It’s unavoidable; we all have to spend time cleaning and maintaining our home. But do you ever question what the products we use for laundry, washing up, cleaning floors and bathrooms actually contain? Have you ever considered why new carpets and recently painted homes emit strong smells that seem to linger for days or weeks on end?
The answer in many instances is toxins. As explained in our Air Quality and Ventilation guide, toxins can be inhaled or absorbed through our skin. This may adversely affect our health, particularly for anyone with sensitive skin or an underdeveloped or weakened respiratory system.
The production of these products can also be harmful to the environment, and as such we should make an effort to consider alternatives that are kinder to the environment and better for us. A win-win situation.
So now we are resolved to consider the alternatives, we need to work out where to start. Perhaps the best way is to begin with general cleaning, then move on to cover a bit of DIY, and last of all, discuss how some of our larger appliances can be used more efficiently.
♦ Household Cleaning
Traditional Cleaning:
How many of you are familiar with traditional cleaning products such as soda crystals, soap flakes, and white vinegar? They won’t have the nice scent (often toxic) associated with the popular cleaning product brands, but they can clean just as well and have the benefit of minimal impact on the environment. As a bonus, our health may also improve.
A company called Dri-Pak offers a good range of these traditional cleaning products and their website offers excellent tips on how to carry out a variety of cleaning tasks, plus it lists several retailers that stock their products. We think the Dri-Pak list of suggested uses for their products is worth a look.
Probiotic cleaning:
We also came across Microbz, a small company (one of a number) that reckons cleaning your home with probiotics is the way to go. One of the benefits is that the microbes continue to work after their use in the initial clean. Microbz also supplies refill sachets, which help cut down on packaging.
If you are a bit sceptical of the benefits of using probiotics for cleaning, the NCBI (U.S National center for Biotechnology) research article is worth a read.
And for probiotic verified protection against COVID-19, the evogen range of products is worth a look.
DIY cleaners:
Making own your cleaning products is an option for anyone with time on their hands. That way you will know exactly what is in the cleaning products you have made. A recommended book to read is Fresh Clean Home by Edinburgh graduate Wendy Graham, owner of the Moral Fibres eco blog site.
Microfibre cleaning with just water:
If you are worried about even using naturally made cleaning products, then you might be interested in a company called e-cloth.
Their claim is that by just using water and one of their products appropriate to the task in hand, you will be able clean virtually everything with the benefit that over 99% of bacteria is removed.
Note: That there are many other companies producing similar cloths and it’s worth doing a bit of online research to check out claims and prices. As many of you are aware, microfibre has its own problems with the environment. However, over their lifetime, we believe the benefits should outweigh the drawbacks.
Plant based cleaning alternatives:
Due to the fact that we are continually being bombarded with adverts, we will still be tempted by the security of familiar brands of washing up and laundry liquids, kitchen and bathroom sprays and the many other cleaning products we see on supermarket shelves.
Nonetheless, tucked away somewhere on these same shelves, you are likely to find at least some products that are more environmental friendly. Plant based products are usually the better option compared to their synthetic or petrochemical equivalent.
Springing up in many areas are several smaller shops that specialise in eco-friendly products and usually include some shelf space for cleaning products. It’s worth doing a search in your area.
If the eco-friendly cleaning product range in your local shop or supermarket is too small for you to consider a purchase, then it is worth checking out the many online ‘green’ shops.
They are likely to offer a larger range of products. Additionally, some online shops supply guides to help you understand the meaning of the labels you see on each product. For example, the explanation for the ‘Allergy UK Certified’ seal of approval label is that the product has been fully tested and safe to use for those with allergies and other intolerances.
Explanations of these labels and many more, can be found in the ‘ethicalsuperstore’ “good-guides”.
Note: Although the “good-guides” state what each label means, it’s worth knowing that some labels are one’s designated by the store itself and won’t necessarily be shown on the product you wish to purchase.
The Big Green supermarket allows you to click on the label for an explanation and also lets you browse products based on the ethics you choose.
Using the information above and by carrying out your own research, you should easily be able to complete most cleaning tasks in an eco-friendly manner.
