After the Swiffer Mop and Before the Vinegar

After the vinegar!

So I’m cleaning my apartment for the in-laws’ holiday visit and my kitchen’s tile grout looks filthy.  I use my Swiffer mop and then scrub with Clorox (the new Green Works version available in stores) to no avail.  In desperation, I seek google’s sound advice.  The solution (literally)?  One part vinegar one part water or a little baking soda paste.  It sounds homey and environmentally friendly and inexpensive, but does it really work?  Just look at the before and after pictures above!

When picking out cleaning products I try to moderate between price and environmental efficacy, so I have an assortment of ‘green’ cleaning products in my apartment.  Some work, some don’t.  But what seems to be most puzzling as peruse my way through all of the cleaning products I own is why have cleaning products in the first place?  Nearly everything I clean, as I think about it, could be easily cleaned with three fully biodegradable, non-toxic household items: lemon juice, vinegar, and baking soda.  The Do-it-yourself website, has a new Going Green topic on its side menu, has a great article called How to Clean Green which lists several recipes for green cleaners. Here are two easy and useful examples:

Carpet Spot Remover
•Cornstarch or baking soda
•Club soda
Blot the spot and apply baking soda or cornstarch immediately. When dry, blot with club soda and vacuum.

Glass Cleaner
•1 cup rubbing alcohol (optional)
•1 cup water
•1 tablespoon vinegar
Combine in a spray bottle and wipe clean with a newspaper. Alcohol hastens evaporation to prevent streaking.

And now, what about everything else.  Hand, dish and laundry soap, for example, isn’t as easy to make from scratch.  I personally suggest buying these products, unless you’re exceptionally handy, crafty an organized. Here are a few of my personal favorites and professional suggestions:

•Method brand soaps, as cliche as they sound, are easy to buy anywhere, use biodegradable ingredients, do not test on animals, use recycled and recyclable packaging materials and make use of government issued carbon-credits for their employee’s transportation and manufacturing process.  Plus, they’re smell great and come in cool-looking bottles!
•I use Green Works dishwashing liquid (water lily scent). It carries the Design for the Environment (DfE) certification, meaning the EPA screens all the ingredients put into the product and markets with the Sierra Club to endorse the ideas of preserving and protecting the planet. You want to hear the kicker? Green Works was created by Clorox! Proof that you don’t have to be anti-institution in order to be an environmentalist.
•For my wood flooring, I use Murphy’s soap; its biodegradable, kosher, cheap, and the bottles are recyclable.

•And finally, I suggested ECOS All Natural Laundry Detergent.  Its HE compatible, smells great, has a soy-based built-in fabric softener, and is grey-water safe (meaning you could use the left over water for your vegetable garden).  All this and it was on sale at Kroger’s!

As for my kitchen cleaning, my in-laws arrive tomorrow and I’m feeling pleased with my greening and cleaning! Word to the wise, you may want to use these cleaning solutions barefoot – its more comfortable and the grime from your shoes won’t be washed onto your newly cleaned tile!  Happy green cleaning!

The point is, healthy habits keep you well. That according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I’m sure you’ve heard of them. (smile)

My four year old goes to an accredited preschool where each child washes his/her hands upon entering the building. It has become a routine for everybody and, like the water cooler at work, the kids and parents gather around the sink to gab about the latest happenings– as if we hadn’t just seen each other yesterday!

An Philadelphia-based NBC affiliate reported on an elementary school where a health promotion agency and community educator, Main Line Health, helped out in a classroom to teach hand-washing skills. The upshot turned out that it isn’t as easy as it first seems, as a special lotion plus ultra-violet light revealed on the hands of the subjects!

Myth busting – According to what l read at Mayo Clinic, Antibacterial soaps – although popular – are no more effective at killing germs than regular soap. It is the lathering, scrubbing (to the tune of Happy Birthday, or Row Your Boat), rinsing, drying, and USING A TOWEL TO TURN OFF THE FAUCET procedure that leaves your hands clean. Sorry about the capital letters but l got a little excited there.

Using antibacterial soaps may lead to the development of bacteria that are resistant to the products’ antimicrobial agents — making it even harder to kill these germs in the future.

Bianca Dixon, age 11, of Plano (Texas) unfortunately faced MRSA – methicillin-resistant Staphylococus aureus. According to the article,
the symptoms were severe, painful and it was touch-and-go for a time for the young girl.

Personally, l believe in germs, but l don’t believe in germ theory. That means l definitely want a sterile field if l ever have surgery. But l am willing to bet on host resistance factors as well as feeling comfortable not bleaching my whole house.