Cleaning Green

March is upon us and spring is near.  If the old "out like a lamb" adage rings true for your weather forecast this year, then in four weeks or less, you'll be flinging open your windows to welcome that sweet spring breeze.

Spring breaths new life into our homes, which winter has left a bit dustier and darker than just a few months earlier. No wonder we spring clean!

But that winter pall isn't just aesthetic. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that the air inside our homes (and offices) is three to seventy times more polluted than outside-and the bad news only increases in the winter, when we keep our windows shut.

Much of the increase in inside pollution is caused by the evaporation-or off-gassing-of volatile organic compounds found in, among things, your cleaning products.  This off-gassing can cause a host of health problems, including skin allergies, asthma, increased colds and upper-respiratory infections, and even cancer.

Children are especially at risk, since they run their hands-and mouths-over every imaginable surface, absorbing harmful chemicals directly into their lungs, skin and digestive systems.  Plus, since pollutants are heavier than oxygen, they stagnate down at floor level, where babies and toddlers all but live.

Little ones are also at greater risk because their minds and bodies are still developing and growing at break-neck speed.  Even a small interruption in that process can have devastating, lifelong effects.

Yet, despite the dangers, the average cleaning cupboard is still chock full of commercially sold air fresheners, multi-purpose cleaners, glass sprays and degreasers. Let's take a closer look at these products and get the real rap on the medical and environmental risks involved in using them:

Window Cleaners

The active ingredient in most window cleaners on the market today is ammonia, a trigger to respiratory problems.  In fact, a new study reported just last year in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found that 1 in 7 cases of adult asthma can be attributed to cleaning and deodorizing sprays.  Glass cleaner is one of the worst offenders. Additionally, many commercial glass cleaners contain diethylene glycol, which is known to depress the central nervous system.

All-Purpose Cleaners

Chlorine bleach is one of the most common disinfecting agents found in scouring powders and spray-on all-purpose cleaners. Highly caustic, chlorine bleach can burn your eyes and skin and be fatal if swallowed. Chlorine bleach is also a scourge on the environment, since once it enters the sewage system-via your drains and toilet bowls-it can create organochlorines.  These little chlorine-dioxin atoms are toxins to our reproductive, neurological and immune systems.

Beyond chlorine bleach, many all-purpose cleaners also contain butyl cellosolve, which is known to cause damage to the central nervous system, plus your kidneys, liver, and bone marrow. 

Floor cleaners

Most floor cleaners today-and almost all degreasing cleaners-are made with petroleum-based solvents. Not only is that dangerous to your mucous membranes, it's horrible for the environment.  Petroleum is not biodegradable and it requires a disproportionate amount of natural resources to manufacture.

Now what?

If reading through that laundry list of dirty cleaners shocked you, you're not alone.  Most people don't even realize these products are toxic. In fact, you likely thought using skull-and-cross-bone cleaners was the only way to rid your home of germs and grime. Not to mention the fact that common sense wants you to believe that if it's sold on a shelf, it must be safe.

Okay, but what's the answer?  After all, you need something to clean your home with other than good ole' fashion elbow grease. 

Here's where The Clean Team comes in.  Long before the health dangers and environmental costs of store-bought cleaners were making headline news, your safety and the environment's protection were paramount priorities for The Clean Team.

Just take a look at some of The Clean Team's most popular products:

Red Juice

No petroleum solvents here!  In fact, the all-natural list of ingredients in The Clean Team's top-selling, all-purpose cleaner includes seaweed, soybean extracts, palm kernels and palm oils.

Red Juice is biodegradable-meaning it's friendly to the environment-and it's non-toxic-meaning it's a safe for you and your family. Red Juice is also odor-free, so you don't have to worry about irritating fumes.

Now you know it's safe and green. But will it clean? The answer is an emphatic yes.  Red Juice is a powerful cleaner and degreaser that's still gentle on your home.  In fact, industrial strength Red Juice is strong enough to clean a diesel engine-so you can imagine how the household formula can cut through your greasy stovetop.

Blue Juice

Blue Juice is The Clean Team's better glass cleaner.  Unlike conventional glass sprays, Blue Juice is odor-free and all-natural, so no worries about triggering an asthma attack-or worse. With Blue Juice, you just spray and wipe-no streaking, no spotting.  Use it with confidence on glass, mirrors, and polished metal surfaces.

Both Blue Juice and Red Juice are sold in concentrated form.  You mix your own solution in one of The Clean Team's reusable spray bottles.  One bottle of concentrate makes twenty 16-oz. bottles of Juice.  Not only do you save money, you save the landfill from a few dozen plastic bottles as well.

Scum Bum

If hard water stains are your nemesis, then you've probably tried every harsh chemical cleaner on the market.  No doubt you've paid a pretty penny, dumped some serious poisons down your drain and-worst of all-are still fighting the same stains.

The Clean Team has the answer to your lime scale and rust stain woes: Scum Bum. This highly effective cleaner will gently dissolve even the toughest build-up, including mold and mildew, without creating a single noxious fume. Use it on porcelain, glazed tile, chrome, stainless steel, fiberglass, and plastics.  Scum Bum is preferred by chemically sensitive people and is Green Cross Certified.

Cleaning Cloths

Here's a simple way you can go the distance for the environment-and your pocketbook.  The Clean Team's washable 100% cotton cleaning cloths work better that paper towels and mold-harboring sponges. They are the perfect pair with Blue Juice for shining your mirrors and windows, or for scrubbing, wiping or drying any other surface in your home.

The white cleaning cloths feature hemmed borders and measure 20"x22".  They launder well and will last you for years-unlike that roll of paper towel, which might not even make it through the week.