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Everyone has their own preferred method for removing stains but many rug cleaning products can harm the environment and your living space as they are packed full of very powerful chemicals and contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
If you look at some of the more popular cleaning product son the market you will be able to see they contain hazardous chemicals including acids, lye and even formaldehyde.

If you want a more eco-friendly way to clean your rug here are 5 alternatives:

1.    Baking Soda and Soap/Washing up Liquid
You can make your own eco-friendly, non-toxic cleaning materials if you know what products to use. These are usually stored in most homes so is relatively simple to make. You can add baking soda to to soften water and to increase the soap suds and power of soap. This will also make it smell more fragrant as it will chemically enhance the odour of the soap you use.

Depending on the problem, another method which is not just an old wives tale is to use peanut butter to get gum out of your carpet instead of a chemical alternative.

2.    Organic Shampoo

If you are not comfortable with the science kit and the natural homemade remedies then you can purchase organic shampoo from most retailers.  This shampoo has no chemicals or volatile organic compounds so if both children and pets are safe when you are using it. A lot of people who have children with asthma use organic shampoo due to it being free of volatile organic compounds which normally linger in the air around the vicinity of where normal chemical stain removers was used.

You can also choose an organic shampoo that comes in biodegradable packaging so that you minimize the impact on the earth.

3.    Vinegar and Water Solution

You can continue to recycle products around the home by using a vinegar and water solution to remove stains. This method is suited to removing marks caused by pens, print, or any form of stickiness such as glue or gum. Once you have mixed 3 parts water with 1 part vinegar you should begin to dab the stain, if this process doesn’t remove the stain then up the vinegar content in the solution.

Alternatively, if you are still struggling you could try warming up the vinegar in your microwave and repeating the process.

4.    Cornmeal

If your carpet or rug has picked up some grease from one of the kids bikes or off your some dirty boots then a great way to soak this up is with cornmeal. Yes, that is right, cornmeal works wonders. All you have to do is simply scatter the grease with a li¬ttle cornmeal and allow it to sit for five minutes then remove with a little water and et voila.

5.    Borax

Borax is a great way to freshen up your rug once you have finished cleaning the stain. It can also help remove any small amounts of the stain in the rugs fibres as it is an excellent disinfectant too.

This article was written in association with The Rug House, providers of childrens rugs who are working to generate awareness of recycling. They are committed to increasing the purchase of ethically produced products and sustaining a greener environment.

I found the Method Smarty Dish tablets at our local hardware store, of all places, and thought it was worth a try. Each packet contains 20 dish-washing tablets which are non-toxic, phosphate free and bleach free.

Method Smarty Dish Tablets

The tablets are available in a variety of odors… I chose Pink Grapefruit, which was a tough decision seeing as I was in a hardware store, I figured the shopping cart full of tools would compensate!

The tablets are certified by the U.S. EPA Design for the Environment group which gives a reassurance that you are buying a truly green product, they are also never tested on animals which is great.

Each tablet contains the following ingredients;

• Mineral cleaning salts
• Naturally derived anti-spotting agents
• Starch and protein based cleaning enzymes
• Seaweed derived dispersing agent
• Fragrance oil blend

All of the above ingredients work together to provide a massive green cleaning punch in a small tablet;

Method Dishwasher Tablet

We have been using the Method Smarty Dish tablets for about a month now and we won’t be going back to any other dish-washing liquids, the Method tablets are awesome! They clean the dishes to a sparkling shine even on the economy wash setting and there is no white powdery residue any more.

Our glassware showed the biggest improvement, we now boast shiny spot-free glassware and they have never been cleaner…. or greener!

The Sparkling Results!

SO, if you are interested in trying the Method Smarty Dish tablets we suggest you get down to your local store and try to get hold of some, you can find out more information on the Method website;

Method Dish Cleaning Products

Scotch Brite Scrub Pads

These wonderfully green scrubbing pads can do the work of about 30 rolls of kitchen paper and as it says on the packaging;

“You don’t have to give up cleaning performance to live a greener lifestyle”

These scrub pads have a durable rough side shown above and a smoother wiping side shown below…

The Smoother Side of Green Cleaning

We’ve been using these new biodegradable scrubbing pads on our dishes and for general kitchen cleaning and we can thoroughly recommend them, we won’t be buying regular sponges anymore, we’ve seen the green cleaning future and it is Scotch Brite!

