When it comes to non-toxic wood floor care, people fail all the time – not because they don’t want to do the right thing, but because they don’t actually know what to do. We’ve collaborated with Luxury Flooring in the UK to raise awareness about the toxic chemicals in conventional wood floor cleaners and to share with you my top five secrets to non-toxic wood floor care, based on my experience caring for my own gorgeous wood floors. These “secrets” work equally well on hardwood and laminate flooring.

How NOT to Clean a Wood Floor

The challenge with cleaning a wood floor is to avoid any commercial cleaner that contains the following ingredients:

• synthetic or artificial fragrances
• ethanolamines
• detergent

Synthetic or artificial fragrances contain a wide variety of toxic chemicals that can cause breathing problems, headaches, itchy eyes, joint pain, flu-like symptoms and nausea.

These chemicals are very fine and quickly evaporate into the air as they dry after they’re applied.

Because you are usually bent right over the floor when you’re cleaning it, it’s easy to inhale them; it doesn’t take long to feel the side effects!

Ethanolamines include monoethanalomine, diethanolamine, and triethanolamine. These are chemicals used in detergents and cleansers. They help clean up grime, but they’re known to cause skin and respiratory tract irritation and eye injuries.

Detergents often consist of harsh soaps and more synthetic fragrances. Because they’re so strong, they can wear away the finish on your floor as well as cause the same unhealthy reactions as synthetic fragrances.

My Top 5 Secrets to Non-Toxic Wood Floor Care

I installed beautiful sustainable cherry wood floors throughout my home. Here’s how I maintain them in a non-toxic way:

1) Wipe my feet and leave my shoes at the door.

The soles of our shoes collect a lot of dirt, sometimes small pebbles, the occasional bit of dog poo, and maybe chemicals like fertilizers and pesticides that have been applied to lawns and gardens. When I come into my home, I wipe my feet on a rug I can launder, and then take off my shoes before walking on my floor.

2) Regularly sweep floors with a micro-fiber broom.

I don’t vacuum my wood floors because I don’t want them to scratch. Instead, I use a broom that’s got a soft micro-fiber cloth on the bottom. The cloth glides over the floor and collects all dust and dirt. It leaves the floor shining even when it hasn’t been washed.

3) Clean up drips asap.

We all drip ice cream, spill coffee, and slosh cocktails. Any liquid that lands on a wood floor will soak into the floor and leave a stain unless it’s wiped up at once. Note that once the floor stains, it really can’t be cleaned up; this is particularly true if what you drop contains a little oil. Just clean up spills as soon as you notice them to be safe.

4) Spot clean.

Foods may not stain your floors, but they can crust over and make your floor look dirty. When you notice dried food or dirt, dampen a cloth and gently rub until the spot loosens and you can pick it up.

5) Clean with a non-toxic cleanser and a damp – NOT WET – mop.

NEVER clean a wood floor with a soaking wet mop. The water or liquid could end up damaging the floor. Instead use a non-toxic cleanser or make your own. Use a spray bottle to apply a light mist to a small section of the floor then mop up immediately. Follow by dry mopping your entire floor to make sure you leave no water or dirt behind.

NON-TOXIC WOOD FLOOR CLEANERS

Make Your Own

If you maintain your floor regularly by mopping it with a micro fiber cloth, doing spot cleans, and not walking all over it with your outdoor shoes, you shouldn’t need anything stronger than water, some vinegar and a very little bit of natural liquid dish soap to clean it up. Don’t use baking soda, borax or anything else that could scratch the floor’s surface.

Don’t worry about adding disinfectant and an antimicrobial product to your floor cleaner. Even if you have a toddler, the disinfectant won’t really make nearly as much difference as just keeping your floor clean of dirt and dust. Plus, pediatricians say it’s good for kids to be exposed to a little dirt and some germs – it helps them build up their resistance.

RECIPE & Tools

1 bucket or pail or large pot (this system pictured at the right has the mop and bucket all in one)

1 gallon warm water from the tap

1/2 cup distilled white vinegar (buy it cheap in your grocery store)

5 or so drops of organic liquid soap, like Dr. Bronner’s (the nice thing about Dr. Bronner’s is that it’s already scented with essential oils, like rose, lavender, peppermint, and almond)

1 wet mop that you can easily wring out

1 dry mop or dry towels

Combine the water, vinegar, and soap in the bucket. Add cupfuls to a spray bottle and spray a light mist on the floor. Quickly mop up and shine with dry towels. Or, dip the wet mop into the bucket and wring well so the mop is only damp, not wet.

