When it comes to cleaning, it’s a chore few love to tackle. Yet, to enjoy a long, healthy life, it is essential to maintain a clean home, free from dust and debris. To make the job easier, we often turn to cleaning products to help us.
However, many conventional products on the shelf today are harsh cleaning products made with harmful chemicals, synthetic fragrances, and sodium lauryl sulfate. These ingredients make them unsafe to use indoors, touch the skin, or even be inhaled.
Your best option is to select all-natural, eco-friendly cleaners to help you do the job safely. The reason is not only to avoid the harmful chemicals in traditional cleaners but also to take part in the many benefits of all-natural cleaning products.
THE BENEFITS OF ALL-NATURAL CLEANING PRODUCTS
All-natural cleaning products have many benefits. Some may be a surprise to you.
For one, they are safer as they are free from harmful ingredients, reducing the risk of accidental exposure to toxic substances for humans and pets.
In addition, they provide significant health benefits since they are made from plant-based ingredients and essential oils, which can improve indoor air quality, reducing allergies, asthma, and other respiratory problems.
They are also environmentally friendly and biodegradable, breaking down naturally and not contributing to environmental pollution. As a result, they are an excellent choice for those looking to reduce their environmental impact.
Contrary to what many may believe, many all-natural cleaners are available today that provide effective cleaning. Despite being free from toxins, all-natural cleaners are still effective at removing dirt, grime, and sticky messes, making them a great choice for keeping your home clean and healthy.
Sustainability is another great benefit of all-natural cleaning products. Many are packaged in recyclable containers, reducing waste and promoting sustainability.
If you are wondering what your all-natural cleaners may smell like, rest assured they are not all vinegar infused. Many are scented with essential oils, providing a pleasant aroma and therapeutic benefits during cleaning.
This may surprise you, but all-natural cleaners are more cost-effecting than traditional cleaners in the long run. This is because they often come in concentrated forms, meaning a little goes a long way, reducing the cost per use.
All-natural cleaning products provide a safer, healthier alternative to traditional cleaning products. They are practical, sustainable, and provide added health and therapeutic benefits. But why should you care if you use something healthy and sustainable? Unfortunately, not everyone is concerned about their health or the environment’s health.
But you know who does care?
Moms care. Moms care about their health and longevity to be around to raise their children. They care about their children’s health to live long and prosperous lives. And they also care about the earth’s health, wanting a safe and secure place for their children to call home for a lifetime.
WHY MOMS SHOULD USE ALL-NATURAL CLEANING PRODUCTS
For several reasons, moms with young children should choose all-natural cleaners to clean their homes. In addition to the safety and well-being of their health and their children, creating and maintaining a healthy environment for the earth to prosper is critical in continuing a safe place for children to thrive into adulthood.
SAFETY
Let’s begin with safety. All-natural cleaners are free from toxic substances that can harm children if ingested or come into contact with their skin. By using all-natural cleaners, moms can reduce the risk of accidental exposure to toxic substances and provide a safer environment for their children. This includes when babies learn to crawl on your wood floors.
HEALTH BENEFITS
Then, there are the health benefits. All-natural cleaners are made from plant-based ingredients and essential oils, which can benefit indoor air quality, helping reduce allergies, asthma, and other respiratory problems in children.
ECO-FRIENDLY
Mother earth deserves love too. Eco-friendly cleaners are usually plant-derived, biodegradable, and do not contribute to environmental pollution. They are great for moms who want to reduce their ecological impact and help protect the planet for future generations.
EFFECTIVE CLEANING
As before, they still provide effective cleaning. As mentioned earlier, it doesn’t have to contain harmful ingredients to be effective. All-natural cleaners are still highly effective at cleaning and removing dirt, grime, and sticky messes. They are great for moms who want to keep their homes clean and healthy without sacrificing cleaning power. And essential, as no mom wants to clean the same thing twice (in one day).
Are you ready to start using all-natural cleaning products? Whether you are a mom or not, you can’t argue the many benefits of using these safer alternatives to maintain the cleanliness of your home. With that said, you may now wonder which all-natural cleaning products will work for you.
