Green & Clean

Whether you chose linoleum flooring for its no fuss functionality, the soft feel underfoot, its distinctive look, or its green attributes, you definitely want to clean and maintain your floors in an eco-friendly while protecting the indoor air quality in your home.

Real linoleum—as distinct from synthetic versions or vinyl—is made from all-natural materials, including wood flour, rosins, ground limestone, powdered cork, pigments, jute and linseed oil. As such it is one of the greenest flooring options out there today. The GreenFloors.com website reports that old linoleum—including scraps and remnants from the production process—can be recycled to create new sheets of the stuff. And given that it is made from natural materials, linoleum is practically carbon neutral, and the energy created by incinerating it at the end of its useful life is almost equal to the energy needed to create new linoleum.

Given how green linoleum is, cleaning it with harsh synthetic chemicals and maintaining it with polymer-based waxes just wouldn’t be right. Luckily there are alternative ways to help keep your linoleum floor looking good for decades without compromising the environment or shortening your own life span in the process.

When green cleaning linoleum it’s best to sweep, dust-mop or vacuum your linoleum floor frequently in order to cut down on the amount of abrasive dirt around that can build up and compromise the finish. As for actual cleaning, use a damp mop with a mild all natural liquid dish soap and warm water. Adding a half cup or so of vinegar to the rinse water will increase shine if that’s the look you’re going for. The best way to deal with tough stains is not by scouring; instead make a paste of baking powder and gently wipe with a wet rag until the stain fades away.

To get rid of scuff marks, dip a sponge in jojoba oil and rub lightly before wiping up completely. Pencil erasers can also work wonders on linoleum scuff marks.

As for what to avoid, stay away from solvent-based products which can soften and damage linoleum and typical floor cleaning solutions will leave a sticky residue behind.

In terms of wax, there are several greener varieties now available. Livos’ BILO is a paste wax designed for wood, cork, tile and—you guessed it—linoleum. It is derived from beeswax and linseed oil and produces a semi-gloss finish after buffing. Like all Livos products, BILO is made from organic ingredients and is 100 percent biodegradable and safe for humans, animals, air, water and soil.

For those willing to commit to periodic occasional maintenance, linoleum flooring should last decades if not longer. And given its relative low-cost and ease of installation, some consider linoleum the “green flooring for the masses.”

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Rust is one of the toughest household stains to clean. Many of us try to remove rust stains with chlorine bleach, however chlorine bleach actually makes rust stains worse. Of course, if you’re a green cleaner like me you avoid using bleach anyway.   So this is one of those times when being considerate of the environment pays off immediately.

Here is what you need to remove rust stains: Salt and lime juice. Yep, that’s it. Already have them in your house? Great, your rust remover is now free. Just sprinkle some salt on the rusty spot and put some of the juice right on top of the salt…but not so much that the salt floats away. You want the mixture to sit right on the rust. Leave it to sit for a few hours and come back with a scrubber and go to work. It won’t take much effort to remove the rust, I promise.

You might also be interested in our other easy green cleaning tips.

Seventh Generation is taking action with their Million Baby Crawl to ensure that toxic chemicals found in many of our household products are better regulated.

There current Toxic Substances Control Act that should be protecting us from harmful chemicals, is outdated and not effective like it should be.  Since the 1970’s, the EPA has only required safety testing on 200 of the over 80,000 chemicals found in common household products many of us use.

The new Kid Safe Chemical can help strengthen this previous legislation and make sure that all chemicals found within products we use are safe.  This means safe for everybody, including our children and pregnant women.

Dr. Greene, notable pediatrician and author of several popular green health books for children, speaks about legislation and what we can do to keep our families safe:

Who knows the effect that many of these chemicals are doing to our families and in particular our children.  That’s why it’s great that Seventh Generation is taking action to make sure that this bill gets passed to protect our children from all of these chemicals.

So what can you do to make sure this bill gets passed?

You can join Seventh Generation in their Million Baby Crawl to make sure this bill does in fact get passed.  This doesn’t mean you have to march down to Washington DC either.  Their site provides a way you can contact your local representative so that they know the importance of passing this legislation.  There are also events being held in several major cities throughout America to get the word out.

There are also things that you can do to make sure that you are not exposing dangerous chemicals to your family just as Dr. Greene said.  We can begin using safe products in our households including products from Seventh Generation and EcoMist or try making homemade cleaners.  By simply using more natural products, especially cleaning products, we can reduce our families’ exposure harmful chemicals.

