Hi, welcome to this weeks Come Clean newsletter

Green Cleaning, for a truly clean home.......

THE DIRT

If your cleaning products make you cough, itch, give you a headache or even make you feel dizzy, you are not alone. You really can be allergic to cleaning!

Not only are the majority of cleaning products irritating to humans, they also pollute our waterways and many are toxic to aquatic organisms. Considering Australians pour 8 million tonnes of detergents into our waterways every year, this is serious stuff.

  • The average home uses 20 different Cleaning Products.
  • The majority of these off-gas Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) while being used and for some time after.
  • Many VOCs are toxic and some including formaldehyde and benzene have been linked with cancer.

Here are some nasties to look out for:

  • Ammonium hydroxide: Damaging to eyes, respiratory tract and skin.
  • Phosphates: Contibute to blue green algae if an excess builds up in waterways.
  • Chlorine Bleach: Toxic to the brain and nervous system. Dioxin, a persistant organic pollutant is produced as a biproduct.

The difficult thing is that Australia Cleaning Products do not require full ingredient labelling. Additionally many of the chemicals in circulation have never been tested for safety.

G SPOT
My mother in-law is a natural green cleaner. Born and raised in rural Spain she can get even the toughest of wines stains out with nothing more than a lemon, some bicarb soda and a little bit of sun.

COME CLEAN

Here are some tips on how to use things you already have in the cupboard to clean..............

Treating Mold
Wendy Duyker in her book, "Detox your Home, Body and Mind' recommends 1 cup of water mixed with 3 teaspoons of eucalyptus oil and 3 teaspoons of vinegar. Use it in a spray bottle. Spray affected areas and leave overnight. Wipe of the next morning.

Deoderise the Fridge
Use one teaspoon a lemon juice in a litre of water to clean the fridge. To keep it odour free keep an opened box of bicarb soda in the fridge at all times, it absorbs moisture and bad smells.

Windows and glass
Have a spray bottle with half a cup of vinegar and half a cup of water, spray some old newspaper and then clean away. This works really well, but I do find you feel like eating hot chips with salt and vinegar while doing it!!

Multi Purpose Cleaner
Combine 4 tablespoons of bicarb soda and 1 Litre of water (warm if possible). Spray and use as a normal multi-purpose cleaner.

We would love to hear your suggestions and recipes for green cleaning. So please visit our BLOG to share your knowledge and ask questions.