Eco-friendly cleaning products

Years ago, cleaning products were often composed from harmful ingredients which, although effective for the most part, smelt unpleasant and could cause reactions in people such as coughing or stinging eyes. Carbolic acid was one of the first products to be used as a carpet cleaner , and even more recently cleaners including bleach or ammonia have been used, both of which are noted for killing germs, but which can pose severe hazards to the health of those around them.
With increasing focus on the environment and phrases such as “go green”, and “reduce your carbon footprint” in common use, more and more companies are looking to eco friendly solutions which will be effective to use yet have low impact on the environment.
The increasing level of hazardous substances in our day-to-day environment is just one of the reasons why environmentally friendly cleaning products are well worth considering. When we use ordinary carpet cleaner, we recognise that we are removing harmful dust and contaminants from our floors, but these cleaning products also contain chemicals which can be harmful to children and pets, as well as the environment –yet one more reason to clean green.
Eco-friendly cleaning products make use of non toxic chemicals which can be found in regular food ingredients and other general household products such as toothpaste. This may sound unusual, but when you consider how many ordinary household ingredients are still used as cleaning products (Bicarbonate of soda, for example, lemon juice, or salt), it makes sense that if they are safe for the environment while still being effective, that they should be used.
One example of eco friendly carpet cleaner uses a solution which is sprayed onto the carpet, worked into the fibres using a brush machine, and then rinsed with a solution mostly composed of water, which lifts the dirt from the fibres. The solution also contains a small amount of surfactant and a PH balancer.
These water based cleaning solutions can provide a method of carpet cleaner which is safe to use for children and pets as well as the environment, and which still contain antibacterial agents. Even steam cleaning processes using the minimal amount of ingredients have antibacterial qualities.
Attitudes to eco-friendly cleaning products are changing too. Where previously an environmentally friendly cleaning product might be considered weaker than it’s chemical filled counterpart, or less able to have an antibacterial effect, or less effective simply because it does not smell of bleach, eco-friendly cleaning products are now becoming more and more effective at doing the job they are supposed to do, at minimal risk to others.Twenty or thirty years ago, some of the compounds used in cleaning products which are used today were the only things available. But, by taking into account that some of these ingredients were environmentally friendly, and by becoming more informed about eco-friendly cleaning, something as simple as carpet cleanercan be of benefit to the health of the environment and of those who inhabit it.