[izabela]

Hello
I the current climate of being eco friendly... I would like to ask for  your recommendations and expertise as to which brand or single cleaning product of so many now available eco friendly products are best you came across?
To shift the dirt we deal with everyday as professional cleaners ie limescale, grease, baked on grease?

 

[dianegreenwood]

H Izabela

We use a company called Northern Environmental who do a whole range of professional eco cleaning products.  I would particularly recommend their organic descaler, the antibac/degreaser for kitchens and their washroom cleaner.  As most of the products are dilutable you will save a fortune over domestic products such as ecover and they sell COSHH labelled empty spray bottles for each product too.

Their website is http://www.nenviro.com.  They also offer free delivery for orders over £50.

Cheers

Diane

[izabela]

Thank you Diane. Will check them out.
 

[Adam P]

try to be eco because you see a reason for it, not because you think it's the cool thing. i'm only eco because using toxic products is a risk to the cleaner. there are other reasons i list to sell our services to more people but we only do it for our health, not because we feel it's cool. just my thoughts.

[dianegreenwood]

try to be eco because you see a reason for it, not because you think it's the cool thing. i'm only eco because using toxic products is a risk to the cleaner. there are other reasons i list to sell our services to more people but we only do it for our health, not because we feel it's cool. just my thought

I'm with you on that one, the products on the supermarket shelves are pretty toxic and I didn't want the health and safety implications for staff.  Some clients its really important too if they've got children or pets but others just want a clean house and don't care what we use!

Cheers

Diane

[lesterM]

Well rather reluctantly I have been the Green Party Candidate in the local elections for the last 7 years ( average 200 votes) having been converted in 1967. Yes I am one of those people that Jasper carrot thinks she run around shouting " I told you so"
I like to think of myself as an environmental activist rather than, just a cleaner. this being a means to an end.  i put a lot of effort into trying to convince a very large store to introduce more green items and to look at the contents of what we were selling. It was a headbanger at times but sometimes there were little triumphs. And then a big disaster in November last year.
So I  would be in for some flack if I used anything slightly questionable . In fact i see it as an oppurtunity to educate.  Mind you I also need the money  ; mainly to fund my other environmental and charitable activities that have become addictive over the years.

[vacman]

The problem is that to cost-effectivly clean the mess that people leave in their houses, you are caught between a rock and a hard place...eco-friendly products are -without a doubt- more expensive and its not a cost you can usually pass onto the client because as Diane says some (in my epxperince all  I'm afraid : ) don't care what you use, they just want the job done.

To me the key to environmentally friendly cleaning is to clean little and often   -lets face it, how many of us need to clean our own homes with the the products (and quantities of same) that we use in other peoples homes? All i ever use to clean my house is disposable wipes, wash-up liquid, and bleach when it needs it (which is not at all often).

But thats the catch 22 with people who hire cleaners; they aren't bothered about cleaning (can't blame them, it pays my wage  ) and aren't bothered about what "them who do" use when they clean for them. 

[The Great One]

Hi

What about the plastic packaging for eco products??

Regards

Martin

[vacman]

Hi

What about the plastic packaging for eco products??

Regards

Martin

Personally, i find it doesnt disolve as well in water and is liable to scratch surfaces 

[Timm]

I reckon using concentrated proffessional products is a good way to go.
Cuts down on packaging , trasportation etc. and uses as small amount of chemical as possible.
But still gets te job done with out having to use heaps of less effective eco cleaner.
Just a thought.

[vacman]

Tim, i disagree, because 'professional' products which can be used for domestic purposes are usually no more concentrated, you just get more in a bottle. So there is an increase in the packaging there. Add to which, a big can of something may not be so bad, but a massive 5L container of product is a pain to travel with.

[The Great One]

Hi

What about the plastic packaging for eco products??

Regards

Martin

So are the containers for eco products bio degradeable or is some dolphin going to be choking on it in the Pacific somewhere.

I guess at least it would be grateful it's choking to death in an eco friendly way!

Regards

Martin

[Adam P]

some use hdpe - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDPE

[The Great One]

Hi

Hardly Eco is it, you need crude oil to make it, it is 'commonly' recycled but not always, so loads of it goes to landfill or sold to some 3rd world country to contaminate their lives.


What ingredients are in Eco friendly products?

Regards

Martin

[Adam P]

well as i mentioned to me the eco-friendly bit isn't about saving the world, it's about not using toxic products, the save the world is only a small "benefit" that some customers like so i advertise it on my site but it's very minimal green cleaning to me should mean using products you can happily use without having to hold your breath.

[The Great One]

Hi

Ok, but what is actually in these Professional green solutions?

Regards

Martin

[Adam P]

well in one of my favorite smelling product i'm told the following...

baking soda
biodegradable and non-toxic surfactant blend
potassium hydrate
non-toxic and biodegradable solvent
fragrance oil blend
preservative (less than 0.1%)
colour
purified water

[The Great One]

Hi

hmm... weird, can't find potassium hydrate anywhere on the internet, it's like it doesn't even exist??

[Adam P]

maybe it's a new chemical they invented for the cleaning product  if you're really interested what's in the bottle (i assume to see if it's really green or the company is green washing) then i guess best way is to find cosh sheets for green products, e.g. http://www.ecotopia.co.uk/cmscontent/documents/files/cosh/biod_disinfectant.pdf

[dianegreenwood]

So are the containers for eco products bio degradeable or is some dolphin going to be choking on it in the Pacific somewhere.

We get our products in 5ltr containers and dilute into 600ml COSHH labelled reusable spray bottles.  The 5ltr bottles are returned to our supplier for reuse so we don't throw any away and if we do have other items that we do have to throw away they get recycled in our green wheelie bin at home.

Having said that, our main concern is the products themselves.  We tried Ecover products for a long time but apart from a couple, they are mostly ineffective or required so much elbow grease you may as well not use any product at all!  We are happy with our current supplier as they are environmentally friendly, more geared to the professional market, they cost a quarter the price of off the shelf products and they work!

Our company isn't green for greens sake but we do try our best not to hurt ourselves or others while we're cleaning, but like I said before, most of our clients just want a clean house and most aren't that bothered how we do it

Cheers

Diane