Green & Clean

DIY Window Cleaner

Administrator — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:41:48 +0000

Making your own green window/glass cleaner is one of the easiet cleaning agents to make and the ingredients are probably already under your kitchen sink.

All you need is

2 Cups of Water

3 Tbs of Vinegar

1/2 tsp liquid dish detergent

Combine ingredients into a spray bottle and you have the most effective green window cleaner around. Simply spray on glass and wipe off with newspaper or microfiber cloth.

Please share any of your window cleaning recipes with us in comments

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Free E-Waste Recycling Event

Administrator — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:11:27 +0000

Recycle Your Old Televisions, Monitors, Cell Phones and more at the Free E-Waste Recycling event Saturday Jan, 28th, from 8 a.m. to 2p.m. at St. Philip the Apostle School. 1363 Cordova St, Pasadena, CA 91104.

Here is your chance to do your part in protecting our planet…and the best part…It’s FREE!!!!

Eco Healthy Day Care

Administrator — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:10:32 +0000

So you’ve gone through all the troubles of making your home a clean and safe environment for you and your family. Maybe you’ve switched to green cleaning products and eliminated the checmicals in your home and you’ve probably started buying products made with sustainable materials. Now, it’s Monday morning and you take your children to daycare. Is this place where your child spends a great majority of the day as clean and safe as your home? Here are a few things you should think about when choosing a green day care provider.

1. Pesticides and Pest Prevention

Does the Day Care facitily use non toxic techniques both inside and outside the facility to prevent and control pests ( both insects and weeds).

2. Air Quality

Does the center avoid conditions that lead to excess moisture, which contributes to the growth of mold and mildew.

The Day Care should not use and scented Candles or air fresheners, and there should not any smoking allowed anywhere on the premisis.

3. Household Chemicals

Your Child Care provider should use onlty biodegradeable, non-toxic cleaning products. It is also a good idea to make sure that only low VOC latex paints are used for maintenance and repairs.

4. Mercury

The center should not use and mercury containnig thermometers. Instead, they should use digital thermometers. They should also securley store and recycle all used batteries and flourescent and compact light bulbs.

5. Art Supplies

Only Non-Toxic art supplies approved by the Art & Creative Materials Institute (ACMI)

6. Plastic & Plastic Toys

The Child Care staff should avoid purchasing toys made out of soft plastic vinyl ( they should be labeled “PVC” free) and they should never microwave foods in plastic containers, plastic wrap, or plastic bags.

7. Playground Equipment

The playground equipment should not be made from treated wood

The Eco-Healthy Child Care Progam’s (EHCC) program wsa created by the Oregon Environmental Council (OEC) to ensure that child care settings are as healty , safe, and green as possible by reducing childrens exposure to toxins. For more information on the program or OEC visit www.oeconline.org/ehcc or comment below

Happy 2012

Administrator — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 00:48:51 +0000

With the New Year Among us, Green 7 Clean is hoping that we all try live a “green”er lifestyle this 2012. Please remember, one of the easiest ways to make an impact on the environment is to recycle. It’s simple, easy, and doesn’t cost a dime!

Green and Clean wishes you all a Happy 2012 and we look forward to exhangning even more tips and ideas this year

DIY Bleach – An Alternative to Chlorine Bleach

Administrator — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 18:42:23 +0000

We some of us have the best intentions when it comes to protecting our planet and making better choices at the market, buying green cleaning products and organic foods. However, there have been instances when even i ( yes i said it) considered buying chlorine bleach just for those specific instances when i needed my whites, whiter and not dingy. Instead of giving up and buying the unhealthy stuff, I did some research and found a recipe that actually work well and can be used on just about all fabrics.

The recipe is as follows:

1 bottle hydrogen peroxide

2 quarts of water

1/4 cup of lemon juice for whitening power

Why This Works

The citric acid in lemons acts as a natural stain remover, bleach and sanitizer.

Benefits of Using Lemon as a Bleach:

* chlorine-free

* gentle on clothes and surfaces

* natural sanitizer

* effective whitener/ stain remover

* fume-free

* kid and pet-safe

* inexpensive

Bonus Tips

1. Use your homemade non-chlorine bleach just as you would a store-bought product.

2. Add a few drops of your favorite essential oil, such as lavender, ylang ylang or summer rain to your non-chlorine bleach to give it a scent that you love.

3. Your homemade non-chlorine bleach is safe to use on whites and colored clothes.

Using environmentally friendly products is good for you, your family and our environment and will reduce contamination of groundwater supply.

Do you have any other eco friendly laundry tips?? Please share them with us in the comments!!