Disposable Cleaning Products:
Before moving onto our next section, we should take a quick look at single use disposable products. On the face of it, they appear to be a great help in our busy lives, but their use is not very environmentally friendly and we should consider our first choice to be an eco-friendly washable alternative.
Even when a product is claimed to be biodegradable, it may take one year, or hundreds of years before it breaks down into something that is not harmful to the planet. In the meantime, toxins may be released and there are a multitude of ways that damage is caused to nature and the environment. Fatbergs is one example, whilst plastic being eaten by birds and animals is another.
Products within the single use disposable cleaning category include wipes, dusters, paper handkerchiefs and kitchen towels. If a single use item is required, then try to look for a compostable product that can be added to a traditional home compost heap.
♦ Common Household Maintenance Tasks
The first thing to say is that the subject matter is too broad to fully cover in this section. We can however recommend a very good website that offers instructions on how to carry out virtually any home or garden maintenance and repair job you are ever likely to come across.
The products recommended on the website may not be the most eco-friendly, but there’s nothing to stop you from buying the ‘green’ equivalent if available.
The website is titled DIY DOCTOR and their ‘Essential Maintenance and Repairs for your Home’ section is your entry point for these how-to guides.
One common task that we would now like to cover is painting and decorating; primarily because paint contains VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) that are released at room temperature into your home. This is of no benefit to anyone and their toxicity can contribute to health problems for anyone with a weakened respiratory system. Young and older people with an undeveloped or deteriorating immune system can also be affected.
By law there is a limit to how much VOCs paint can contain per litre, and from a health point of view, it better to use those with very low VOCs. There are even paints that can act as air purifiers to help clean the surrounding air. Be aware though, that costs per litre are substantially more than standard paint.
The low VOC and air purifying paint guide produced by CELTIC Sustainables (a shop located in Cardigan, Wales), is our recommended read.
Before we start any painting work, it is likely that there will be several holes or cracks in the plasterwork that require filling. It makes sense therefore to use an eco-friendly plaster and ‘breathaplaster’ seems to come as a highly recommended alternative to other high performance plasters.
There are many other ‘green’ products that you may wish to use to maintain your home. Some of these products can be found in small independent stores. Alternatively Ecomerchant and the Green Building Store have an online presence and are likely to offer a wider range of sustainable products.
Now that we’ve gone over the basics of home cleaning and maintenance, it’s time to take a look at a selection of common cleaning tasks and larger appliances that you may have in your home:
♦ Dishwashers
If you have the luxury of a dishwasher, our expectation is that it is reliable, whilst being energy efficient (A rating) with low annual running costs.
However, it is possible to save a bit more money (and energy) by choosing an ‘air dry’ setting, or if this setting isn’t available, open up the dishwasher door a little and allow the residual heat to dry everything. Avoid a ‘heat dry’ setting, as this wastes energy and costs you money. Eco settings also save you money.
Eco friendly dishwasher tablets and powders seem to get good reviews, and a good range is available from the stores given earlier in the section. If you would like to try out a small family run company’s products, then the ‘Peace With The Wild’ online store is worth a look.
But, no matter what type of dishwasher you use, some regular maintenance is recommended to save energy and extend the life of the dishwasher. Articles by ‘Which Magazine’ and ‘Durability Matters’, offer advice and tips to help you achieve cleaner dishes and maintain your dishwasher in a repair free condition.
♦ Washing, drying and green cleaning
How often:
We all have a different opinion as to when an item of clothing should be washed or cleaned. It will partially depend on how long it has been worn during the day, the weather, how active you’ve been and personal choice.
Rather than give advice here, check out the perhaps surprising ‘Real Simple’ guide and see how you compare!
Washing temperatures:
The lower the temperature that you can wash your clothes, the more you will save on energy and money. 30°C is the accepted figure for most clothes and seems to work fine for lightly soiled clothes. The ‘Which Magazine’ washing machine temperature guide offers advice on the best temperature for different clothes types.
Note: The temperature advice given in the above link and in other articles is often disputed, and this may in part be due to the make and model of the washing machine they use.
Using a washing machine:
How you use your washing machine will affect its lifespan and also how well your clothes are cleaned. After reading through numerous articles, it appears that overloading your washing machine and using more than the recommended amount of detergent seems to be a common failure amongst us all. Overuse of hot water cycles, rarely cleaning the filter and not checking that your machine is level, also crops up a lot.