Original Content Here

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by Green Life

As a kid you may have thought that bed bugs were merely a funny myth, but bed bugs actually exist.  They happen to be a problem that is continuing to grow, and they are the last thing you want to have in your own bed.

What Exactly are They?

Bed bugs are very tiny insects.  Usually they only get to be a few millimeters long, and the gross part is that they feed on blood, both of animals and humans.  They do live up to their name, living in mattresses, but they also live in other furniture that has cushions.  Bed bugs tend to be more active in the nighttime hours, although they are not only nocturnal.

The Bed Bug Bite

When you get bite by a bed bug, usually the bite is quite itchy.  The itchiness actually lasts even longer than a regular mosquito bite does.  Some people can have allergic reactions to the bite of a bed bug, although it is rare, but it can cause them to get ill and deal with some nausea.  The main problems that comes with these bites is insomnia due to all the itching, and from all the scratching, you can get an infection in the skin.

Why are They Here Today?

It was thought that most countries got rid of bed bugs about fifty years ago, but it seems that the bed bugs are back and they are showing up at a fast rate.  With DDT, most of the bed bugs were wiped out, but studies found that DDT not only killed off the bed bugs, but that it could negative affect humans.  DDT was banned in 1972 within the United States.  Other types of pesticides that used to control bed bug populations are no longer used today, and some are restricted, while others are banned.  This has led to the resurgence of bed bugs.

Green Methods of Getting Rid of Bed Bugs

So, you may be wondering how you can get those bed bugs out of here.  Well, there are green options available that will help you out.  In some cases you may need pesticides to do the trick, but trying the green options first is the best idea, especially if you don’t have too many of the bed bugs.  Here are a few green methods to try:

-Clean Everything:  Imply doing a good clean can be helpful if you want to get rid of the bedbugs.   Clean the bedding by washing it well.  Vacuum the area that is infested too, whether it is a mattress, couch, or carpets.

-Eliminate the Clutter:  If you have clutter in your home, get rid of it.  The more clutter available, the more areas that are available for these critters to hide in.  Get rid of the clutter to help get rid of the bed bugs.

-Try Smothering Them:  Using a mattress bag on your mattress or some bags for your pillows can help you to actually smother away the bed bugs.  Just make sure that you check for holes on a regular basis.

-Steam Cleaning:  You can kill bed bugs with high temperatures.  By steam cleaning your carpets, curtains, furniture, and more, you can kill off these bugs as well as the eggs they lay.

You don’t have to resort to chemicals to get rid of bed bugs.  With these green options, you should be able to finally get rid of the bed bugs that have taken up residence in your home.

Original Content Here

Alka Seltzer is actually pretty green as over the counter drugs go. It is made up of aspirin, citric acid, and baking soda, all of which are eco-friendly.  Around here we rarely take over the counter anything but Alka Seltzer can usually be found in the cupboard anyway. You may not know it but it has a variety of uses that have absolutely nothing to do with hangovers or upset stomachs.

It is almost always available and deserves a permanent place in your green cleaning kit.

5 Uses for Alka Seltzer That You Might Not Know About

1. Clear a Clog
You can often unclog a sink with about four Alka Seltzer tablets and a cup of white vinegar. Just drop the tablets down the drain, follow with the vinegar and allow to stand for about ten minutes. Flush with a pot of boiling water.

Doing this on a regular basis can help keep that drain clear.

2. Clean a Toilet
Drop in two Alka Seltzer tablets to quickly clean your toilet bowl. Allow the water to stop fizzing and then brush with the toilet bowl brush. The inside should be clean, shiny, and deodorized.

3. Clean Your Glass Baking Dishes
I don’t know about your but I love my glass bakeware. It can be hard to get clean when something gets burned on, however. In theory only, mind you…I would never burn anything, myself. If I ever did burn something on my glass bakeware I would use three Alka Seltzer tablets in hot water to clean it off so that it looked like new again.

4. Whiten and Brighten
Soak your white cotton items in a solution of a gallon of warm water and two Alka Seltzer tablets to brighten it. It will end up being white without any dingy yellow color. Hang in the sun to dry to get rid of any lingering stains.

5. Deodorize the Fridge
You can have the cleanest, freshest smelling refrigerator in town. Just drop a tablet of Alka Seltzer in a cup of water and let it bubble in the refrigerator for a half hour or so. If it still smells a little funny use another tablet in water to wash it down. No more slices of salmon flavored cream pie.

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Cleaning burnt food from your casserole or other baking dishes is a sinch with this tip.  Simply fill the dish with water and place a new or used dryer sheet in the water and let soak overnight.  When you wash, the food will melt right off.

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