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10 natural ways to deoderize your bathroom

Administrator — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 18:06:58 +0000

The bathroom-the one room in the house that everybody uses, but nobody likes to clean. Even when we do get around to cleaning the bathroom, odors can still linger behind. Most consumers stock their cupboards with expensive aerosol deodorizers which can expell toxins into your home, including formaldehyde.

The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health found 884 toxic substances in a survey of about 3,000 chemicals used in artificial fragrances. The institute reports that the chemicals are linked to cancer, birth defects, and neurological and reproductive disorders. Fragrances also can trigger asthma and allergic reactions.

It’s cheaper and safer to make your own with basic household items. Here are 10 ways to have a great-smelling bathroom:

1. Squirt hand soap into the toilet bowl and give a quick swish with the toilet brush to cut odors. Do this instead of spraying the room with a room deodorizing spray.

2. Before guests arrive, quickly freshen up by grating some orange zest in the bathroom. A strong, desirable orange smell will overpower bathroom odors. Or try this cinnamon-pear air freshener recipe.

3. Harness the power of baking soda, as you probably already do in the refrigerator. Baking soda absorbs most odors. Fill a small bowl with baking soda, and replace monthly. Simply leave the neutral smell of baking soda or add naturally scented bath salts to the mix. You can also cover the bowl with marbles, flower petals, or other “disguises,” as long as they don’t completely cover the baking soda itself.

4. Vinegar also absorbs odors. To deodorize the bathroom quickly, wipe down the walls and other surfaces with white vinegar. Focus on the area around the toilet, where the walls may have absorbed smells and more. If toilets are flushed with the lid up, contaminated water vapor can spray several feet and linger on surfaces.

5. For an even simpler odor solution, pour vinegar into the toilet and let it work for an hour or so before flushing. For extra deodorizing power, mix baking soda and vinegar in the toilet.

6. Put small amounts of sweet-smelling essential oil on cotton balls, and place them in a small bowl on a shelf or in a cup in the medicine cabinet.

7. A variation on essential oil on cotton balls: Push the cotton balls between the toilet paper roll and the holder. The essential oil scent will be released every time someone rolls the toilet paper, just when the perfume is needed most.

8. Light scented or unscented candles in the bathroom. A small tray of incense on top of the toilet is also a good solution. You can simply leave matches out in an attractive container, and let users take care of their odors.

9. Fresh eucalyptus leaves are a very effective bathroom deodorizer. You can buy them from a local florist. Keep them in a vase above the toilet. Networx editor Chaya Goodman effectively uses a vase of eucalyptus branches to mask the odor of some very old plumbing in her apartment.

10. For a more permanent (albeit more complicated) deodorizer, look for a miniature potpourri crock pot at thrift stores or garage sales. Then mix up your own potpourri with standard grocery store items such as cloves, cinnamon sticks, orange peels, and vanilla extract.

These 10 simple DIY bathroom deodorizers are cheaper than commercial products and avoid many of the potentially harmful chemicals and other artificial ingredients. Got more tips? Leave a comment on this article.

10 Quick Tips for Green Cleaning

Administrator — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 21:11:42 +0000

1) Use cleaning products made from safe natural and not-toxic ingredients to prevent exposure to the hazardous synthetic chemicals conventional cleaners often contain. You can now easily find green cleaning products in the household isle of your local grocer or convenient store. Popular brands include Seventh Generation, Ecover, Mrs. Meyers, & Method brand cleaners.

2) Dust with a damp cloth to ensure that household dust, which can collect toxins, is removed from surfaces and not stirred back into the air. A micro-fiber cloth works best and because of it’s technology, you don’t have use as much cleaning solution to get the job done.

3) Open windows and doors occasionally (even in winter!) to rinse out any air pollutants that have accumulated inside.

4) Don’t use aerosol products. They fill your home with microscopic droplets of whatever is being sprayed. These droplets remain suspended in the air for hours and are easily inhaled.

5) Avoid room deodorizers or other air “freshening” products, which are frequently made from unhealthy chemicals.

6) Don’t use any pesticide products in your home, your yard or garden, or on your pets. Instead, supplement a preventative strategy with natural pest control methods.

7) If you decide to use them, keep conventional cleaners and other chemical products out of your children’s rooms.

Use chlorine-free dishwasher detergent. The chlorine in conventional detergents is easily vaporized by hot dishwasher water and then released into your home’s air.

9) Ask guests to remove their shoes when entering your home. That way, they won’t track in pollutants.

10) Buy a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filter. These special filters trap unhealthy dust and allergens.

These fast and easy tips will help you clean your home the green way without costing you and extra money. Please share with us any quick green cleaning tips you may have with our community

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