Our Top 6 Tips for a Greener Spring Clean

While we have all wanted to hibernate over the last week of heavy snow, we know that Spring is around the corner. It always amazes us that once the weather starts to warm up, our thoughts turn to cleaning and tidying our spaces. Spring Clean season comes upon us. We believe that keeping your home clean and tidy is an important element in maintaining good physical and mental health. From a mindfulness perspective, a clean home can reduce stress levels, as spending time in cluttered, dirty or disorganised surroundings has been found to trigger general gloom and frustration. 

The good news is that there is no reason why your clean home needs to come at the expense of the environment or your health. Green cleaning is practical, achievable, and as effective as using chemical-laden conventional products in terms of keeping a fresh and clean house or office. 

Switching to green cleaning methods is easier than you would expect as you can use household items you already have in your cupboards. At NatBrands we love the idea of working with nature and using methods and ingredients that have been proven over generations. This ethos underpins how we select product ranges.

Here are our 6 Top Tips to help you embrace a greener clean:

Lemon Aid

• Tip 1:  Lemons are a fantastic tool in the green-cleaning armoury. Try them for deodorising smelly containers (rinse a plastic container with lemon juice to remove stains and smells). Indeed ECOS have added lemon peel oil to their Stain and Odour Remover. It has a lovely subtle lemon scent and is perfect for cleaning and deodorising bins and nappy buckets as well and removing stains from fabrics.
• Tip 2:  Use lemon juice and salt to clean your chopping board. Scrub with our LoofCo Washing-Up Scraper, made from Coconut husk, for added effectiveness

Versatility of Vinegar

• Tip 3:  If you want your mirrors to shine, rather than use an ammonia-based conventional cleaning product, why not try a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water. Spray onto the mirror, and then wipe off using newspaper or a dry cloth to achieve a perfect reflection. ECOS include vinegar as a key ingredient with their Window Cleaner to give a streak-free shine. It is quick and easy to use on all windows and mirrors around your home
• Tip 4:  White vinegar is also an effective way to refresh your dishwasher. Instead of using a chemical descaling tablet try filling a dishwasher-safe bowl with white vinegar. Run a normal cleaning cycle (ensuring there is nothing else in the dishwasher at the time) to remove bacteria, odours and limescale. It is also a good idea to run a vinegar wash before your switch from a harsh conventional dishwasher products to a green dishwasher product like ECOS Wave Dishwasher Gel 
• Tip 5:  Keeping your glass shower door and screen free from hard water and soap residue can be a losing battle and they often look dirty and uninviting. White vinegar is a safe and effective way of dealing with this problem. Simply decant into a spray bottle, spray onto the shower door and scrub with a non-scratch scourer like LoofCo Cleaning Pad made from loofah, then rinse with warm water. Alternatively stop the limescale build up taking hold by spraying ECOS Shower Cleaner onto glass and tiles after each shower. This also leaves a gentle aroma of lavender and tea tree essential oil.

 Helpful Houseplants

• Tip 6:  Houseplants can also help with a greener clean as they remove indoor air pollutants! Chrysanthemums, English ivy, spider plants, and Boston ferns naturally freshen the air. Studies have also found that having plants in the home can improve concentration and productivity, as well as reducing stress levels and boosting your mood.

While you can make your own products with lemons and vinegar, for those of us with little time or who would rather use a ready-made product it is simple to switch to green cleaning products! Eco-friendly products, like the ECOS, Loofco, and Ecoizm brands that we have sourced and champion offer a very real alternative to the more conventional cleaning solutions.

We have been developing and selling green cleaning products for many years now and we know that like us, our customers want to create a safer greener home and environment. If we clean our homes and clothes with toxic chemicals, we breathe them in, absorb them through our skin and flush them into the environment. Conversely, green cleaning products offer all of the same odour neutralising and cleaning benefits but with added peace of mind that we are not harming our health or the planet.