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It’s time we had a candid chat about healthy and earth-friendly cleaning products.
Green cleaning is a trend on the up in Australia: commercially and in homes. This fills our little hearts with joy.
But with the good, comes a warning.
Some not-so-honest companies are jumping on the movement, flogging gimmicky products that promise to be eco-conscious but don’t quite pass muster.
These products — which we’re not going to name because we’re classy like that — may:
• Just not work
• Not actually be environmentally friendly (aka greenwashing)
• May be unethical in their production
It’s time we cut through the noise, so we’ve developed this little guide to help customers choose chemical-free cleaning products that work.
So, when it comes to making the switch to green cleaning there are two types of earth-friendly cleaning products for the home:
• You can go home-made
• Or pick commercial products from a company like Pleasant State
If you’re looking to create a D.I.Y green cleaning kit these are the ingredients you need, as listed by the New South Wales Government:
• Bicarb soda
• White vinegar
• Borax
• Washing soda
• Lemon juice
• Pure soap
Below are two examples of how these products create earth-friendly cleaning supplies that work.
Drain cleaner:
Combine one cup of baking soda with a kettle full of boiling water and voila; you have an environmentally safe drain cleaner.
Stainless steel cleaner:
By combining the magic of white vinegar with olive oil, you have a stainless-steel cleaner.
Here, you will need to spray a little bit of vinegar on the surface first to rub away dirt and debris. Then you buff a very small (read: miniscule) amount of olive oil in to add shine.
A word to the wise here, if you are going down the D.I.Y route you need to exercise A LOT of caution.
While it’s an inexpensive option, some solutions can actually harm surfaces, so make sure you’ve done ample research.
For example, while vinegar is great on stainless steel and toilets, it can strip surfaces like granite, marble, and stone.
The same goes for D.I.Y cleaning products with essential oils.
Yes, we know they smell great, but in a D.I.Y cleaning kit, we feel it’s better to avoid essential oils altogether. The wrong choice could be toxic for pets. They can also cause skin irritation in both humans and furry friends and can damage some surfaces.
If you’re looking to embrace green cleaning, we suggest checking out our previous blog post here. It’s full of fun hacks and facts.
With that said and done, it’s time to ask what are the best earth-friendly cleaning products if you’re going the commercial route.
Let’s break down what it means to be a truly eco-friendly cleaning company because there are a lot of brands making big, but questionable, claims.
Look for cleaning products that are transparent about their ingredients. "Natural" is a broad and often misleading term so it's best to look for cleaners that use plant-based surfactants.
When it comes to packaging, refillable products and certified home compostable packaging are the most sustainable options. If you have to use plastic, sugar cane plastic bottles are a sustainable option as well.
Sounds simple, but unfortunately the majority of cleaning companies are still selling toxic cleaning products packaged in single-use plastic bottles.
If you roll down the aisles of the major supermarkets, you will see a lot of brands jumping on the environmentally safe bandwagon; because it sells. Words like eco, pure, and natural may feature heavily on their labels, but ingredient lists always tell the real story.
With that said, customers should avoid any company or product that uses:
• Chlorine
• Mineral oil
• Artificial dyes
• Artificial fragrances
• Phosphates
• Triclosan
• Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)
• Polyethylene glycols (PEGs)
We can’t discuss the ins-and-outs of eco-friendly cleaning and just add water cleaning products, without addressing how we approach things.
At Pleasant State, we’re committed to helping the environment. Our products are designed to eliminate plastic waste and are free from chemical nasties.
You can find a full run-down of the ingredients we use here.
What’s more, we only use sustainable packaging. Our cleaning solutions come in home-compostable pouches and our custom glass and silicone bottles are designed to be refilled again and again.
We offer a Homebody Multi-Purpose Home Cleaning Kit to make cleaning as simple as can be. This comes with a universal cleaning solution, a washable Microfibre Towel for wiping surfaces, as well as our iconic Multi-Purpose Glass and Silicone Spray Bottle.
We also have kits for windows and glass surfaces and one for bathrooms and toilets, for those in need of earth-friendly cleaning supplies for the bathroom.
Green cleaning has never been easier to embrace. What’s not to love about that?!
