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April 6, 2008

Eco-friendly spring cleaning advice offered

Matthew Hill

Spring has sprung once more upon us, and Earth Day approaches rapidly. Are there methods and techniques whereby environmentally conscious homeowners can perform their spring cleaning in ways that will help ward off Rachel Carson’s “Silent Spring?”

Absolutely, declared Doug Arbogast, Nickleson Cook and Tomoko Tamagawa of the West Virginia Sustainable Communities Project. Online research conducted by the Fayetteville-based trio proved conclusively that house cleaning doesn’t have to pollute the environment.

For example, Tamagawa said, dust everything with a damp cotton cloth. After that, use white-wine vinegar added to a pail of warm water to clean bookshelves, window sills, windows, mirrors, medicine chests and the like. If vinegar’s odor is too odious, give lemon juice or club soda a try.

When cleaning porcelain and tile, she added, mix baking soda — or perhaps kosher salt — with water. Dust surfaces with baking soda and scrub with a moist sponge or cloth. Sprinkle salt, she advised, to remove grime that is more difficult. Lemon juice and vinegar work wonders for stains, mildew and grease.

Take removable rugs outside and beat them. If there is a fresh spill, blot it with an old rag. For larger spills, dump cornmeal on it, wait five to 15 minutes, and vacuum it up.

You can even make your own “spot cleaner” by mixing a fourth of a cup of liquid soap or detergent in a blender with one-third of a cup of water. Mix until foamy, spray on and rinse with vinegar. Sprinkle baking soda or corn starch on the carpet or rug — 1 cup per medium-sized room — and vacuum the entire area after 30 minutes.

Mix one-fourth of a cup of white vinegar with 30 ounces of warm water for hardwood floors. Put the compound in a spray bottle and spray it on a cotton rag or a towel until lightly damp. Then mop the floor, scrubbing away any grime, Tamagawa advised.

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Why are such spring cleaning adjustments important? According to Cook’s research, cleaning products were responsible for nearly 10 percent of all toxic exposures reported to the U.S. Poison Control Centers in 2000, accounting for 206,636 calls.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) states that household indoor air quality is two to five times more polluted than the air outside, largely due to cleaners and pesticides.

In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey revealed that 69 percent of streams sampled contained persistent detergent metabolites, and 66 percent contained disinfectants. More than 10 states have banned phosphate from detergents.

In 1994, the city of Santa Monica, Calif., stopped using traditional cleaners in 15 of 17 product categories — thereby saving 5 percent on annual costs and avoiding the purchase of 1.5 tons of hazardous materials annually.

The American market for natural cleaning products has grown to $100 million per year. This, Cook explained, is only 1 percent of the total cleaner market, but the rate has grown by over 20 percent in the last few years.

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Most electronics can be recycled, said Cook. It’s especially a good idea, he noted, to recycle old batteries and computers, because dumping them in a landfill will leach heavy metals into groundwater and contaminate it.

When cleaning out the refrigerator, consider composting old or moldy food.

Before throwing out old or broken furniture, Cook counseled, consider trying to repair it or finding a different use for it. That alternative is much cheaper than buying new furniture, and a good cleaning can often make it shine like new.

Hosting a yard sale or garage sale is always a profitable option as well. Take any old clothes or electronics and donate them to a consignment shop. Cook also advocated drying clothes on a line, because it saves both energy and money.

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