ALL-NATURAL CLEANING PRODUCTS
The best three ingredients you can own in your home are mild dish soap, baking soda, and white distilled vinegar. These three ingredients alone can clean almost everything in your home that needs to be cleaned. However, with time and creativity, you can combine these in different ways to make laundry detergent, oven cleaner, bathroom surface cleaners, toilet bowl cleaner, pet stain removers, and more.
Used alone, each of these three things serves a great purpose all on their own. For example, baking soda can be used as a stain remover, toilet bowl cleaner, and laundry detergent booster. While vinegar can be used in the rinse cycle of your laundry to minimize static cling, don’t worry, it won’t come out smelling like vinegar. Even better, it will be fragrance-free. Finally, mild dish soap can be diluted to clean bathroom counters, toilets, kitchen sinks, and counters.
All ingredients are eco-friendly, promoting environmental health. While some products may require more elbow grease than many prefer, this simple method will do the trick.
However, what if you don’t have time or creative energy or want to exert excess energy? Then it’s time to look to some of the best natural cleaning brands on the market today.
Using all-natural cleaning products to clean your home is only half the battle. Selecting the right products that are not only safe but will also do the job is the next step. We have researched and listed below our top 7 favorite all-natural cleaners to use in your home. All products selected are made in the USA by brands we trust.
THE BEST NATURAL CLEANING PRODUCTS MADE IN THE USA
Cleaning your home can be tedious, but it doesn’t have to harm the environment or your health. Here are seven of the best natural cleaning products made in the USA to help you keep your home sparkling clean. Note that all brands and products are made without using any harsh chemicals.
Mama Suds Toilet Bowl Cleaner Bombs are so easy that even kids can use them. And they are safe enough for them to use properly, too (as long as they are not mistaken for a snack). Just drop in one of these magic bombs and walk away. Return fifteen minutes later, give a light sweep with your toilet brush, and voila, a glistening throne. The essential oils leave a mesmerizing scent that lingers for hours. The secret to the magic is found in non-GMO citric acid. It eats up all the germs for you. Two other benefits are that it comes in 100% plastic-free packaging and is also a great odor remover. These bombs are the best toilet bowl cleaners I have found. You can get them here.
Everneat Soft Scrub is a miracle cleaner made with plant-derived materials, safe enough for plastic surfaces but strong enough to knock out soap scum and remove tough stains such as mildew.
Branch Basics carries an all-purpose cleaner that is pure concentrate. It will last you for what feels like forever. The ingredients are clean as a whistle, and the product delivers the best quality you could expect. Branch Basics is a great example, as are most of these brands, of passion and purpose with wanting the best for you.
Plant Therapy Multi-Surface Cleaner with Germ Fighter Blend combines the power of plants and essential oils for an effective cleaner that cuts through grease and grime without harsh chemicals, now in an easy-to-use, single-pour glass bottle! The naturally-derived, plant-based ingredients clean tough messes on sealed surfaces like countertops, stovetops, tiles, or the inside of your microwave. In addition to formulating a powerful, effective cleaner, Plant Therapy created a more sustainable product that helps cut down on single-use plastics. Pour the entire content of one concentrate bottle into this 16 fl. oz. beautiful glass spray bottle made by Plant Therapy. You can grab one here. These bottles and the biodegradable concentrate further reduce the environmental impact of your cleaning products.
The Cleaner Soul is another excellent brand with eco-friendly cleaning products. In particular, their All Floor Cleaner smells fantastic with the orange essential oil they use. The fresh aroma alone clearly sets it apart from conventional cleaners. It can be used on every floor type to remove dirt and grime and is formulated to be ph neutral (so it’s safe for all floor types). With plastic-free packaging, they vow only to use sustainable materials. They are also cruelty-free and vegan and emphasize sustainable packaging.
Therapy Clean All Purpose Cleaner cuts through dirt & grime. It was developed using fragrance technology designed to elicit positive emotions and enhance well-being, so it’s perfect for any room in the home. It is cruelty-free, USDA Certified BioBased, and bust grime like no other natural cleaner I have seen. Great for all cleaning bathroom surfaces. Therapy Clean makes a great Window and Glass Cleaner with natural ingredients, available here.