Non-Toxic Wood Floor Cleaner to Buy

Environmental Working Group (EWG.org) has evaluated many of the floor cleansers on the market for the toxicity of their ingredients.

They look at the likelihood of the ingredients to trigger asthma or other respiratory difficulties or skin allergies and irritation.

They also consider the history of the ingredients relating to developmental and reproductive irregularities and cancer. Finally, how the chemicals remain in the environment, and whether they pollute groundwater or threaten birds, fish and other wildlife, is taken into consideration.

According to EWG’s analysis, here are the most effective, least toxic cleansers on the market:

Aunt Fannie’s Floor Cleaner Vinegar Wash Concentrate –

This concentrate comes in several fragrances that are derived from natural essential oils, including eucalyptus, fresh lime mint, lavender, and sweet mandarin.

Aunt Fannie’s contains no dyes, parabens, ammonia, formaldehyde, petroleum solvents, or other nasty chemicals.

It’s concentrated, so you mix a half cup of the solution with two gallons of water, which is probably enough to clean your entire floor. Put it in your own spray bottle to apply, or soak your mop in the solution, then wring out most of the moisture.

Martha Stewart Clean Wood Floor Cleaner –

99% plant and mineral-based, this cleaner contains no fragrances or colors, It comes in recyclable packaging.

NOTE: It may not be sold on Amazon, so look for it elsewhere online or wherever you buy cleaning supplies.

Truce Wood CleanerDIS

Truce is hypoallergenic, alcohol and phthalate free, and free of colors and SLS, as well.

It’s made with essential oils but otherwise is free of synthetic, pesticide, parabens, chlorine and petroleum.

Plus, it’s cruelty-free.

DISCLOSURE

This collaboration with Luxury Flooring allows us to bring you the expertise you need in order to live the greener life you want. Our editorial opinions remain our own.

Big Green Purse earns a teeny tiny commission on some purchases our community makes online. It’s not enough to affect our opinions in any way, but it does help us pay the bills. Thanks!

The post Do You Know These 5 Secrets to Non-Toxic Wood Floor Care? appeared first on Big Green Purse.

It’s a common misconception that you don’t need to worry about the air you breathe unless you’re outside. Smog, carbon monoxide, ozone, and polluting particles sometimes make it difficult to breathe outdoors. However, the air INSIDE our homes can be even more dangerous to breathe. That’s because the chemicals we use in our homes can build up and pollute our indoor air. People spend more than 90% of their time inside rather than out, so if our indoor air is polluted, it can pose a real threat to our health. That’s why we’ve teamed up with EcoExperts.com to offer you these 5 smart and easy ways to improve indoor air quality.

Improve Indoor Air Quality 5 Smart Ways

1)Keep your floors clean.

Surprised by this one? Think about it. Whatever you’ve walked through before you came into your home you’re bringing right along with you. Allergens and toxic chemicals can accumulate along with household dust and normal dirt.

⇒Keep floors clean first and foremost by putting a door mat outside and inside the door so it is easy to trap loose dirt before you even come in your home.

⇒Leave your shoes at the door so you don’t track all that pollution everywhere in the house. This is especially true if you have carpeting or area rugs, as the dirt and dust can get embedded in carpeting fibers.

⇒Vacuum weekly, using a vacuum with strong suction power and rotating bushes to raise pollutants up and out of the carpet where they can be easily sucked up.

⇒Use a microfiber mop to sweep up on hard floors and tile. Depending on how much traffic you have going through your home, or if you have outdoor pets coming inside, you may need to do this daily.

2)Reduce home humidity.

A cool home may be comfortable, but if it’s too cool and damp, it will breed mold and mildew.

⇒Keep the humidity level inside your home between 30% and 50%.

⇒In basements and below ground family rooms, use a dehumidifier to pull excess moisture out of the air.

⇒In bathrooms, turn on ceiling fans when taking a shower, and let the fan run 20 minutes afterwards to do its job.

3)Test for radon.

One of the most fatal of indoor toxins, radon is a colorless, odorless gas that has become a leading cause of lung cancer worldwide. This poisonous gas is common to all kinds of soil and seeps up into basements and homes without basements, then persists when air circulation doesn’t vent the gas to the outside. Even granite countertops have been found to emit radon.