We bought ours at the local grocery store but you can read more about these and other green cleaning products here;

www.scotchbritegreenerclean.com

We easily managed without the ice maker and water dispenser but we quickly realized that the clothes dryer was a fairly critical piece of what makes our lives tick by so smoothly. Without our clothes dryer the pile of dirty clothes quickly reached new heights and a pile of already washed rugs started to stink up the laundry room with a rather nasty “sour” smell…

Our Old Washer and Dryer (In a Messy Laundry Room!)

But as the saying goes, for every cloud there is a silver lining, and our silver lining was the chance to upgrade our out-dated washer and now broken clothes dryer. We went to our local Lowes store and spent about an hour checking out the new features and ratings for the “high efficiency” front loading washer and dryers.

We quickly found a washer and clothes dryer pair which fit both our budget and our desire to go green with energy star appliances. We ended up choosing a pair of Maytag appliances and together they cost about $1600 which was a lot but we managed to take advantage of a 0% for 12 months deal so the decision was easy (well fairly easy – big purchases always give me a cold sweat!)

We read that the new high efficiency front loading clothes washers can save anywhere from 20% to 66% of the amount of water an old top loading washer would use! Also, the tumbling motion of the front loader is less harsh on the fabrics being washed so our clothes should look good longer…

Our New High Efficiency Washer and Dryer Installed

An early Sunday morning delivery woke us up and got the dogs barking! It was all totally worth it, the new washer and dryer looked great. We had to run the dryer for 30 mins without any clothes to burn off any dust left over from the factory (the installation technician gave us lots of tips like that!).

One big change was that we had to switch to the new High Efficiency (HE) laundry detergent which forms less suds and helps wash clothes more efficiently. After our first load of washing through the high efficiency washer we noticed how dry the clothes are once the wash cycle has finished. The install technician explained that the spin cycle of the washer actually removes a lot of the water from the clothes which makes drying times even shorter.

Top Loading vs New High Efficiency Designs

The above diagram shows how the front loading high efficiency washer uses much less water than the traditional top loading washer.

We are going to monitor our electricity and water usage to try and figure out exactly how much the new washer and dryer are saving us, stay tuned for more updates next month!

Next on our hit list of high efficiency or energy star appliances is the fridge freezer, we will be getting a new energy star fridge freezer which should further improve our energy savings. Have you recently replaced some old energy hog appliances? Tell us your story by leaving a comment…

I would never have thought of putting Clorox and green in the same sentence but Green Works appears to me to deliver on both being environmentally friendly and a great cleaner. Green Works is derived from lemon, corn and coconut. I bought my cleaner at Home Depot. The bottle has the Home Depots ECO Option label which means it has less of an impact on the environment than competing products.

Green Works All Purpose Natural Cleaner

Clorox also makes Green Works natural all purpose cleaner. This product is dermatologist-tested and made with plant and mineral-based ingredients, it is suppose to cut through grease, grime and dirt.  I will definitely buy that the next time I am in Home Depot. I also note they have a natural laundry detergent. If you are looking for cleaning products that also help create a greener Earth print, try out Green Works. Clorox says “They are committed to continuing  to go further and push harder to develop natural cleaning products that help create a clean and healthy home.”  I like the sound of that. Let me know what you think.

