What is Green Cleaning?
Green cleaning is defined as cleaning to protect health without harming the environment. “Green” cleaning (cleaning your home with less-toxic products and substances) is important because it better protects your health and your children’s health. Many common household cleaning products contain chemicals that can have adverse health effects. These chemicals can cause cancer, irritate the lungs, interfere with the functioning of the liver and other organs, irritate the skin, or affect the reproductive system. Studies indicate that most Americans have common household cleaning chemicals in their blood and urine. Many common cleaning products can increase your risk of asthma, and they can cause people with asthma to have an attack. Asthma is the number one cause of school absenteeism. Children are especially susceptible to the potential harm presented by cleaning chemicals. Pound for pound, children breathe more air, drink more water, and eat more food than adults. A child’s developing bod
Green cleaning can be defined as “effective cleaning that protects health without harming the environment.” The federal government has defined “green” and “environmentally preferred purchasing” as “…products and services that have a lesser or reduced effect on human health and the environment when compared with competing products and services that serve the same purpose.” — Executive Order 13101 which can be seen at www.ofee.gov/eo/13101.htm. Both definitions focus on the impact cleaning has on the health of people as well as the impact it has on the environment. Both definitions also describe a goal of striving to make sure cleaning has as positive an impact on human health and the environment as possible. What does green cleaning mean to us? Green cleaning is a comprehensive approach to cleaning that combines chemicals, equipment, tools, disposables, and, most importantly, processes, training, and communication to produce an effective and safe cleaning program. How do I know what is