Fortunately, testing for the presence of radon is inexpensive. service providers like Eco Experts can conduct the test, determine whether you’re in danger, and help remediate the problem before you get sick.

4)Use non-toxic household cleansers; avoid synthetic perfumes and fragrances; don’t smoke. 

Many cleansers contain “VOCs,” volatile organic compounds that are known carcinogens. Commercial “air fresheners”  probably contain phthalates, which are known to trigger asthma, headaches, nausea and worse. The dangers with “second hand smoke” are well-documented and almost as significant as if someone were smoking rather than inhaling someone else’s cigarette smoke.

Most home cleaning can be accomplished using a simple solution of fragrance-free liquid soap, some baking soda, and warm water.

For a more fragrant interior, simmer a pot of popourri on the stove, open windows to let in fresh air, and remove rotting food and pet waste if it has not been cleaned up.

Don’t Miss: 16 Causes of Indoor Air Pollution

If you must smoke, go outside and stand far away from any open windows or doors to prevent the smoke from getting inside.

5)Vent kitchen ranges, chimneys, wood stoves, and fireplace inserts.

Prevent carbon monoxide and other byproducts of gas and wood combustion from building up in your home. Use the stove fan when cooking and make sure your chimney is clean and allowing dirty smoke and air to escape up the chimney rather than into your home.

Keep a carbon monoxide detector in good working order to avoid deadly build-up of this lethal gas.

Take a look at : Indoor Plants for Air Purification

By the way, take many of these same steps if you work in an office. And make sure whether at home or at work, you get outside frequently. Going in and out will both help you clear your lungs and help promote air exchange between bad air and good (or at least, not quite so bad).

The post Improve Indoor Air Quality 5 Smart Ways appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Apart from the fact that they’re smelly and unsightly, mold and mildew can be very unhealthy. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, breathing in mold spores can cause a variety of respiratory illnesses. Both mold and mildew can lead to headaches and nasal congestion and even trigger asthma attacks.

Mold and mildew build up in damp places, which is why you might find them in your basement or shower or on your shower curtain. But they won’t get a foothold if you follow these steps.

PREVENTION

Mold and mildew can’t grow where it’s dry, so the best way to keep them at bay is to reduce dampness.

• Crack open a window and start your ceiling fan when you turn on the shower so excess moisture moves out of the room, rather than condenses on the walls and tile. Keep the fan running and the window cracked open at least 15 minutes after you turn the shower off to let as much moist air escape as possible.

• Wipe down the shower and tub as soon as you’re finished. Keep a small squeegee in the shower so it’s convenient; you can get a squeegee very cheaply at a hardware store, home goods retailer, or online. Or, use a hand towel or washcloth to do the job. A cloth is particularly good at getting to the tile grout and in the corners where mold has a tendency to start.

• Use a shower curtain you can actually launder in the washing machine. That means, skip the vinyl or plastic in favor of cotton, hemp, or nylon.  Wash it in hot water, run it through your machine’s spin cycle to remove excess water, then hang it up to dry in the shower. After every shower, wipe down the tile, let the fan run, and at some point, pull the shower curtain wide to let it air out.

• If you have a non-slip mat in your shower, you will need to pull it up and wash it down regularly. I’ve gotten rid of my shower mat because it was too much trouble to keep clean. If you want yours, you’ll have to wash it frequently. It helps to spray the back of it weekly with a solution of white vinegar and water, or tea tree oil and water.

• Use a terry cloth hand towel in the shower instead of a mat. Most of us have extra hand towels lying around. Or, pick up a few hand towels at a dollar store or when your department store is having a sale. Put the towel on the bottom of the shower or bath tub. It won’t slip, you’ll have traction, and when you’re finished, you can wring out the towel and let it dry, or throw it in the laundry.

• Keep your shower clean. Wash it down regularly with a good non-toxic cleanser, like baking soda and a plant-based liquid soap, or something like Bon Ami, which is essentially pulverized rock. Use a mop and a stepladder to reach the ceiling above the shower if needed. Dry it with a rag or towel when you finish washing it.

• Fix leaky faucets and showerheads. Stop the drips to limit mold and mildew around drains.

• Install a dehumidifier in the basement. You can adjust the appliance to remove as much humidity from your space as you need. Empty the water collection bucket frequently – in the summer, I need to empty mine almost every day. If convenient, you can use the collected water to water your plants. You can usually eep the dehumidifier bucket clean by washing it out with hot soapy water and wiping away any mold or mildew that might be building up.Remember this true adage: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. The more you do to prevent mold and mildew from building up, the better off you’ll be.

