The New Year is finally here and it is time to start with a clean slate. After all the cooking, dinner parties, guests and relatives most of us have to deal with stains, dirt and mess to put our homes in order.

7 Ultimate Tips to Clean Your Home in a Safe Way

As you know we’ve already posted 9 great tricks for after the holiday season here on our blog, an article to help you clean your home before and after a party, as well as 10 great professional tips on how to ease your home cleaning routine. Today we decided to share with you 7 tips on safety when cleaning and organising.

Not all Commercial Cleaners are Dangerous

There are a lot of toxic commercial cleaning products, but don’t label them all evil. Have in mind that a number of oxygen-based and sulphite-based cleaners and detergents, when used carefully, can be safer and friendlier to you and to the environment than chlorine bleach or ammonia. When buying commercial detergents choose products with neutral pH, non-irritating, non-hazardous, low in VOCs and preferably – biodegradable cleaners.

Make a Research

Allergies caused by harsh chemicals have encouraged many of us to use inexpensive common household products such as vinegar, baking soda, salt, lemons, soap, and natural oils to clean our homes. We’ve already written series of articles about dangerous household cleaning products. However it is important to do your research before preparing a new cleaning mixture. Not all DIY recipes are suitable for all kinds of spots, and surfaces. For example, although vinegar has great cleaning properties there are 8 things you should never clean with it.

Pay Attention to Labels and Containers

This is the first thing to do when attempting to deal with any kind of stain or dirt. Make sure you are using the right products for every cleaning job. Pay attention to products labelled with the words “caution,” “dangerous,” and “warning”. Always keep the cleaning products in their original containers and label your DIY cleaners accurately. Always use dry, clean containers for homemade cleaning mixtures.

DIY Cleaners can be Toxic Too

Use homemade cleaning recipes with the same caution, as you would treat commercial products. Wear gloves, face mask and take other precautions when using strong ingredients – not all homemade recipes are non-toxic. Always leave windows open when cleaning – some DIY recipes can release toxic gases too – for example when mixing ammonia and bleach.

Use Mild Cleaners When Possible

Most things, even when stained or when covered with build up dirt can be cleaned successfully with vinegar, baking soda or soap. Sometimes you just need to take your time when cleaning and soak the fabrics more, or let the cleaner stay longer on hard surface to do its job. Save harsh cleaning detergents for really tough cleaning jobs.

Bacteria, Food, and Food Preparation Area

People tend to buy a lot of antibacterial soaps, but overusing these can be as hazardous for your health as cleaning with toxic chemicals – not all microorganisms are bad. Use antibacterial cleaners when cleaning food preparation areas and when cooking raw meat, poultry or eggs, as well as when someone around you is ill. Never use toxic cleaning products in food preparation areas.

Clean After the Cleaning

If you use strong cleaners, rinse the surfaces with clean water when you are done cleaning. Never forget to wash your hands, cloths and tools after cleaning. Collect all detergents and put them out of reach of small children. Your pets can also suffer from toxic ingredients in some cleaners, so try these eco-friendly recipes when cleaning after your dog or cat.

If you don’t have the time to deal with all the chores in a green way by yourself, don’t hesitate to call our domestic cleaning team. We work with eco-friendly products, safe for your health and for the environment.