Green Around The Edges - Charlotte
Issue 5

November 2007
Volume 1, Issue 5

Green Cleaning

Not too long ago, I walked into a store where one of the employees was cleaning a window. I don’t know what glass cleaner she was using – it had the usual glass cleaner type of smell. Immediately, my chest felt a little tighter. Nothing too dramatic, but a definite reaction to the cleaner.

I’ve also realized that I can no longer handle the chemicals released into the air by newly dry cleaned clothes when I first bring them home. I pull off the plastic and hang it outside for a while before bringing it in the house. Adding these together, along with a few other similar instances and I realized it was time for me to start looking at different options for cleaning.

As I started researching, I realized why I hadn’t done this before. Every book and website I visit seems to tell me that it’s so very simple. But just the sheer number of places to get this information is overwhelming. So I decided to start slow, substituting one or two cleaners that are homemade or “natural” at a time, and share my experiences here or on the blog.

Where to Start
I was most sensitive to the counter cleaner I was using, which surprised me because it was a Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day product, which is a company that advertises their environmentally friendly bent. It could just be the scent (lavender) was too much for me. I gave the cleaner to a friend, and started searching for a better alternative. I haven’t found a great one yet. Stay tuned.

Next came glass cleaner. Simple enough, right? Water and white vinegar? I thought so too before deciding to just “check” quickly on the ratio of water to vinegar and whether or not to use newspaper or cloth. Let’s just say, everyone has an opinion. I’ll list the ratio I’m currently trying at the end of this article. It worked fairly well. I’ll let you know as I keep using it. One thing I didn’t have to do, though, was hold my breath while I cleaned the bathroom mirror.

The only other place I’ve really tried to eliminate chemicals so far is in the powerful stuff I used (sparingly) to get rid of mildew in the shower. I tried everything in the past, or so I thought, to get rid of it before turning to the bright yellow bottle from the grocery store (the one with all the warnings on the label about opening windows in my bathroom when I use it – I don’t have any windows in my bathroom). I even contacted the Seventh Generation customer service team for help (they were wonderfully responsive, by the way, but unable to solve my dilemma). I now understand that my entire problem was based on the fact that I was looking for a solution that didn’t involve me getting into the shower with a toothbrush to scrub at the tile and grout. I wanted a “spray and go” option.

After emails, different products and frustration, I think I have the solution. You guessed it - I get in the shower with a toothbrush and scrub at the tile and grout. I added some baking powder to the equation, and it’s working pretty well. The down side: it takes more time. There’s just no way around that. The up side: I can clean without running out of the bathroom to breathe on a regular basis. There isn’t a powerful chemical smell lingering in the air for what seems like hours afterwards. I can clean my shower while my son is in the same room (I refused to before because of the fumes). And the baking soda box doesn’t say things like “Not recommended for use by a person with heart conditions, asthma, or other chronic respiratory problems” or “IF BREATHING IS AFFECTED: Get to fresh air immediately”.

Those are my small forays into the world of non-toxic cleaning supplies. If you’re interested in learning more, as I am, you can use some of the resources that come next. Or, you could just wait until I wade through them over time and learn from my mistakes. That’s what I’d opt for!

Breathe easy. – KP



Cleaning “Recipes”

For mirrors and glass:
In a spray bottle: 1 teaspoon of white vinegar mixed with 1 cup of water.
I’ve seen some resources call for a small amount of natural soap to be added to this mixture for “tougher” jobs, but I haven’t tried it and haven’t needed to.

For mildew in the shower:
Baking soda and a toothbrush. Add just enough water to make a very thick paste and you’re all set.
You probably won’t need much if you’re keeping up with the mildew on a regular basis, so don’t dump the whole box of baking soda into the container at the beginning. You can always add more.

For the toilet:
In the bowl – baking soda
In the bowl and on the rim – Mix 1 tablespoon of tea tree oil with 1 cup of water in a spray bottle. Tea tree oil comes from the leaves of the Australian tea tree and is used as a germicidal and antibacterial agent in many products that you can find in natural food stores.
This one is new for me, and I’ll have to let you know how it goes. I bought the tea tree oil at Earthfare in the vitamin/personal care section. It’s not cheap, but I’m only using a tablespoon. I’ll see how long it lasts. There is a strong scent, almost of spearmint…but not quite. But, it didn’t affect my breathing in any way.

Resources and Digging Deeper

Books/Web sites
Hollendar, Jeffrey. Naturally Clean: The Seventh Generation Guide to Safe & Healthy, Non-Toxic Cleaning. Canada: New Society Publishers, 2005.
“Household Sprays ‘linked to one in seven cases of asthma’.” Smith, Lewis. TimesOnLine. 13 October 2007. The Times of London. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/health/article2648666.ece .
A Better Way To Clean is a blog Dr. Larry Weiss, CTO of Cleanwell.

Product Information
Seventh Generation produces household and personal care products that are easy on the earth and available in a number of stores. Here in Charlotte you can find them at Earth Fare, Talley’s Green Grocery, Home Economist and The Natural Store. For those of you outside Charlotte, their products can be found at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Rainbow Blossom (Middletown), Amazing Grace (Louisville), Mustard Seed Market (Solon), Vitamin Cottage (Englewood and Denver), Sunflower Market (Denver), Rollin’ Oats (St. Petersburg), Village Health Market (Tampa), Mother Earth (Ocala) as well as Albertson’s, King Sooper, Kroger and Publix.
Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day products

Blasts from Blogs Past
September 18, 2007
As we first blogged about back in September, if you haven’t yet had a chance to play Consumer Consequences, produced by American Public Radio, it’s worth your time. The premise of the game is that the Earth couldn’t support 6.6 billion residents if they all lived like typical Americans. Take the quiz and see how many planets it would take to support us all if everyone lived like you do!

About Us:
Green Around The Edges – Charlotte is produced periodically. Co-editors: Kathleen Huddleston and Kimberly Paulk. To contact Kimberly: kpaulk@carolina.rr.com. To contact Kathleen: khuddleston@insightbb.com. If you would prefer to receive a text-only version of Green Around The Edges – Charlotte, let us know.