by eric grace owner of graceworks housecleaning services useful tips and recipes for making your...

By Eric Grace Owner of Graceworks Housecleaning Services Useful tips and recipes for making your home sparkle

What is Green Cleaning? Green cleaning refers to using cleaning methods and products with environmentally friendly ingredients designed to preserve human and animal health as well as environmental quality.

Why Go Green? When you go green: Youll save money by not buying an array of expensive products. Youll keep harmful toxins out of your home The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) notes that many household cleaners contain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as formaldehyde and harsh acids. Since indoor VOC levels are often two to five times greater than outdoor levels, humans (as well as pets!) can experience eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches; loss of coordination; nausea; and damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system from indoor exposure to these chemicals, according to the EPA.

Why Go Green cont When you go green: Youll keep harmful toxins from going into: Your pets, children, and family members bodies Waterways such as streams, rivers, lakes, and oceans Youll reduce waste going into landfills Youll feel the freshness and cleanliness without the bad side effects of using toxic chemicals Youll be able to clean without taking in any harsh chemicals and toxins

Why I am here tonight For 8 years, as a personal cleaner and then developing and running a housecleaning business, Ive explored a myriad of recipes, products, and practices for creating homes of freshness, cleanliness, and beauty without toxic chemicals.

What youll learn In todays lecture I will share: 10 Best Do it Yourself recipes for Green Cleaning The Best Brands of Green Cleaning Helpful Tools for Cleaning Vacuums Green Carpet Cleaning The pH of Cleaning Types of Floors and Care

The 10 Best DIY Green Cleaners

The First Five White Vinegar Baking Soda Borax Hydrogen Peroxide Club Soda

The Last Five Lemon Juice Liquid Castile Soap Corn Meal Olive Oil Pure Essential Oils

The 10 Best Green DIY Cleaners What youll need when working with them: Clean empty spray bottles Rags (microfiber rags suggested) Sponges (compostable and non-scratch are best) Water (depending on the case, hot or cold)

A word about microfiber As cleaning technologies improve we are discovering new methods for better sanitation and removal of dirt, grime, and bacteria in our products and supplies.

All Purpose Cleaners: Erics Amazing Grace Recipe: Put 2 Tbsp. of white vinegar and 1 tsp. of borax into 16 oz spray bottle Then fill with hot water and shake until borax is dissolved. Then add cup of liquid castile soap

Amazing Grace Recipe cont: You can add scents of lavender, lemongrass, thyme, eucalyptus, rosemary, rose, or clove by adding 10-15 drops of essential oils. Voila! You have a All Purpose Cleaner! An even simpler recipe is two cups of club soda in a spray bottle and fill with water.

Multi-purpose Floor Cleaner Combine 1/4 cup liquid castile soap with up to 1/2 cup white vinegar or lemon juice Then add 2 gallons of warm water in a large plastic bucket. Use with a mop or sponge. You may also make the solution and spray onto a damp microfiber mop head.

Note about Floor Cleaning For all floors it is important to know the kind of material the floor is made out of and what the manufacturer suggests you use to clean it. If the manufacturer suggests not to use detergents on the floor, do not use this recipe!

Sparkling Glass Cleaner: You can add club soda into a spray bottle Add 1 tsp of lemon juice to act as a degreaser Use a microfiber cloth for wiping without streaks

Eco Bathroom Surface Cleaner You can use the all-purpose cleaners recommended earlier or for even simpler bathroom cleaning: Use baking soda or borax as a scouring powder. For a softer scrub, you can combine 1/2 cup baking soda with enough liquid soap to achieve a frosting-like consistency. You may want to add 5-10 drops of an essential oil for fragrance. Club soda works wonders on plumbing fixtures.

Blue Green Stain on Sinks If you have ever had the Blue Green Stain on Sinks The best way to address the blue-green stain is to use 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 cup of white vinegar boiled together so the salt dissolves. Then take a towel and saturate it in the mixture and apply to the stained area. Add a little cold water and let it sit for a few minutes. Voila! Your sink is stain-free and as good as new.

