Are Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products Better?

Are eco-friendly cleaners better than standard cleaners? This topic is increasing in popularity as more people look to live greener lifestyles. There are so many varying products on offer from eco friendly to vegan, to all-natural cleaning products, for everything from household cleaning to laundry detergent. Are they better than their mainstream counterparts? Or are they just another fad that will soon fade away. I’ll take some time to go over the pros and cons of natural cleaning products so that you can make your own decision.

What is 'green' cleaning?

Over the past several years, the concept of 'green' cleaning has taken the market by storm. While green cleaning is not a new thing, gaining popularity in recent years have led to questions about what exactly it is. Green cleaning refers to the use of less toxic and environmentally-friendly solutions in order to conduct standard cleaning procedures like dusting and vacuuming.

The benefits of using all-natural cleaners

We live in a world that has been filled with toxins and chemicals for decades. We eat food laced with chemicals, are exposed to harmful toxins at home and at work, and the list goes on. These toxins not only affect our health but lower the quality of our life as well. This is why I have always been a firm believer of using all-natural cleaners around the house. All-natural cleaners are the future! They’re better for the environment and your health, so what are some specific benefits?

Allergen-Free: Eco-friendly cleaning supplies are hypo-allergenic, free of dyes and artificial fragrances, making them safe for allergy sufferers.
Respiratory Benefits: For people who have allergies or asthma, cleaning chemicals can aggravate their respiratory issues.
Ingredients that you actually know: You can read the labels yourself and understand what you are bringing into your home and spraying in your air. You can even read the ingredients to replicate your own DIY cleaning.
Environmentally Friendly: Whenever you wash your dishes with harmful products or even clean your shower, you drain the chemicals into the environment and into our water streams.
Skin Friendly: If you prefer to avoid gloves, you can choose green products instead so that there are no harmful chemicals burning or irritating your skin.

Does green cleaning really work?

We all believe that it does. The big, bad, chemical-laden mainstream cleaning products like Clorox and Pine-Sol have dominated the market for way too long. We're all familiar with their harsh smell and burn to our eyes. While green cleaning may not produce the same effect - leaving you to question their ability - they can disinfect the exact same percentage of germs in compression to mainstream household cleaning products. If you find that one product isn't working for you - you can try to make your own variation at home and see if that changes your results! There are so many amazing resources, guides, and recipes online that you will surely be able to obtain any result you're looking for.

What are the best eco-friendly cleaning products in Australia?

There are so many amazing products in Australia. Some of my favourites are:

Doterra Essential Oils: Some oils can be utilized for sanitation, and some for a beautiful sent in your clean home. Keep reading to find out my top.
Enjo: Enjo is a supplier that creates fibre clothes that simply need the addition of water to become a magical cleaning tool.
Naturally better oxygen bleach: This product comes in a biodegradable container and will disinfect all the bacteria in your home - residue-free!

Eco-friendly cleaning products with no plastic

Plastic is widely used in our daily life. From a hard drive to iPhone cases, including plastic wrap and plastic bags. It seems impossible to our lives without this material but at the same time, we ignore all the bad things it does. But in order to save the earth from it, we should be making conscious choices where we can avoid it. Most natural cleaning products come in biodegradable or recyclable packaging.

How to make your own eco-friendly cleaning products?

What are of your house are you looking to clean and what result are you after? Before looking up some recipes, decide your desired outcome, as this will help you find the perfect ingredient list for your specific task. You can start with something as simple as hot water and vinegar as an all-purpose cleaner throughout your house, then expand your creation from there.

Our top 5 essential oils for green cleaning

Essential oils make cleaning simpler and safer. If you want to keep your house odour-free, and green, try these oils:

Lemon
Lavender
Sweet orange
Tea tree oil
Peppermint

For a further explanation as to why these are my favourite for cleaning your house, read more from my previous blog HERE.