For more detailed advice and tips on looking after washing machine, check out the following articles:
1. How to extend the life of your washing machine – Domestic & General
2. How to keep your washing machine clean – Saga Magazine
Washing powders and detergents:
Another aspect of cleaning clothes is that different washing powders and detergents have different attributes. Some may be formulated for general use, whilst others are better for heavily soiled, sweaty or stained clothing. We tend not to do individual washes and rightly so as it would become energy intensive and also end up costing a lot. It’s no wonder then that some clothes don’t get cleaned properly. Check out some of the reasons and note the useful advice in this ‘NBC news article.
From a health and environmental point of view, we should recognise that most washing powders and detergents contain chemicals of which some can be toxic. After the washing and cycle has been completed, the wastewater containing many of these chemicals should make its way to the water treatment works. However, this doesn’t always happen, and as a consequence plants and other life forms may be harmed by the toxins and microfibres that they come into contact with.
Some toxic residues will remain attached to your washed clothing and also other items such as bedding linen. Over both short and longer periods of time, these toxins will gradually be released back into your living space. This is most noticeable when drying indoors. So that lovely ‘natural’ scent you can smell as you dry or wear recently laundered clothing, is likely to include toxins and can affect those with sensitive skin and weakened respiratory systems.
As we have stated earlier in the guide, there are many eco-friendly products that are better for us and the environment. Even the supermarket chains are likely to offer a small range of these products.
Drying Clothes:
From a health and to an extent, an environmental point of view, our aim should be to dry our clothes outside. Of course, this is dependent on the weather and the property type you live in. The sun kills off bacteria and helps dry your clothes, but as we are only too aware, it doesn’t always shine and there’s no guarantee of a gentle drying wind. For the increasing numbers of us living in flats and some other types of accommodation, outside space is not always available to hang out and dry our clothes.
Drying clothes indoors may be the only option, but unless you have a decent humidity controlled extractor fan or ventilation system, there is the possibility that the additional moisture will lead to excessive humidity, and in the longer term may lead to damp and mould problems.
Some extractor fans and ventilation systems include heat recovery functions that will help dry your clothes a bit quicker.
To dry your clothes in the colder months, consider a heated airer. The popular Lakeland ‘Dry Soon’ range of dryers use between 200 and 300 watts per hour and seem to be highly recommended. Running costs will be low and to aid the drying process there are several accessories available to suit different clothes types. A quick search will bring up similar dryers suited to more modest budgets.
Alternatively a hot air heated dryer is another product to consider. The wattage is higher and therefore so are the running costs. However, the advantage lies in portability and the ability to dry clothes relatively quickly if time is short. Sold by Lakeland and other companies such as JML they are worth a look.
On the occasions where clothes are dried indoors, the drier should be located in a utility room if available, or near an extractor fan, such as in a bathroom. That should help keep moisture away from the main living areas.
We mentioned a little earlier that toxins are found in non eco washing powders and detergents and that some will remain in your clothing even after washing. Are you also aware that even fabrics themselves contain toxins? As clothing and other fabrics dry, toxins are released and as we know, they can affect both your health and the environment. That’s a good reason to consider as carefully as possible, not only your washing powder and detergent purchases but also anything fabric based.
For families and anyone with little space, a washer dryer or tumble dryer is often considered a must have. Be mindful however, that they can damage fabrics, be expensive to run, and long term reliability can be an issue. The energy labels displayed on the appliance provide energy efficiency information, but not the reliability.
There are however a number of steps that can be taken to help protect your washer dryer or tumble dryer from unwanted and expensive repairs:
1. Tumble Dryer Tips and Maintenance – Which Magazine
2. How to Maintain Your Washer Dryer – Appliance City
Also don’t forget that a launderette can be a good option as there are no upfront costs or longer term maintenance costs to worry about. It’s a good way of reducing your carbon footprint.
Specialist Green Cleaning:
There are some types of clothing, such as suits, dresses and down jackets that are not suitable for a washing machine and are best taken to a specialist cleaner. Unfortunately, the cleaning process can include the use of hazardous chemicals and is therefore environmentally unfriendly.