CLUB SODA:  Club Soda is a great cleaner for stainless steel sinks. Poor some on your clothe and wipe. Its that easy, the club soda will remove stains created by food and soap scum.
VINEGAR:  I keep a gallon bottle of white vinegar in my house, Vinegar is mildly acidic, so it works very well to clean grease, soap scum, mineral deposits, mildew and coffee stains.  Vinegar is great to clean your coffee pot. Use equal parts, water and vinegar, in proportion to the size of your coffee pot. Mine is 8 cups, so I poor 4 cups vinegar and 4 cups water in the water holder. Run the machine until it runs half the mixture through and turn it off. Let sit for 1 hour.  After an hour, turn it back on and let the rest run through. Rinse with fresh water. It removes the stains and that old coffee pot taste. Vinegar is also a great glass cleaner. Use with old newspaper to get that spotless clean on glass doors and windows.
TOOTHPASTE: This is a great cleaner for chrome, it removes rust and mineral build up. Use only plain toothpaste with no added whiteners or tarter control agents. Old toothbrushes with toothpaste on them work great when trying to get around shower heads and drains.
KETCHUP: Spread on the cooper portion of a pan. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes and wipe, the acid in the ketchup will clean the cooper.
LEMON JUICE:  Lemons have antibacterial qualities as well as a fresh and invigorating smell. They can be used to clean soap scum and hard water deposits and are also great to clean and shine copper and brass. Cut a lemon in half and sprinkle baking soda on the cut section. Use the lemon to scrub dishes, sinks and stains on counters. 1-cup olive oil with ½ cup lemon juice, makes a great furniture polish for your hardwood furniture.
Don’t forget to recycle your lemon peels and orange peels by putting them down your garbage disposal.  It freshens the drain much better than the very expensive gel tablets sold for the same purpose.
BAKING SODA: Baking soda can be used in place of abrasive cleansers such and Comet or Ajax. It also works as a great deodorizer and not just in the refrigerator and freezer; try a box in the bathroom and the closets!
After you clean the kitchen with these products not only do you have a clean and fresh smelling place to cook, you have plenty left over to make salad dressing  and lemonade!  You sure can’t do that with your standard store bought cleaners!

“I am not a paper cup!”

This crafty creation is a stealth mug! It looks exactly like the iconic paper coffee cup but is in fact a reusable ceramic mug. I’m sure Starbucks or any other purveyor of fine coffee would be happy to fill this up for you instead of wasting more paper products.

So what are you waiting for? Get your green going and save the planet one sip at a time!

I bought mine at Amazon.com, it cost about $19 and was well worth it! If you like the look of the “I’m not a paper cup” this is where I bought mine;

I am Not a Paper Cup Reusable Mug

Happy sipping (in a greener kinda way!)

My clean shower walls

Ok, I’m no Heloise, but I think I may be turning into a top notch greener cleaner!  A couple of weeks ago I blogged about the Method cleaner for wood floors (see archives for February). Well now I have to tell you about the Methods Best in Glass planet friendly glass cleaner. When I first used it on my glass shower walls, I was less than enthusiastic. I sprayed it on and used a clean towel to wipe it off. There were streaks galore, I sprayed again, used paper towels, still smudges, I was really disappointed, and I had to work extra hard to get the steaks off and it still looked a bit foggy. So this week, I purchased the Method microfiber cloth for windows and glass, and let me just say it made a 200% difference in the results and the amount of time spent. My shower walls look spectacular (see picture), and so does the glass on my back door, my mirrors, my front storm door… OK I may have gotten a little carried away, but it took so little time and effort and the glass looked great. Did I mention the great minty smell and the fact that it is non-toxic, ammonia-free, biodegradable, and the plastic bottle is made from other bottles and 100% recyclable! I am definitely sold on the Methods Best in Glass cleaner, and especially the Method window + glass microfiber cloth, as the dynamic duo. I bought both at Target for about $4.00 each. The Microfiber cloth can be washed and used over and over again, save a few trees, no more paper towels. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I almost enjoy cleaning my shower now!

Method Best in Class planet friendly glass cleaner

Method Wood For Good

OK, I have to say I absolutely love this stuff, it makes my wood floors look beautiful and makes the room smell like almonds.  It’s easy to use, just squirt it on the mop pad and go to it. As if that’s not enough, Method Wood For Good, is planet friendly, non-toxic, biodegradable and the bottle is 100% recycled, what a deal!