A Green Toilet Cleaner To make your Toilets shine and smell great: Sprinkle baking soda or borax, or pour white vinegar into the toilet, and let sit for a few minutes. Scrub with a good toilet brush. It can be helpful to have a pumice stone for hard water stains

A Green Oven Cleaner Got a nasty oven? Cover the oven floor with baking soda Spray with water until very damp Let set overnight while you spray with water every few hours before you go to bed to keep damp. In the morning, clean out the baking soda, and the stuck-on gunk will be loosened and ready to scrub off. Use SOS pads to help with the scrubbing. The last wiping can be done with a white eraser to take off the last bits of grime.

Whats a White Eraser?

How to use a White Eraser Wet with water and gently rub on surface areas: To remove crayon, magic marker, and grease, from painted walls and wood finishings, plastic-adhering paints from treated wooden tables, and adhesive residue and grime from hubcaps To clean glass, ceramic, plastic, copper and brass, metals and aluminium, stainless steel, powder coated surfaces, laminated and coated surfaces, granite, leather, vinyl and most non-porous surfaces. To clean the tea stains out of cups, To shine up sinks

Eco Mold Remover Combine 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide or white vinegar with 1 cup water. Spray on mold and do not rinse You can also treat mold with a spray mixture of 2 tsp. tea tree oil and 2 cups water.

Germs and Disenfecting We dont want to kill off the good germs as this can contribute to drug resistant bacteria. However, when you are concerned about germs in the home using hydrogen peroxide in a mix of water works just fine. You can boil your sponges in hot water for 3 minutes while putting your rags in the washer on hot with laundry detergent such as seventh generation or Ecos.

Eco Wood Polisher To polish wood furniture, dab olive oil onto a soft cloth and rub. You can add a little essential oil of Citrus or Lemon We use Earth Friendly Products Furniture Polish which has these same ingredients in it.

The Best Brands of Green

Brands: Tile and Tub cleaner Glass cleaner (Free and Clear) All Purpose cleaner (Free and Clear) Toilet bowl cleaner Multi-surface disinfectant Dish Soap (Free and Clear) Wood Cleaner Stainless Steel Cleaner 7th generation (available at Ashland/Medford Coops, SNK, Market of Choice):

Brands cont: SOS pads Shop N Kart, BiMart Scouring sticks by Pumie Ace Hardware Dr. Bronners Sal Suds - Shop N Kart Dr. Bronners Castille Soap Ashland Coop Pure Ayre- odor eliminator - Ashland Coop MoldZyme - www.moldzyme.com Bon Ami - Ashland Coop, Shop N Kart Magic Erasers www.spongeoutlet.com in bulkwww.spongeoutlet.com BioKleen Multi-Surface Floor Cleaner Shop N Kart, Ashland Coop Chrisal Probiotic cleaner Biofilms traps dirt and removes germs

Brands cont: Quicknbrite www.quicknbrite.com Skrapr online via amazon Drainbo Drain cleaner Shop N Kart Take it for Granite Granite Cleaner Shop N Kart Method Products Granite Cleaner Shop N Kart

Melaleuca Ecosense Products Rustic Touch Wood cleaner and protectant Soluguard Disinfectant with tea tree oil base Tough and Tender All purpose cleaner Tub and Tile - Bathroom cleaner No Work - Shower cleaner Clear power Glass cleaner Solumel Stain remover Mela-Heavy Duty - Degreaser

Helpful Tools Microfiber rags for glass and dusting Blind cleaner Flexwave Duster from CPI products Scrubber - nail brush size, hand size flat head screwdriver Q-tips Water pitcher Floor mop with microfiber head Squeegee

Vacuums Dos and Donts The Best to Buy: Miele- 7 year warranty, quality Proteam 3 year warranty, quality dbl hepa Dyson Cinetic Big Ball Animal and Allergy 5 yr warranty The Backpacks, canister, and uprights: Backpacks can save your shoulders and arms if you use them appropriately, cover more ground Canisters can be easy to use if you dont bang the walls Uprights can have great suction but can hamper mobility and cause damage

Vacuums cont Things to be aware of with vacuums: Make sure the cord is long enough to get around 30 ft-50 ft is great Check on the parts are they plastic or do they use metal? Metal and wood are more durable and last longer for beater bars Is it Hepa Filtered? True Hepa (meaning.003 microns) Is the vacuum sealed well? How long is the warranty? What does it cover? How good is the suction? Is it good for when you use the attachment tools as well?

