleaning green call BG Cleaning. They use environmentally safe products and have a great deal of experience protecting the environment and at the same time delivering sparkling clean results.
For more information on green cleaning, check out BG’s Green Cleaning Website.