• Washington D.C.'s Little Green Men
• GreenEarth Cleaning
• Mrs. Meyer's Dish Soap
• Cupacoco
• Sun & Earth Glass Cleaner
• Murphy's Oil Soap
• Bon Ami Polishing Cleanser

Green Home, Healthy Home

Nobody said housecleaning was fun. But when the cleaning products you're using are making you sick, housekeeping isn't just a drag - it's downright unhealthy.

Common household cleansers might keep your home sparkling clean and smelling of pine forests, but they also contain toxins and chemicals that can be harmful to the environment - and you, especially if you're prone to allergies.

That's where eco-friendly housecleaning services such as Washington, D.C.'s Little Green Men comes in.

Late last year, in an effort to "shatter the mold of the McCleaning service," and make Washingtonians feel healthier in their homes, Spencer Madsen and Jason Mullinax founded Little Green Men, a housecleaning company that uses only nontoxic products. Many of their clients are allergy-sufferers, something Madsen says he can relate to. He's long suffered chronic sniffles and rashes but found that the nontoxic products he was using in his own home were much gentler to his sensitive skin and sinuses and less likely to trigger allergy attacks. Even nonallergy sufferers often generally feel healthier when they use these products in their homes, especially those who have pets and children, he says. "It just makes a much safer environment for little loved ones," says Madsen.

And since your home will be spic-and-span organic-style, why not your clothes, too? The chemical solvent commonly used in normal dry-cleaning methods is regarded by many as a pollutant, a potential carcinogen, and the alleged cause of a wide range of ailments from headaches and dizziness to skin irritations. But there's an alternative that doesn't involve tossing stained nonwashables: GreenEarth Cleaning provides a database of eco-minded dry cleaners in your area. The company has developed a modified liquid silicone solvent as an earth-friendly, nontoxic solution that's leaving people feeling healthier throughout the country.

But you don't need these services to make your home a non-toxic place. Here are some of the best all-green cleaning products you can use yourself:

For your dishes:

Mrs. Meyer's Dish Soap This cleanser fights grease with ingredients from the Chilean soapbark tree.

For your clothes:

Cupacoco Botanical Detergent for Delicate Fabrics Gently cleans with a lavender-scented, plant-based detergent.

For your windows:

Sun & Earth Glass Cleaner A hypoallergenic solution of coconut oil, citrus, and corn alcohol.

For your floors:

Murphy's Oil Soap A biodegradable oldie-but-goodie made of pure vegetable oil soap.

For your silver:

Bon Ami Polishing Cleanser Polishes without scratching, thanks to calcite and feldspar mineral abrasives.

Then there's always white distilled vinegar or Madsen's favorite all-natural cleaner . . . "hot water and elbow grease."

 

Posted on June 26, 2006