What Is The Most Earth Friendly Cleaning Agent?

Cleaning solutions are required to keep your home, office and most other usable indoor spaces in a presentable and healthy state. Cleaning is essential for maintaining a healthy interior environment, in addition to the apparent cosmetic benefits of removing dust, allergies, and infectious agents.

It's crucial to keep in mind that common cleaning products might cause various health and environmental issues. They may contain compounds linked to irritation of the eyes, skin, or lungs, as well as other human health issues. Furthermore, some commercial cleaning solutions' concentrated versions are categorised as hazardous, posing possible handling, storage, and disposal difficulties for users. 

Eco-friendly cleaning products can assist in lessening the risks to human health and the environment associated with cleaning.

Environmental concerns

Everyday cleaning products often contain very harsh chemicals, and more potent cleaning agents such as degreasers and abrasive cleaners are even more dangerous and harmful. 

Many surfactants in conventional products biodegrade slowly or biodegrade into more toxic and persistent chemicals. These chemicals threaten aquatic life and wildlife. Phosphorus and nitrogen-containing ingredients can contribute to nutrient overloading in water bodies, resulting in poor water quality. However, compared to other point and non-point sources, these contributions are usually minor. 

Cleaning chemicals containing volatile organic compounds (VOC) can impact interior air quality and contribute to smog development in the outdoors.

The bottles and containers of these cleaning agents are too often non-recyclable and end up either in landfills or the ocean, causing damage to the environment above sea level and below. 

What to look for in an earth-friendly cleaning agent

When you are looking for the best eco-friendly cleaning products, there are a few things you’ll want to remember and consider. These include:

• The brand/company and what they stand for, what environmentally-friendly measures do they take, what else they produce, and what’s their manufacturing process like?
• Are the products made from renewable resources such as biobased solvents, seeds, vegetables, citrus and pine oils?
• Look for the minimal presence or exposure to potentially harmful chemicals such as corrosives, irritating substances, carcinogens, ozone-depleting compounds or pollutants.
• Are they designed to use with cold water to conserve energy?
• Does the company use recyclable packaging and content packaging such as labels, are the bottles reusable, etc. 
• Pump sprays over aerosols.
• Clear labelling with information on usage and disposal.

Finding the best planet-friendly cleaning agent isn’t just about how well it cleans; it’s also about all the points above. You might find a product that cleans well, but its packaging isn’t recyclable, or it might contain harmful ingredients. Many products that claim to be green often hide important information that indicates they're not as earth-friendly as they could be. This is why it’s essential to dig a little deeper in your search for the best earth-friendly cleaning agent. 

Try DIY

There are some terrific naturally derived cleaning agents that you can use at home, such as lemon, vintager, castile soap and baking soda. The truth is, keeping things simple and turning to DIY cleaners can supply you with everything you need for a spotless, sanitary house. Making your own cleaning products reduces your use of plastic and the pollution caused by the creation, usage, and disposal of these products in the environment and at home.

Instead of filling your cupboard with harsh and abrasive cleaning agents, you can use a mixture of products such as Eco Turtles cleaning tablets and a small range of your own DIY natural cleaning products. 

Urban Ethos’ promise

Here at Urban Ethos, we do all the hard research to ensure you find the most sustainable and echo-friendly cleaning products out there. We stock a range of Eco cleaning tablets and reusable spray bottles certified by EcoCert. EcoCert, ecological cleaning products certification, guarantees environmentally friendly production and processing processes, promotes the use of natural or organic ingredients, responsible management of natural resources, and prohibits petrochemical ingredients. 

At Urban Ethos, we develop products that meet the highest possible eco-certification, and we work to ensure they are environmentally friendly and have zero negative impact on our environment. You can have a look through our range of eco-friendly cleaning products right here, or if you have any questions or need help deciding what cleaning products you’re after, you can always contact us here.