Green Cleaning Tips: Green Cleaning in a Nutshell

In our war on dirt and germs we may often make things worse. Most of the conventional cleaning products we grew up with are petroleum-based and have dubious health and environmental implications. Instead of opting for cleaning products that annihilate everything in their paths, there are plenty of natural products and methods that keep a house clean and smelling fresh without the toxic side effects.

'Green cleaning' has been coined to describe a trend away from chemically reactive and toxic cleaning products, which contain various toxic chemicals some of which emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) causing respiratory and dermatological problems among other adverse effects. Green cleaning can also describe the way residential and industrial cleaning products are manufactured, packaged and distributed. If the manufacturing process is environmentally friendly and the products are biodegradable, then the term 'green' or eco-friendly may apply.

Standards set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limit human and environmental exposure to toxic chemicals but do not entirely eliminate them in general. Reading the small print on labels is the only way to verify the components of a product but manufacturing, packaging and distribution may all contribute to environmental degradation.

Green cleaning companies are held to higher standards in general than federal or state-mandated 'green cleaning' rules. The purpose of 'going green' is to address human illnesses that arise from exposure, as well as damage to the environment (water, soil, air), from disposal of these products. The role chemical exposure has in creating allergic sensitivities, reducing immunity, and contributing to cancer and other diseases, is a long-respected field of research in medicine. For example, benzene and other solvents has resulted in legislation to limit exposure but has not completely banned these products.

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Last Updated Monday, July 6, 2009 - 10:24 PM EDT.