Eco Child’s Play

Are you using the greenest products to clean your home?

“It is often difficult to know which cleaning product is “greenest” but there are a few key words and phrases to look for which will help you identify those products with reduced adverse environmental and health effects, “says Lindsay Luhnau, environmental educator. 

She’s authored the Green Cleaning Guide For Businesses and Individuals, one in the Clean Calgary Association GUIDE Series.

What should you look for in a green cleaning product? Luhnau recommends looking for the following words and phrases on green cleaning products:

• » See also: The Joy of Green Cleaning by Leslie Reichert
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• Phosphate free

• Nitrogen free

• Biodegradable

• Non-toxic

• Minimizes exposure to concentrates

• Reduced bioconcentration/bioaccumulation factor

• Reduced or no added dyes, except when added for safety purposes

• Designed for use in cold water in order to conserve energy

• Reduced or no skin irritants

• Use of renewable resources, such as biobased solvents from citrus, seed, vegetable, and pine oils

• Reduced or no volatile organic compounds (VOCs)

Luhnau points out  that “not all green cleaning products will have all of these attributes but if they list at least one, you are on the right track.”

For example,  phosphate free detergents may also be biodegradable.   She says other examples are an all-purpose cleaner will be toxin free and furniture polish should contain no VOCs or fragrance additives.

Download a free copy of the Green Cleaning Guide here.

Image courtesy of www.freephoto1.com

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