PaperlessKitchen Blog

10 Reasons to Push for Chemical Free Cleaning in Your Home

If you follow green living trends, you've surely heard of the concept of chemical free cleaning before. All across the country, people are finding ways to reduce the number of chemicals in their kitchens and other rooms of their homes by using eco-friendly cleaning cloths and naturally-based cleaning solutions.

Looking for some motivation to ditch those chemical cleaning products in your home? If so, check out our list of 10 benefits of chemical-free cleaning.

1. Healthier Families Studies have repeatedly shown that reducing the amount of chemicals present in homes has a beneficial effect upon the immune system, resulting in fewer illnesses. New research even suggests that cutting back on chemicals can help with chronic conditions, too. For example, a 2012 study at Johns Hopkins University found that children who were repeatedly exposed to antibacterial chemicals were more likely to develop allergies than those who weren't.

2. Happier Pets Your pets can also be negatively impacted by chemicals that you commonly use in your home, particularly room deodorizers, carpet cleaners and the synthetic sheets used on dry mops like the Swiffer. The ASPCA has published a full list of potentially hazardous products on their website. (link http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/ask-the-expert/ask-the-expert-poison-control/cleaning-products-2.aspx)

3. Improved Appearance The skin on your hands can become irritated by common ingredients in a wide variety of household cleaning products, including glass cleaner and metal polishes. Nitrobenzene found in many furniture polishes can even cause skin discoloration in some people.

4. Better Indoor Air Quality Chemical cleaning products, particularly those that come in spray form, can have a detrimental effect on the indoor air quality of your home. One study conducted by The American Thoracic Society found that regularly using spray cleaners increases one's risk of developing adult asthma.

5. More Effective Cleaning Using the right eco-friendly cleaning cloths can produce better cleaning results that traditional chemical-laden cleaning products. For example, the eCloth cleaning cloth removes up to 99.9 percent of bacteria found in homes when used with water alone.

6. Safer Meals The chemicals that you use to clean your kitchen can linger on your counter tops, cutting boards and your other cooking utensils as well as in your sink. When you prepare foods, you may unknowingly contaminate them with trace amounts of these chemicals.

7. Greener Planet When you empty your water bucket after cleaning, throw away the seemingly empty bottles of your cleaning products or rinse your chemical-covered rag in the sink, you are releasing chemicals into our environment. The cumulative effects of everyone doing the same are profound. As an example, the United States Geological Survey found traces of laundry detergent in 70 percent of the streams and rivers in the county.

8. Lower Costs Using water and a reusable, washable eco-friendly cleaning cloth is far more economical that purchasing chemical cleaning products on a regular basis. One study found that the average family spends $639 per year on chemical cleaning products. Subtract the cost of a green cleaning cloth from that amount, and you'll see hundreds of dollars of savings annually.

9. Less Time Wasted Because cleaning cloths and natural cleaning solutions are often more effective at eliminating dirt than chemical products, you'll find that chemical-free cleaning takes far less time.

10. Protection for Counter Tops and Appliances Some cleaners can harm the finish on your counter tops or appliances. Using plain water or a natural cleaning solution eliminates this risk and protects your investment.

Shake and Fold - The New Environmental Dance

I've always been a big fan of TEDTalks, they provide great insight into the research and findings of some of the smartest people in the world. Rarely though are they funny, informative and related to something inside your home and office.  I just stumbled onto a TedTalk, however, that was all three.  Joe Smith, an Oregon based activist, delivered a Ted Talk that seems shockingly obvious but has real world implications that are ignored by most of us. In his lecture, which can be seen here, Joe teaches the audience how to properly use a paper towel. You might ask...really?

Yes, it might seem like the speaker is talking down to his audience like they are a group of school children who need to be taught how to go to the bathroom. But the logic behind him showing his overwhelmingly simple technique, Shake and Fold, is sound.  Americans currently use 13 billion paper towels every year. If every American cut back on paper towel use by one towel a day for an entire year, collectively as a nation the US would save 571 million pounds of paper annually.  Those numbers are shocking enough for everyone to take part in Joe Smith's comically obvious approach to drying your hands with paper towels. Shake them first. Fold your single paper towel. Wipe your hands completely dry.  Shake and Fold - it's that easy.  

I found this infographic which outlines Joe Smith's technique and the numbers supporting his environmental dance moves.  

Does anyone else have a better technique that will save millions of pounds of paper a year?

Welcome to PaperlessKitchen.com!

We are excited to open our doors and welcome everyone to our online store.  In our store, you will find products meant to replace paper towels, synthetic nylon scrubbers, paper napkins and similar items used to clean and maintain the kitchen.  On this blog, we will provide regular coverage of industry news, review new products, showcase exclusive deals on the site, explore the relevant environmental news of the day, give some cleaning tips and share the fun stuff that we find across the internet.  We look forward to your feedback!