Nonetheless, you can clean your clothes without creating a toxic waste. If you can find a locally based green dry cleaner, then that’s great. Alternatively, check out the ‘GreenEarth® Dry Cleaning’ service offered by national brand Johnson the Cleaners. It’s advertised as being 100% and non-toxic to the environment.
♦ Ovens
Like any other large appliance, it helps to understand the features of your oven. However, unlike a washing machine or dishwasher there isn’t much in the way of eco settings.
Double ovens often include a large oven, and also a small oven which is useful when there isn’t much to cook. Other features include settings that enable heat to be directed more towards one area or shelf and in theory should save energy if your food is cooked quicker.
One feature that seems to come with most ovens is self-cleaning. That sounds great, but aside from the fact that using this feature increases your energy use, there is an increased possibility that you will damage your oven.
For the pros and cons of using the self-cleaning ovens feature of your oven, you may be interested in checking out an article produced by ‘FIX Appliances’ an American company which as the name suggests, are in the business of repairing appliances.
Okay, you’ve decided that you’ll clean your oven the traditional way, using eco-friendly ingredients as mentioned earlier in the guide. As you’ve noticed, we’ve been giving links to products that may be suitable for various tasks, and this time the recommendation is to take a look at Sea-Chem, a manufacturer and retailer selling a seaweed based cleaner! The company also sells other innovative products that you may find useful.
A little tip: Switch off your oven 5 or more minutes before your food is ready. For example, if the recipe says it takes 30 minutes to cook your food, switch off your oven at say 25 minutes. Depending on the efficiency of your oven, the residual heat should finish off cooking the food over the remaining time. This will not only save energy but also save you money. Your oven should last a little longer too!
♦ Fridge Freezers
To extend the life of your fridge freezer, it pays to know that the compressor (motor) is the most important component. You want the compressor to work as little as possible. That way less energy is used and breakdowns should be rare. An energy efficient (A) reliable fridge freezer will bring about further savings.
When researching how to maintain your fridge freezer in tip top condition, we found the following recommendations:
● The fridge freezer should be located out of direct sunlight and as far as away from the oven as possible. Also ensure that there is a gap of about 5cm from the wall and if space allows, there should also be a small gap between the fridge freezer and any kitchen units that it stands beside.
● Maintaining a fridge temperature of 5° C is best, but if you feel that the thermostat is not accurate, try 1 or 2 degrees lower. The freezer should be set at -18° C.
● If there is no frost free or auto defrost feature, then defrost at the first signs of any frost or ice build-up.
● Both under filling and overfilling a fridge is not advised. Filling it about three quarters of the way is best.
● The coils attached to the back of the fridge freezer should be vacuumed every so often, as should the top.
An article by ‘Toronto Appliance Repairs’, expands on the above recommendations and is worth a read.
♦ Vacuum Cleaners
Assuming that you have a decent vacuum cleaner with a HEPA or equivalent filter, it is recommended that using it once a week will ensure that your home remains in a nice and clean condition.
However, for many reasons it may not be possible to maintain a regular cleaning routine and so it is important to know the consequences of irregular vacuum cleaning.
A build-up of dust is the big issue in any home. Dust is composed of bacteria, dead skin, outside dirt, dust mites, fungi, hair, moulds, pollen, pollutants, viruses and more. It settles everywhere and can be harmful to your health.
Regular vacuum cleaning will reduce the dust and its harmful effects, but you will probably need to take additional measures to completely get rid of moulds and fungi spores that have spread to unnoticed damp areas of your home.
In such instances, some kind of decent ventilation system is advised, as mould and fungi can not only affect your health but also eventually destroy the fabric of your home.
If vacuum cleaning is the kind of task that you would rather put off for another day, then the ‘nasty things’ blog by ‘Spotless Vacuum’ may motivate you to change your mind!
Anything Else
Although we’ve tried to cover a broad range of subjects within this section, we realize that there are lots of gaps. However it is important to keep on top of the cleaning and any maintenance tasks that crop up. Doing nothing may prove costly to not only the condition of your home but also your personal health.
If a task is outside of your expertise or you have difficulties for any other reason, then help may be available through various schemes or organisations. Also check out our ‘Finding good Tradespeople and Searching for Grants’ section.
