Week 3

Environmentally Friendly Cleaning Products

Showers: 23

Dishwasher cycles: 6 (on eco setting)

Washing machine: 8 (on eco setting, using cold water)

Lights on at night: approx. 15

Bins of rubbish: 5 (small bin)

Meat products bought: 1

Bins of recycling: 1/2 (large bin)

Many cleaning products contain highly toxic chemicals. There are thousands of chemicals in common use, some of which have not been safely tested, though the effects of many are known. When we wash these chemicals down the drain they can pollute streams and rivers and may take a very long time to degrade into harmless products, and some may not break down at all but may persist in the environment. These may enter the food chain, eaten by aquatic animals, and maybe eventually by us. When consumed or absorbed through the skin, they can have harmful effects. (Green Choices, 2014)

This week the household has been cleaned top to bottom with bicarbonate soda aka baking soda! To clean bathroom and kitchen benches I sprinkled bicarb onto a wet cloth and used it in replacement of a cream cleaner. We also sprinkled bicarb onto the carpets upstairs then vacuumed it up which worked fantastically as replacement for powdered carpet cleaner. 

For more tips on how to clean with bicarb I found this website particularly helpful: Cleaning With Bicarb Soda http://www.athriftymrs.com/2011/08/cleaning-with-bicarbonate-of-soda.html