Cleaning products: what to look for

I want to be more eco-conscious in my kitchen – what are my options?

Eco-friendly cleaning products are more popular than ever thanks to our changing attitudes to the daily effects of cleaning chemicals on the environment. There are plenty of shop-bought eco-products to choose from or you could try a homemade solution.

Today eco-products are as strong and powerful as regular cleaning products, so you won’t see any reduction in how effective they are at cleaning and you may be surprised at how good they smell.

A good way to start being environmentally-friendly in the kitchen is with laundry detergent, as it’s often heavily used in homes. Ecover are widely regarded as the leader in eco-friendly products thanks to the low chemical balances in the detergents. Why not judge how good its products are for yourself? All the major supermarkets stock Ecover Concentrated Biological Laundry Liquid

What homemade, eco-friendly products can I try?

Blending your own natural ingredients to create cleaning solutions is not only eco-friendly, it’s highly inventive! There are everyday household products that have almost no toxins or chemical bases to them – ideal for a clean without the carbon footprint!

Bicarbonate of soda: Mixed with water it easily removes grease, dirt and stubborn stains. Think about mixing it with vinegar to bump up the strength if needed. A classic from the past, this is a brilliant cleaning product.
Lemons: Not just for squeezing on a fish dish, lemons are cut through grease and disinfect surfaces thanks to their citric acid juice. Why bother buying a lemon-fragranced cleaner when the real thing is just as effective?
White vinegar: Get rid of those harsh ammonia-based cleaners and grab a bottle of white vinegar instead. It’s a natural disinfectant and stain remover. Never use malt vinegar as it will give your house a distinctive chip shop smell!
Olive oil: Wood will sparkle with a drop of olive oil – as good as – if not better than – when you clean it with conventional cleaners.

I’m already using eco-firendly detergent and washing up liquid. How can I be even greener in the kitchen?

If you want to clean it, there’s an eco-product that can do the job. Here are some good examples:

Dishwasher gels and tablets: You can get your dishes clean with a selection of eco-products for your dishwasher. Clean Spring Dishwasher Gel is fragrance free and doesn’t contain a phosphate base. You can pick this up at Greenshop.co.uk.
Sainsbury’s have their own brand of dishwasher tablets <link to > with a powder that reduces environmental effects.
Stain remover: No need for industrial strength stain removers any more – Ecover’s Stain Remover is available at all major supermarkets. It has no chemical residue and the best level of biodegradability, but still gets out tough collar and cuff stains.
Toilet cleaner: Greenshop stock Bio-D Concentrated Toilet Cleaner removes soiling and limescale from toilets as well as regular toilet cleaners, but is made almost entirely from natural ingredients.

How do I “detox” my kitchen?

There are 2 effective ways to detox your kitchen – and they cost virtually nothing at all. Firstly, improve the air quality in your kitchen. Yes, homes are well insulated and in winter months we just want to stay cosy, but a well-aired kitchen will help the toxins exit via the windows, rather than depositing on surfaces. Keep windows open as long as possible and in colder months, open a little to let some air enter the kitchen. When you’re cleaning the kitchen, keep the windows open for the whole time, if it’s not too cold.
The other way to detox the kitchen without breaking the bank is to employ a “no shoes indoors” policy. We don’t need to tell you how many toxins you pick up from walking around outdoors. With shoes left at the door, you prevent the toxins being spread through to the kitchen. This is especially important for homes with small children who spend time crawling and playing on surfaces.

Think about buying a doormat and a shoe rack to make sure all those toxins don’t spread across the surfaces of your home.

I want to recycle, but how do I stop all the mess building up in my kitchen until it’s collected?

Here’s a simple yet effective way to reduce mess in the kitchen and recycle properly. A recycling bag can be stored in a cupboard or hung on a wall in your kitchen or utility room, if you have one and when it’s full up just transfer to your recycling bin for collection. Or if you have a recycling bag, just pop it inside and open and close with the fabric lid when you need to throw recycled stuff away. They’re machine washable too, so they’ll last you a long time. Very sustainable indeed!