Honest Company All-Purpose Cleaner removes dirt, grime, and sticky messes and is available in several 100% natural scents, including lemon verbena, basil, and geranium. It provides a powerful clean and is made with formulas made only of naturally derived ingredients. Cuts through most tough stains, including grease, on non-porous surfaces.* Another great benefit of Honest is that they focus on Conscious Cleaning. This reduces waste using refillable bottles and creates a lighter footprint than similar products for kits shipped without water (lowering gas emissions). *Do not use it on porous surfaces such as marble.
In conclusion, switching to all-natural cleaning products made in the USA is a simple and effective way to keep your home clean and healthy. These products are gentle on surfaces, the environment, and your health, making cleaning a more enjoyable experience.
WHAT TO AVOID WHEN SELECTING YOUR HOUSEHOLD CLEANERS
Many harmful ingredients in our everyday cleaning products are legally sold in the same grocer you shop in. Knowledge is power when it comes to safeguarding your health. Be mindful of some toxic ingredients to avoid when choosing which products you clean your home with.
INGREDIENTS TO AVOID IN YOUR CLEANING PRODUCTS
You want to avoid as many harmful ingredients as mentioned below. All of them if you can. To help keep you safer, we also compiled a list of the seven worst household cleaners you can find. Here they are, as well as the reasons you should avoid them.
CHLORINE BLEACH
While I cannot argue the power of bleach, I can say that this should only be used to clean, in extreme cases, well-ventilated areas. Outside if possible. Children nor pets should be present, and all products containing bleach should be stored out of reach in a low-traffic area, such as the top shelf in the garage.
SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, otherwise known as SLS, is a sudsing agent that is also a known allergen. SLS is not required for product cleaning qualities. We have just become accustomed to our products foaming, so many brands still add this unnecessary ingredient known to cause health problems.
SYNTHETIC FRAGRANCES
Fragrance, when listed as an ingredient, is considered a term. This term represents a proprietary blend containing up to 3,000 ingredients that are not required to be disclosed. Anything can be hidden in this term. If you spend money on something, you deserve to know what you buy. Full disclosure is the best way to know what is in your products. If the ingredients list fragrance as one of its components, you should just put it back on the shelf.
SYNTHETIC SURFACTANTS
Synthetic surfactants would be avoided due to their high toxicity. They have been shown to have adverse environmental effects due to their low biodegradability. Biosurfactants are possible replacements. Biosurfactants have the advantage of low toxicity and are readily biodegradable.
SYNTHETIC PRESERVATIVES
Synthetic preservatives are chemicals added to a product to help prevent decay and spoilage, which could render the product unusable and possibly dangerous. This can be found in any conventional product but is dominant in products with heavy water content. Researchers have reported that synthetic preservatives such as nitrates, benzoates, sulfites, sorbates, parabens, formaldehyde, BHT, BHA, and several others can cause serious health hazards including, but not limited to hypersensitivity, allergy, asthma, hyperactivity, neurological damage, and cancer.
For a complete list of ingredients to avoid, you can reference our No Thank You List on this website.
IN SUMMARY
Avoid harmful ingredients like the list above when choosing cleaning products for your home. In addition, some cleaning products contain chemicals that can irritate the skin, eyes, and lungs or harm the environment.
Read all your cleaning products’ labels before you buy new ones. Also, read the ingredients of any existing products and follow the instructions carefully on any cleaning product you use.
Avoid using multiple products or mixing ingredients. Mixing cleaning products can create dangerous chemical reactions, so sticking to one product at a time is best.
Keep all cleaners out of reach of children and pets. Be sure to store cleaning products safely, out of reach of children and pets.
While organic cleaning products sound ideal, you can still have natural ones that are plant-based without being certified organic. Regardless, it’s always best to use cleaning products that are non-toxic, environmentally friendly, and safe for use in your home.
Are there any organic or plant-based cleaning products you love that we didn’t mention? We would love to hear your recommendations. From laundry detergents to natural dish soap, we always look for new natural products and brands to try and share.
Please email us at solutions@ecocratesofamerica.com. If we begin carrying a brand or product from your recommendation, we’ll send you a free product from them.
