By Adrienne Fleming
Spring feels sweeter than ever, and on the heels of that first warm day comes the yearly call of spring cleaning season. It’s time to clear the dust and breathe new life into overworked homes that have proven versatile and multipurpose throughout the pandemic.
Effective sanitation and keeping our families healthy remain top of mind, but before reaching for the bleach, ponder these planet-friendly options that take environmental impact into consideration as well.
Ever since local home cleaning, organizing and styling company Third & Lennox launched in 2017, offering clients eco-friendly options has been a priority. “It’s something that is very important to our clients,” said founder and co-owner Patty MacKinney. “However, when COVID started, clients requested that we use bleach and Lysol. It was a very big shift, but now things are normalizing again and we are finding a happy medium.”
Though nothing is as effective at killing bacteria as bleach, a vinegar-based solution is a perfectly potent and safe way to disinfect surfaces, especially those that regularly come in contact with the food we eat. For kitchen countertops, MacKinney suggests first wiping them down with soap and water (her favorite all-natural soap is from Barr & Company) before spraying with a vinegar-based solution.
MacKinney’s favorite all-purpose cleaning spray is by Aunt Fannie’s, a clean brand that utilizes plant-based ingredients, probiotics and essential oils such as eucalyptus to achieve sparkling results. “The products are vinegar-based and contain just enough essential oils so your house doesn’t smell like vinegar,” said MacKinney. This spring, Third & Lennox will open its first retail location in Fair Haven where they will carry Aunt Fannie’s, among other clean housekeeping lines.
When shopping for green products, looking for ecolabels is a good place to start. However, avoid vague “greenwashed” terms such as “environmentally friendly” or “eco safe.” To isolate the facts from the marketing, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) manages the Safer Choice Program, which certifies products with safer ingredients that have met rigorous standards. The EPA also bestows the Design for the Environment (DfE) label on antimicrobial products such as disinfectants and sanitizers that meet the same stringent requirements.
An important component of cleaning green is minimizing waste. Former owner of Red Bank’s Currant General Store, Dani Glazman, strives to live a life with less waste by a commitment to reusable products. One of her favorite eco-friendly cleaning products is Three Bluebirds Swedish dishcloths, a more hygienic and sturdier substitute for paper towels. Each textured dishcloth can be used 200 times and replaces 17 rolls of paper towels. The product is composed 70 percent of sustainably forested wood pulp and 30 percent of organic cotton. The cloths are free from harmful chemicals, 100 percent natural, biodegradable, screen printed with water-based inks, and can be sanitized right in the dishwasher.
“My best advice is to use what you already have before going out and doing a green swap for a more eco option,” advised Glazman. “Don’t go out and replace everything until you run out of what you have, otherwise it’s wasteful.” Glazman also suggested repurposing things already found around the home – such as old towels, T-shirts and toothbrushes – as rags and scrubbing tools.
Nonprofit group Clean Ocean Action reminds us that although people and their everyday habits are often the source of pollution, we can easily become the solution. For decades, COA has educated the population on how to make more environmentally conscious choices. They warn that chemicals and toxic ingredients used to clean sinks, toilets, showers and bathtubs can cause corrosion in pipes, and then travel to treatment plants. The plants then need to remove or treat the water to make it “clean” enough for ocean disposal.
To avoid sending chemical cleansers down the drain, try making your own natural solution at home. For general cleaning add 1⁄2-cup of washing soda (sodium carbonate) to one bucket of warm water. For tough stains, scrub with baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) or rub with half a lemon. Sodium percarbonate dissolved in boiling water is also a great substitute for bleach on fabrics and is color-safe (check a corner before submerging the entire garment). Many books are available about green cleaning that give “recipes” for eco-friendly mixtures to clean almost anything in your house.
Reuse old spray bottles to store the homemade product. In lieu of harsh dishwashing soap, use vegetable-based products such as Seventh Generation and avoid products that contain chemical disinfectants such as antibacterial triclosan or triclocarban, which can contaminate local waterways.
By making small changes, we can collectively make an environmental impact while minimizing exposure to toxic ingredients at home. To learn how to identify greener cleaning products, effectively read ecolabels, and understand the benefits of sustainable purchasing, visit epa.gov/greenerproducts and use the online search tools.
The article originally appeared in the March 18 – 24, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
