Top 7 tips for Eco-Friendly Household Cleaning
Cleaning your home can be done easily in an environmentally friendly and natural way. Contrary to popular belief harsh chemicals don't clean deeper or better. By using natural products you are looking after your skin, being eco-conscious and have the potential to even save money.
Below we've put together some of our top tips on how to clean your house the eco-friendly way.
Cleaning Sachets
Iron & Velvet have designed a collection of cleaning products that don't contain any harsh chemicals, are completely plastic free and just simply dissolve in water. All you need to do is pop one sachet into an empty spray bottle, top it up with water, give it a good shake and you're ready to go. You don't even need to buy a bottle especially for this - you can reuse all your old spray bottles and stop those going into the recycling or waste systems.
The cleaning sachets are available for kitchen surface cleaning, bathroom surface cleaning, floor cleaning, glass & mirror cleaning and oven cleaning. They all work in the exact same way and will leave each surface shiny and clean.
Get your Cleaning Sachets here.
Compostable Bin Bags
While we are all striving towards eventually not putting any waste into a bin bag, we understand that isn't realistic for everyone at the moment. In the meantime, we have compostable bin bags that you can use to collect your waste.
These bin bags will break down over a short time and won't add to any plastic waste.
Get your Compostable Bin Bags here.
Rubber Gloves
Made from FSC certified latex these rubber gloves can be used for washing up, gardening or generally around the house for cleaning. They are super strong, and will last you a long while.
When you're finished with them, you can either pop them into your garden waste or chop them up and spread them into your flower beds. They will biodegrade in no time.
Get your Rubber Gloves here.
Toilet Bombs
Forget using harsh chemicals on your toilet that are both unnecessary and come in a plastic bottle. Switch to toilet bombs and you'll never look back. To use, all you need to do it pop one into your toilet and let it fizz away. Once done, use your toilet brush to do the rest of the work. These toilet bombs come in difference scents and you can choose from either a glass jar full or a refill option.
Cleaning your toilet the plastic free way has never been easier.
Get your Toilet Bombs here.
Loofah Cleaning Pads
The loofah plant is part of the cucumber family. Once popped into water it expands dramatically creating the most amazing natural sponge. A completely natural product that has literally just been dried out. It's one of those products that is so incredible, I don't understand why this isn't used by more of us.
This loofah cleaning pad can remove pretty much everything without scratching or leaving any marks.
Get your Loofah Cleaning Pad here.
Compostable Sponges
These home-compostable sponges are made from a mixture of cellulose and cotton. They are super absorbent, durable and strong. They can even go into your washing machine and then be used over and over again. They do not emit micro-plastic pollution, are 100% plastic free and vegan friendly.
These compostable sponges come in packs of four each with a different design. Once at the end of their life they are suitable for home composting.
Get your Compostable Sponges here.
DIY spray
If you fancy trying your hand at a bit of DIY when it comes to cleaning products then have a little go at making your own kitchen surface spray. You'll need an old jar (quite a big one - I normally use a gherkin jar), distilled malt vinegar (available in most supermarkets in a glass bottle) and one old lemon and/or lime peel.
Pour in the whole bottle of distilled malt vinegar (usually comes in 284ml) into the old jar and add the peel of at least two lemons (or 3 limes). The more peel you add, the stronger the scent will be. Now leave this jar on the side for at least 3 weeks - again, the longer you leave it, the stronger the scent will be. Once the time is up, pour the liquid into an old spray bottle and it's ready to use!
Do you have any tips and tricks for eco-friendly household cleaning? If so, leave them in the comments below.