Easy Eco Blog » Cleaning

Clorox Green Works Household Cleaner, Method, Seventh Generation – ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent

easy eco blog — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 07:00:12 +0000

Clorox has made a big splash with the Green Works like of green cleaning products. They are the green categories’ sales leader.

How green is the their Natural All-Purpose Cleaner? They claim 99% all natural ingredients. MSDS sheet shows only hazardous ingredients as Alkyl polyglucoside (lowers water surface tension, enabling chemicals to spread and penetrate easily) and Ethyl alcohol. Clorox has said their alkyl polyglucoside comes from coconut oil.

According to Treehugger – “Preservative (Kathon) and colorant (Milliken Liquitint Blue HP dye and Bright Yellow dye X); — make up the circa 1% of the non-”natural” petroleum-derived portion of the cleaners (though Clorox says Kathon will biodegrade within 28 days.”

Kathon is not so harmless MSDS lists – “Irritating to skin. Risk of serious damage to eyes.May cause sensitization by skin contact. Harmful to aquatic organisms, may cause long term adverse effects in the aquatic environment.”

A similar Method cleaner’s ingredients shows soda ash and potassium hydrate (corrosive lye). You have to email them for MSDS sheets. Hmm.
The MSDS sheet does not list any hazardous ingredients. CHEMICAL FORMULA listed as “Proprietary Mixture”

Seventh Generation All purpose cleaner has 0.05% of the non natural preservative hexahydro-1,3,5-tris (2-hydroxyethyl)-s-triazine. The company is aware that this is not good for the environment and is looking for an alternative by the end of 2008. According to them “None of the preservatives we are testing at this time are natural because no natural preservative we have evaluated is safe and effective in our products.” MSDS

As we have seen there is no free lunch, tradeoffs are all over. Green Works is far better than the non ‘green’ cleaners that have 95% market share and it is distributed in main stream grocery stores where the masses can buy it instead of more toxic alternatives.

You could roll your own green cleaning solution with vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, etc, if you are so inclined. Which most are unfortunately not.

Bottom line, I’d choose Green Works if I could not purchase Method or Seventh Generation.

Amazon carries brands like Method and has free shipping, so do not sweat over local availability. Method has soap, floor cleaner, shower spray, tube and tile cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, laundry detergent, fabric softener, and more.

New Recyclable Cardboard Bottle

An innovative, new Recyclable Cardboard Bottle from Ecologic Brands is being used by Seventh Generation in their concentrated liquid detergent. The bottle this made from recycled newspaper and cardboard, a slim inner plastic pouch holds the liquid. You can wash the plastic pouch and recycle it like any #4 plastic. Their pouch uses up to 70% less plastic and the outer shell can be recycled or composted. Let’s hope more products use innovative packaging like this.

method ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent – 8x

method ultra Concentrated Laundry Detergent is now available. The 20 ounce bottle is good for 50 loads of laundry. Smaller bottle = less cost, less 50% post-consumer recycled plastic, less fuel burned in shipment. They claim a 35% smaller carbon footprint than conventional 2x concentrated detergent. Dye-free, hypo-allergenic, and 95% plant based formula helps make it more green. method is open about the ingredients it uses, no need to do sleuthing to find the MSDS documents. The bottle is even recyclable. It is the world’s first Cradle to Cradle certified laundry detergent.

Method O Mop All Floor Cleaning kit

Method has a new O Mop All Floor care kit with compostable sweeper clothes and lemon-ginger all floor cleaner, $32.99 from Amazon. Ergonomic mop, corn-based sweeping clothes, reusable microfiber mop pad.

Got a Swifter? You could probably buy their $18 compostable, corn-derived sweeper dusters and use it with it. No need to buy the whole kit. You then have a more eco friendly alternative in duster clothes.

How to have a Eco Friendly or Green Christmas – Recycling Gift Wrap and Holiday Cards

easy eco blog — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 07:00:02 +0000

Having an Eco Friendly Green Christmas is more and more desirable these days. How can you green your Christmas?

Buy your fruits and vegetables from a local farmers market or from local sources.
Buy organic when possible, except for product on the Clean 15 list
Utilize reusable bags to hold groceries
Don’t over cook or serve too much food
Rent or buy your decorations from used clothing stores like Goodwill. Reusing items that you already have is even better.
Donate extra food, money, clothing to those in need
Compost the leftovers, fruits, vegetables, etc.
Give out green oriented treats like organic fruit, repurposed trinkets

With a little preparation we all can make a difference, even on Christmas.

Eco Friendly Green Gift Wrap

Time to wrap up those gifts. Here are some ideas for eco friendly or green gift ideas gift wrap that will not end up in a land fill:

1) Use materials that can be reused, dish cloths, reusable shopping bags, etc

2) Do not use ribbons or bows that are not recyclable.

3) Use recycled wrapping paper

4) Use a recyclable but festive gift bag

Recycle Gift Wrap and Packaging

The holidays are here, time to clean up the mess. Gift wrapping paper, holiday cards and boxes that are 100 percent paper can be recycled. Foil, plastic coating and glitter cannot be put into recycle bins. Plastic bottles, jars, tubs and buckets are the only plastics that you can recycle at home. Check with your local recycling firm for details.

