Your Cleaning Products need a Clean-Up!

We use cleaning products to make our homes clean—but have you ever stopped to read the labels on the products you spray, mop, and wash with every day?

Many conventional cleaners contain strong fragrances, dyes, solvents and other ingredients that can irritate the eyes, skin, and respiratory system. Some also release volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, into the air inside your home.

According to the EPA, cleaning products can affect indoor air quality, and VOC levels are often higher indoors than outdoors.

This doesn’t mean using one conventional cleaner is going to “poison” you. It means that if I can reduce unnecessary chemical and fragrance exposure without sacrificing a clean home, I’m going to do it.

And the best part? You don’t need 12 different products.

Branch Basics can replace nearly every conventional product shown in the original graphic.

Its Concentrate can be diluted differently to create:

• An all-purpose cleaning spray

• A streak-free glass cleaner

• Handwashing dish soap

• Foaming hand wash

• Bathroom cleaner

• Floor and mop solution

Then add the Branch Basics Laundry Detergent, Dishwasher Tablets and a set of 100% wool dryer balls, and you’ve replaced almost the entire cleaning aisle.

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You do not need a heavily fragranced Swiffer solution.

For most tile, vinyl and laminate floors, Branch Basics recommends approximately ½–1 teaspoon of Concentrate per 2 cups of water. You can use that mixture in a spray mop or mop bucket.

Diluted white vinegar is another inexpensive option, but it isn’t appropriate for every surface. Avoid vinegar on marble, travertine and other natural stone. Use caution on hardwood, unsealed grout and specialty floor finishes.

Always follow your flooring manufacturer’s care instructions—and never mix vinegar with bleach.

For ordinary dirt, grease, fingerprints, and daily messes, a cleaner like Branch Basics is usually what you need.

Disinfecting is different. It means killing germs remaining on a surface, and you generally do not need to disinfect every inch of your home every day.

When someone is sick or you’re cleaning an area contaminated by raw meat, I use Force of Nature. It creates hypochlorous acid and is EPA-registered to sanitize and disinfect hard, nonporous surfaces when used according to its directions.