Vacuums cont Other things to be aware of with vacuums: What does the vacuum do if it gets caught up with something? Does it shut off automatically the beater bar so it doesnt burn the motor? Is it easy to take apart so you can replace the belt if there is one? How expensive are replacement parts? What price range are you looking to spend? Check out the CRI rating (Carpet and Rug Institute) - http://www.carpet-rug.org The future of backpacks is battery powered.

Green Carpet Cleaning: Why have your carpets cleaned? What does good carpet care involve? Health impacts from chemical carpet cleaning processes What home owners can do to deal with off-gasing Addressing stains without carpet cleaning

The pH of Cleaning The chemistry of cleaning is rarely talked about but essential to using effective products and effective cleaning. The pH level in a cleaning product will determine which substances will work best on different types of stains and surfaces. You can cause damage to the surfaces you are cleaning if you don't keep in mind the pH of the product that you are using. The pH scale ranges from 1-14 with 1 being acid and 14 being alkaline or caustic.

The pH of Cleaning cont Here are some examples of the pH of common cleaners and which surfaces they are most suited for: Chlorine Bleach, Ammonia, Tub and Tile Cleaners, and Oven Cleaners are very alkaline and can be corrosive at 11-13 pH. They require good ventilation. Degreasers tend to be in the 11-13.5 pH range. It is important to be careful on pH above 12 as you can degrade lacquers on bathroom fixtures as well as take off the finish on Hardwood floors.

The pH of Cleaning cont: Baking Soda, dish soap, and most general purpose cleaners are just barely alkaline at 8-9 pH but still good at getting rid of grease and dirt on most surfaces. Vinegar has a low pH of 3 which makes it great for removing mineral deposits but it is not good for surfaces that can be damages by acids (like vinyl, marble, granite, etc.)

The pH of Cleaning cont: Toilet Bowl Cleaner has a pH of 1-3 so it can break down mineral and other non-organic substances. It too needs ventilation and caution when being used. Stone Cleaners range from 7-10 pH which make them best for cleaning to stone and sealed surfaces. Fruit juices, wine, coffee, and sodas can all etch marble surfaces and stain other surfaces like granite. Etching is when the shiny surfaces are removed on the stone.

Different Types of Floor/Care Wood Floors includes Hardwood, Bamboo, and Cork

Different Types of Floor/Care Tile Floors Types of Tile Flooring Ceramic, Clay Brick, Quarry Tile, Terrazzo Tile, Poured Concrete Stone Flooring Types of Stone Travertine, Granite, Marble, Slate, Sandstone, and Limestone

Different Types of Floor/Care Linoleum Laminate Marmoleum

Summary Tonight weve covered: 10 Best Do it Yourself recipes for Green Cleaning The Best Brands of Green Cleaning Helpful Tools for Cleaning Vacuums Green Carpet Cleaning and Care The pH of Cleaning And The Types of Floors and Care for Them

Summary Cont If you dont want to do the cleaning Let Graceworks Housecleaning do it for you! $25/hr for one cleaner or $45/hr for team of two New Age Carpet cleaning call Michael at 541-531-9318 to set up a carpet cleaning consultation Thank you! Audience, Michael, and Ashland Coop! 5% discount cards on vacuums and products at Cleaning Solutions Supply in Medford Greens Vacuums contact info Melalueca Products talk with me after presentation Request the recipes and info from tonights talk via email use the sign-up sheet

by eric grace owner of graceworks housecleaning services useful tips and recipes for making your...

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