Green cleaning comes with a litany of benefits, and some of them may not be readily apparent to you. You may already be aware that green cleaning benefits the environment, but what other benefits can you reap by “going green” with your cleaning?
Benefits to You
Green Cleaners Are Safer For Your Health
Since green cleaners usually don’t use harsh chemicals, green cleaning products can help save your health. Natural products and products that are less harsh are less likely to be absorbed through the skin if touched or spilled on the skin, less likely to cause damage if inhaled, and can even be less likely to cause cancer.
Green Cleaning Products Are Generally Less Toxic
Knowing what is in your green cleaning product is important, but of a general note is that green cleaning products are usually less toxic, if not toxic at all. Using vinegar, for example, to remove mold and mildew, is a non-toxic alternative to bleach or harsh chemicals. You can keep these green cleaners safely around your children or pets.
Improve Your Indoor Air Quality
You ever notice after you use a harsh cleaner like bleach that you start to get dizzy, get nauseous, or maybe even start to develop a headache? Those cleaning chemicals pollute your indoor air quality with VOCs, which are proven to affect mental functions. This is why office buildings that employ green cleaners have higher cognitive function. Save your health by avoiding breathing in harsh chemicals and VOCs!
Benefits to the Environment
Green Cleaners are Sustainable
Green cleaning products are often produces using sustainable methods and use sustainable products. Companies that create green cleaning products are often focused on their environmental impact, and usually intend to reduce as much of an environmental footprint as they can. That means using highly renewable sources, rather than hard-to-make chemical compounds. Most green cleaners also come in reusable or even recycled packaging, which can be recycled once again when you’re through.
Improve Outdoor Air Quality Without VOCs
We’ve already seen that VOCs can affect cognitive ability indoors, but what does that mean for the outdoors? VOCs that travel into the atmosphere after you open the window to “air out” the chemical smell from the bathroom contribute directly to poor air quality and even smog. While you may not be creating as much air pollution as some methods of transportation, if everyone stopped using chemicals that produce VOCs, we’d have a healthier outdoor air quality.
Less Overall Effect On The Environment
We know that green cleaning products are more sustainable and they are less likely to produce VOCs, but what happens if these chemicals end up in ground water, waterways, or in a landfill? Green cleaning products are less likely to impact and harm the environment, pollute water and air, and harm animals than their harsh chemical counterparts.
Have you made the switch to green cleaning products? How are your faring? Let us know in the comments below!
