1. Cleaning Healthy… Cleaning Green
15 MINUTE LESSON

2. Introduction
People spend an average of 90 percent of their time indoors
Levels of organic pollutants 2 to 5 times higher inside
Sources include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from household cleaning products
According to the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):
Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids.
VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects.
VOCs are emitted by a wide array of products numbering in the thousands. Examples include: paints and lacquers, paint strippers, cleaning supplies, pesticides, building materials and furnishings, office equipment such as copiers and printers, correction fluids and carbonless copy paper, graphics and craft materials including glues and adhesives, permanent markers, and photographic solutions.
Organic chemicals are widely used as ingredients in household products. Paints, varnishes, and wax all contain organic solvents, as do many cleaning, disinfecting, cosmetic, degreasing, and hobby products.
All of these products can release organic compounds while you are using them, and, to some degree, when they are stored.

3. Green tip 1: Simplicity Simplify your life and make cleaning easier
Use fewer products
Select multi-use products
Focus on basic cleaning ingredients
Make cleaning easier for yourself
Don’t buy specialized cleaning products for every room in the house
Just use one multi-purpose product to clean your home
This helps reduce costs and chemicals in your home
Focus on what products you need to clean your home

4. Green tip 2: Economics
Homemade cleaning products cost less than commercial or over-the-counter cleaners
Homemade glass cleaner
1/4 c. white vinegar
32 $2
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 qt. warm water
Standard glass cleaner
32 $2.50
Green glass cleaner
32 $5.00

5. Green tip 3: Environment
Why go “green”?
Health reasons: Improving your home environment by reducing volatile organic compounds that may cause respiratory problems
Environmentally responsible choice: Choosing to use practices today that reduce the use of natural resources so they will be there for future generations
There are many reasons to replace your current cleaning products with healthier alternatives.
A major reason is for health concerns.
You or a member of your family may have respiratory problems, allergies or asthma that is aggravated by the use of cleaning products.
Reducing the number of cleaners you use can help improve your home environment.
You may be concerned about the environment and conserving natural resources.
We can sometimes be wasteful, tossing many things that could be reused and often over-using chemicals and cleaners in our homes.

6. Greenwashing! Greenwashing: Misleading or false claims
Learn to separate true eco- friendly products from the greenwashers
For example, look for EPA Design for the Environment or the private-sector program “Green Seal”
Whether inadvertently or deliberately, companies may make misleading or false claims about how environmentally friendly their products are when in fact they are not.; this is known as greenwashing.
It can be hard to find the truth about these products, but there are a few tricks you can learn to separate eco-friendly products from greenwashers.
EPA allows products to carry the Design for the Environment (DfE) label.
This mark enables consumers to quickly identify and choose products that can help protect the environment and are safer for families.
When you see the Design for the Environment logo on a product it means that the DfE scientific review team has screened each ingredient for potential human health and environmental effects and that—based on currently available information, EPA predictive models, and expert judgment—the product contains only those ingredients that pose the least concern among chemicals in their class.
EPA's Design for the Environment Program (DfE) has allowed use of their logo on over 2,000 products. These products are formulated from the safest possible ingredients and have reduced the use of "chemicals of concern" by hundreds of millions of pounds.
Green Seal
The private sector also has “green assurance” programs via third-party certification.
The Green Seal is the most widely used; this is an independent non-profit organization that certifies products using credible, science-based and transparent standards.

7. How safe are your products?
No cleaning product is 100% safe
Natural and green do not imply that the product is nontoxic
All cleaning products should be used with caution
No cleaning product is 100% safe.
The words natural and green do not imply that the product is non-toxic.
All cleaning products should be used with caution.

8. Hands-on activity Let’s make some cleaners! When making cleaners:
Mix only what you need or no more than a month supply
Use new containers: DO NOT store homemade cleaners in previously used or food storage containers
Label with date, ingredients, and product name
Mix in a well-ventilated area
When making cleaners:
You should always be cautious when mixing cleaners at home
Mix only what you need or no more than a month supply
Use new containers: DO NOT store homemade cleaners in previously used or food storage containers.
Label with date, ingredients, and product name
Mix in a well-ventilated area

9. Let’s make… All-purpose cleaner #1 3 tbsp. white vinegar
1⁄2 tsp. washing soda
1⁄2 tsp. vegetable oil based liquid soap
2 cups hot water
Fragrant kitchen cleanser
2 tbsp. white vinegar
2 pints water
4 drops essential oil (lavender, tea tree oil, lemon, lemongrass, or rosemary)
No-streak glass cleaner
¼ c. white vinegar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1 quart warm water

10. Thank you! Questions? Comments?
Note: This program was developed by University of Georgia Cooperative Extension (Sharon M. S. Gibson, Multi-Cultural Specialist. Pamela R. Turner, Associate Professor & Extension Housing Specialist). This shorter version was developed by G. Peek. Source: Gibson, S. M. S., & Turner, P. R. (2008). Cleaning healthy, cleaning green (HACE-E-73-2). Athens, GA: University of Georgia.