TREATMENT

As soon as you notice mold or mildew, attack! If you have black mold in the walls, ceiling, or floor of your home, you will probably need to hire a professional mold remediation company to treat the problem for you. Black mold can pose a real health hazard, so don’t wait to take it seriously. For more superficial problems, the following steps will help:

• Make a spray of water and vinegar, tea tree oil or hydrogen peroxide, using between one and two tablespoons of the product for every cup of water you add to the spray bottle (experiment a bit to see what works in your situation; you may need up to a 50% vinegar/50% water solution). You can add fresh squeezed lemon juice minus the pulp to sweeten up the smell of the vinegar. If using vinegar or hydrogen peroxide, spray the potion directly on the spotty areas, leave them alone for 10 or 15 minutes, and then rinse. Dry with a rag you don’t mind throwing away. If using tea tree oil, which is more expensive but is supposed to be more effective, spray the cleanser on the tile or shower stall and leave it overnight. Run the fan and open the window to keep air circulating and to counter the smell from the vinegar or tea tree oil.  Reapply as soon as you see the mold reappear.

• If the grout in your shower can’t be thoroughly cleaned out, you may need to replace the grout.  If this is too much to do on your own, you can find a professional service to replace the grout for you. Get a price estimate before you commit to the work. It may be a little pricey, but probably cheaper than dealing with health problems that could result from living with mold and mildew.

MAINTENANCE

Getting rid of the mold and mildew in your shower doesn’t mean you can be less vigilant. Inspect the shower and shower curtain once a week to make sure you’re staying mold and mildew-free. Wash the shower curtain regularly to keep it fresh. Wipe down the tile or shower stall each time you finish using it, and don’t forget to keep the window open and the fan going to reduce moisture build-up.

The post Naturally Kill Mold and Mildew appeared first on Big Green Purse.

What’s Wrong With Synthetic Chemicals?

A better question is, what’s right? And the answer?  Not much!!

Some of the synthetic chemicals you’re likely to find in conventional cleaning products include:

• Phthalates – linked to birth defects in children exposed in utero; can cause headaches, nausea and other discomfort when inhaled via the artificial fragrances they’re usually found in
• Phosphorous – overloads fresh water systems; when washed down a drain, it ends up in streams, rivers, and lakes, where it can rob the waters of precious oxygen and make it difficult for fish and other aquatic wildlife to survive
• Bleach – releases powerful fumes that can cause headaches, nausea and general feelings of illness; when mixed with ammonia, can create a poisonous gas that can burn your lungs if you inhale it.

What’s a Healthier Alternative?

Responsible cleaning companies are manufacturing products that rely on plant-derived cleaning agents that use natural sources and contain essential oils, corn-based alcohol, earth-based minerals and filtered water. Though lemon oil is probably the most common essential oil used, many other citrus oils, plus essence of peppermint, spearmint and lavender, among others, may be included as well. Though there’s always a chance you might be allergic to one of these ingredients, they’re far less likely to pose serious threats that the more conventional cleansers you might currently be buying.

If you’ve never tried a green cleaner before, in honor of Earth Day our sponsor SourceSupplyCompany.com is offering at a 10% discount green cleaners that can be used on bathroom and kitchen surfaces, including chrome, stainless steel, and glass; dishwashing detergents, laundry detergents, and more.

You can find the full list of products available for purchase here.   Use promo code Earth10 for your discount!

NOTE: Sponsors allow us to provide expert content at no cost to you. Our editorial opinion remains our own. Thanks!

About Source Supply Company 

SourceSupply Company is a janitorial supply company with over 20 years of experience in the industry, specializing in janitorial, facility, and maintenance products. With more than 14,000 products and access to more than 300 manufacturers, Source Supply Company makes it easy for you to find the products that best meet your need while benefitting from our competitive pricing and superior service.  For more information, visit http://www.sourcesupplycompany.com. 

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Last time I looked, whatever bacteria I had on my glass and mirrors weren’t doing me all that much harm.

In fact, I have never heard of anyone anywhere anytime getting any illness of any kind from any bacteria found on any glass, mirrors or chrome.

Need to clean your windows? Use a simple – and healthy – solution of vinegar and water and leave it at that.

As for the Windex Antibacterial Cleaner? A great big thumbs-down.

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