Packing peanuts and bubble wrap can be recycled at your local UPS store or shipping store.

Holiday lights no longer work or are no longer needed, can be recycled at some outlets. This website takes them too.

Most garbage companies have Christmas tree recycling programs. Be sure to get the trees outside and ready for recycling per their date requirements.

Natural Hair Lice Treatment – Eco Friendly, Green

easy eco blog — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:00:00 +0000

photo credit: goldberg

Back to school… Having lice in your hair is not fun. The Centers for Disease Control estimate that six to 12 million children, ages three to 12, get lice each year. Some experts believe that these statistics are inflated. Some lice diagnoses is wrong, as dandruff or food crumbs can be confused for head lice.

Schools encounter kids with this problem all the time because lice can easily spread in schools. To remove the lice, most people essentially use toxic pesticides in their kid’s hair which include Permethrin, Pyrethrum, and Lindane. Hair lice has slowly become resistant to these chemicals. Experts recommend parents to frequently check their children’s scalps and comb their hair weekly.

Head lice grow in clean scalps, not dirty ones. They spread only by direct head-to-head contact. Head lice cause itchy scalps, but don’t otherwise harm children.

We found a non toxic product called Licefreee! that uses the naturally occurring mineral Sodium Chloride USP to kill lice.

Some research done in Israel has shown that hair immersed in essential oils such as citronella, rosemary, and eucalyptus repels head lice. Several commercial products have been produced to incorporate these ingredients. Rosemary Tea Tree Lice Repel Shampoo utilizes rosemary and no sulfates to achieve their head lice cleaning formula.

You can whip up your own Pediatrician’s home remedy using 2 ounces of vegetable oil with 20 drops of 100 percent tea tree oil and 10 drops of essential oils of rosemary, lavender and lemon. (Apply to the inner arm for about an hour to test for hypersensitivity first.) Rub oils into scalp and hair and leave for one hour covering with a towel. Comb out nits with a nit comb and use a hand-held blow-dryer for 10 to 15 minutes, before washing out oils. Repeat in seven to 10 days.

Other suggestions include:

Cover hair with a shower cap and heat with a hair dryer.
Soak head in salt water for a few minutes or swim in the ocean
Apply olive oil in your hair for about 30 minutes

MSDS – Material Safety Data Sheets – What ingredients are in a product?

easy eco blog — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 07:00:05 +0000

Do you wonder what is in that detergent or cleaning product? How green is it really? What do I do if it gets on my skin?

We have often cited Material Safety Data Sheets or MSDS in our analysis of cleaning and construction products. What are they?

What is a MSDS

They are documents used to describe a products ingredients, what they are, are they hazardous, how to store them, toxicity, health affects, what should be done if there is an accident, regulatory issues, etc. Vendors have to undertake manufacturing, distribution, use and disposal of hazardous materials and chemicals to complete these documents. There are even MSDS docs for things like Mustard gas, VX Nerve gas!

OSHA and the EPA set up regulations that require MSDS documents on certain products.

Where can I find MSDS documents

Often vendors have links to MSDS documents on their website or require you to email them asking for them. This site has links to many MSDS docs. NIH has a database of Household Products.

When checking out the greeness of a product, be sure to look for its MSDS document and READ it.

Fall Energy Saving Tips and Fall Preparation

easy eco blog — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 07:00:53 +0000

Fall is here and a chill is in the air. It is time to get prepared for colder and wetter weather. Not only can we make our home more comfortable, we can save on our energy bill.

Conduct an energy assessment or energy audit
Get your heater or furnace serviced or upgraded. Replace air filters on heaters and air conditioners.
Setup your programmable thermostat
Check Your smoke detectors and change their batteries. Install carbon monoxide detectors if you don’t have any. They are now required in certain states.
Seal air leaks, add insulation, fix leaky air ducts. Also insulate any exposed outdoor plumbing
Clean your gutters and drain pipe
Tune your sprinkler system or install a Smart controller
Take advantage of the expiring Federal Tax Credit for Energy Efficiency for heaters, windows, doors, solar, and more.
Cut back any tree branches or foliage that is in danger of falling
Check and fix your deck for leaks, cracks, and nails in need of repair
If you live in the North and have a lawn, it may be time to fertilize your lawn

Going green makes the cold season more bearable and easier on the wallet.

Unhealthy Polluting Gas Leaf Blowers

easy eco blog — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 07:00:05 +0000

Everyone wants a nice clean walkway but almost everyone hates the and noisy, polluting gas leaf blowers that most gardeners use. The American Lung Association state that leaf blowers emit 15 tons of carbon monoxide the day. One hour of use generates as much pollution as driving a car 100 miles.

The particulate matter that they generate kicks up toxic chemicals, animal feces, and pesticides into the year, making it a hazard for gardeners and the public. Gas blower noise routinely hits a very loud when 90 to 110 dB.

