As a company we have many conversations about Green Building. We are very concerned with being Green and have made many choices about the construction of our homes based on a Green focus. As the Green Marketplace is evolving there are lots of opinions about what makes something Green. For us, as a builder of new homes, it means reducing the amount of energy used to operate a home.
Another way that people want to be Green is to reduce the amount of harsh chemicals used in every day life. Often these chemicals end up in our rivers and lakes as well as in our groundwater. Rust cleaners and oven cleaners are particularly toxic. Some folks even argue that bleach is too toxic to use on a daily basis. I have been surfing the web trying to discover what folks are doing about this. What I’ve noticed is a big trend towards DIY household cleaners. I have uncovered a few Blogs and websites that I think you might like if you are also thinking of reducing the toxicity of your home!
Paige found some recipes on making household cleaners and tried some out. Here’s what she found that works and in some cases doesn’t work!
Sometimes you can use simple solutions of one or two commonly used products such as Baking Soda or Vinegar.
The Vinegar Institute!!!! Wow!
The New Home Maker loves Baking Soda for cleaning.
Arm and Hammer also has a pretty exhaustive list of uses for Baking Soda.
Here are some recipes for non-toxic cleaners.
How to make a non-toxic cleaning kit.
Non-toxic Rust remover? Really!
If you try any of these Green alternatives, let me know how they worked for you. I am going to polish my silver jewelry with Baking Soda tonight!