Posted on May 18th,
2010
by Berit Griffin
As you walk down the aisle of the store looking for something that will safely and effectively clean your house, you will soon realize you have a lot of options. What’s green and what’s not?
If you want to be absolutely sure what’s in your cleaning products, you can always make your own (check out our guide).
But if you want to go the quick route and buy something, Re-Nest offers a guide to how you can make good decisions on green cleaning products. Here are some high points:
- If it says poison or danger, take the label at its word: it’s poisonous and/or dangerous.
- Look at the ingredients. Avoid those that contain “chlor” (chlorinated chemical), “ene” or “ol” (indicates the presence of petroleum or coal-tar based ingredients).
- If it will irritate skin, there are most likely caustic chemicals in the mix.
- “Readily biodegradable” is a good phrase–it indicates that the ingredients will break down faster than simply biodegradable.
We would also say to simply ask yourself–do you really understand what is in the cleaning solution? If not, maybe keep looking until you know exactly what you will be spraying on your countertops or squirting in your tub. Check out the rest of Re-Nest’s post here.
Image courtesy of itto.be on Flickr.
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