Some cities have actually banned gas leaf blowers, like Palo Alto. The alternatives of using brooms and rakes will cost customers extra in labor. Electric leaf blowers are available, but they cannot last an entire day on a single charge. Recharging them in the field is problematic. Sounds like a business opportunity for some company!

Termites? Green Termite Control – Orange Oil

easy eco blog — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 07:00:47 +0000

Termites are a terrible problem to have. Figuring out termite control can be equally confusing. Traditional house tenting and using poisonous chemicals like sulfuryl fluoride – Vikane is now competing with using Orange Oil (XT-2000) which does not require tenting and moving out. There are tradeoffs with each.

Orange Oil Treatment

Orange oil for termites contain the active ingredient, 95% pure d-limonene. D-limonene is extracted from the rinds of oranges. Boroscopes with fiber optic technology are used to see through walls looking for termites. Orange oil treatment will only kill termites in the infested areas treated as it is a localized spot application. They will treat the area by drilling into the infested wood and injecting the Orange Oil into the termite galleries. It is effective for drywood termites, not subterranean termite infestations.

Orange Oil vs Vikane Tenting

There is an ongoing battle over the efficacy of orange oil for termite control. This article covers a UC Berkeley Dow Chemical funded study that fumigation companies are using to counter orange oil and push for toxic chemicals like Vikane against termites. If you have to use it, make sure you hire a professional cleaning crew to completely clean it home after fumigation. Chloropicrin is also used as a warning agent. This is a powerful teargas used to make sure house is empty of pets and people before the actual fumigation. Exposure to it have 119 ppm for 30 min. is lethal. Do you want your home filled with this kind of stuff?

Alternative like sodium borate are also available. We found an old pocket of termite damage when we did remodelling and use Bora-Care on it.

Tenting vs Spot Treatment

Not every house needs to be fumigated. Determining factors will include areas of infestation, level of infestations, size and age of the colonies, type of termites. A trained professional should take all these into account when doing termite control.

Dampwood termites have their entire company inside the wood, so spraying is ineffective. You need to solve the moisture problem first.

If you are considering using Orange Oil for termites be sure to locate a licensed and qualified termite control company that offers traditional treatments and fumigation as well as Orange Oil. This way you can receive an unbiased analysis.

Be sure to read our articles Orange Oil Termite Pest Control – XT-2000 Orange Oil – Eco Friendly Green Pest Control

Simply Green Cleaner not so simple or green

easy eco blog — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 07:00:24 +0000

Simply Green is a popular cleaning product that is marketed as nontoxic and environmentally friendly. Analysis has shown that it is not that simple and nontoxic as it contains EGBE, also known as 2-butoxyethanol: “the company said it didn’t detail all the chemicals in its products to protect its formula from piracy…. ”

“William Nazaroff, a professor of environmental engineering and chairman of the Energy and Resources Group at UC Berkeley, said the EPA erred when it removed the chemical from the hazardous air pollutants list.

Nazaroff conducted a study for the California Air Resources Board in 2006 on the indoor air chemistry of cleaning agents and toxic air contaminants.

He found that people using some common products containing EGBE could be exposed to levels 12 times greater than California’s one-hour exposure guideline.”

A quick look at the Simply Green Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) shows the 2-butoxyethanol ingredient. It also has <1.2% VOCs. Far from a product that is all natural. Furthermore, the Simply Green bottle does not even list all ingredients.

My advice is to skip Simply Green and the controversy and try cleaners from Seventh Generation or Method that list all their ingredients

Palo Alto Citywide Yard Sale – Saturday, June 4

easy eco blog — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 07:00:41 +0000

Palo Alto has a Citywide Yard Sale on Saturday, June 4 from 8am to 2pm. Over 370 Palo Alto residents will be holding a sale. The purpose of the yard sale is to encourage Bay Area residents to reduce waste and conserve valuable resources. Buying, selling, and donating used items keeps them out of the landfill, increases their useful life and reduces our carbon footprint.

Green Summer Preparation Tips and Season Home Preparation Tips

easy eco blog — Thu, 26 May 2011 07:00:05 +0000

Summer is rapidly approaching, it is time to clean up your place. EWG Has a nice list of tips to help you clean your house the green more eco-friendly way.

Check the exterior of your home and repair any cracked or flaking paint
Check and clean gutters again
It is time to work on your garden, sprinkler system, and rejuvenate your lawn
Check and clean chimney if necessary
Check your water heater for leaks and sediment
Look for termites, ants, and other pests
The heater will get a rest, so it’s time to check your air conditioner and its filters
Check your roof and patch or replace any damaged areas
Consider a solar electric system

Some other useful tips include:

Using cleaners that do not have any of these chemicals: 2-butoxyethanol, Alkylphenol ethoxylates, Dye, Ethanolamines, fragrance, pine or citrus oil, Quaternary ammonium compounds.

Learn how to check on the products and ingredients by reading MSDS documents.

Baking soda and water works well as a substitute for acidic toilet-bowl cleaner and oven cleaners.

These tips are also incorporated in their healthy home checklist.

Recycle old unused electronics and computers responsibly and perhaps get some money back.

Donate or give away unneeded items.