4 benefits of using environmentally friendly household products

Whether you are looking for a whole new range of natural or eco-friendly cleaning products, or just looking to swap a couple of your most used items, you might like to check out our household cleaning range. Not yet convinced about making those swaps to something more environmentally sound? Then read on to find out more about the benefits to you, your home, your household and the planet.

1. There are fewer  chemicals in natural cleaning products

When we clean our homes, public places and workplaces, we do this for all the right reasons. We want clean and clear environments, which are pleasant to be in and which reduce risks to people. We try to stop the spread of germs, clean up food to keep pests away and keep dust at bay. Sometimes, however, we might be introducing further risks with the products we choose. Some of the chemicals in cleaning products which cause problems for us are volatile organic compounds (VOCs). So always read the labels of the products you are using, and if they say so and take any safety measures they recommend. And don’t forget about your pets! They might find that certain products irritating too. While you may come up with a long list of reasons not to do the cleaning, don’t let irritating products be on that list. Find some eco-friendly cleaning products that don’t irritate you or your loved ones!

2. Eco-friendly cleaning product help reduce pollution

Fortunately, eco-friendly cleaning products themselves often come hand in hand with more sustainably-sourced packaging. Recycled materials, packaging that can be re-used or recycled, and even more concentrated products to reduce the need for packaging itself, are all great ways to reduce pollution from packaging. Cleaning products often get washed away down plugs, toilets and drains, and using eco-friendly products help to reduce pollution in our waterways. Waterways lead to rivers, seas and flow through our soils. Lessening our negative impact by thinking about what we clean with can make a real difference. For example, the team behind Method work hard to ensure that they do not use products that accumulate in the natural environment.¹ While Ecover washing-up liquid harnesses the cleaning power of plant-based ingredients to reduce pollution.

3. A choice of natural fragrances

Sometimes you can sense a product is irritating, just by how it smells. The way that some conventional cleaners hit your airways as soon as you smell them feels like your body’s way of telling you to get away! Natural cleaning products do not have that same effect, and you can often choose milder or even unfragranced products if all the smells are a bit much. It is so ingrained in us that strong smells equal effective cleaning, but that need not be the case. You can enjoy a sweet-smelling clean home without the need for harsh strong-smelling chemicals. And if delightful fragrances are your thing, check out Method cleaning products to indulge your senses.

4. Save more money with homemade cleaning products

Keeping a few household items in your cupboard will expand your natural cleaning product range, and save you money. Bicarbonate of soda and vinegar are the two key items. A quick spray of white vinegar on a mirror or any glass, wiped up with a clean cloth, cleans the surface as well as any leading glass cleaner. It also works well as a natural shower spray cleaner, natural limescale remover, and can act as a natural cleanser.² One of the worst cleaning jobs has got to be cleaning your oven. Using conventional oven cleaners - having to open all the windows you can find to release the fumes, wearing gloves up to your armpits to keep the products off your skin - just doesn’t feel right, does it? Did you know that there is a really easy way to clean your oven using a natural oven cleaner? Bicarbonate of soda makes a brilliant oven cleaner. Mix it with a little water to make a thick paste. Spread the paste across the glass and other dirty areas of the oven (but avoid the heating element). Leave it to sit there for at least 20 minutes, ideally overnight, then wipe it up with a clean cloth. It can leave a little grit on your oven, which you can remove by spraying a bit of white vinegar over the remaining residue. The vinegar and bicarbonate of soda will react, then you can more easily wipe up what is left. Enjoy your sparkly clean oven! Discover 10 of the best eco cleaning products from Holland & Barrett.