Above:
Green Clean: The Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your Home
All books in the category Green Housekeeping
by: Linda Mason Hunter, Mikki Halpin
Topics include:
There is a revolution going on in America?a green revolution. The latest front is the home, as households across the country adopt new ways to keep their homes clean and healthy?and ways to do it that are good for the environment. Green Clean is the definitive, step-by-step guide to cleaning better while using nontoxic, ecofriendly products. Room by room and stain by stain, Green Clean breaks environmentally conscious cleaning into simple principles and easily mastered techniques that let readers set their own goals and develop their own cleaning plan. Also included are recipes for safe, simple, and economic cleaning solutions and the lowdown on the best eco-friendly cleaning products on the market today. Green Clean is an indispensable reference for today?s home.
About the Author
Linda Mason Hunter, formerly an editor with The Des Moines Register and Rodale Press, has authored several books, including The Healthy Home, which the New York Times dubbed "a sort of Whole Earth Catalog for the home." She is the founder of Healthy Home Designs, co-founder of GreenHome.com, and is currently working on a new edition of The Healthy Home, to be published in Fall 2005. Mikki Halpin is a freelance writer and editor who writes frequently about environmental concerns. Her most recent book is It?s Your World: If You Don?t Like It, Change It: Activism for Teenagers. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Reviews:
Learn how to green your cleaning routine! Green Clean provides an excellent resource to greening your home environment. The book briefly begins with the history of cleaning, the toxic chemicals that are contained in our modern cleaning agents, and an introduction to green cleaning including the tools needed and steps to the process. Next, the book dives into a room-by-room green guide to cleaning. Included are how to clean different types of surfaces such as walls, floors, countertops, sinks, appliances, furniture, carpeting and clothing. The latter part of the book talks about storage, disposal, and recycling of hazardous household products including a handy chart with the type of product listed with the best way to dispose of it.
Many recipes for creating your own cleaning products such as an all-purpose cleaner, carpet cleaners and deodorizers, dishwashing, disinfectants, drain cleaners, floor cleaners, air fresheners, furniture polish, laundry detergent, metal cleaners, window cleaners, oven cleaners, sink, toilet and tile cleaners. There is a stain guide for how to get out tough laundry stains naturally as well. Additionally, a product guide along with resources and readings are included.
This book includes an index and is made out of durable synthetic paper. You could leave the book in the bathroom and not have to worry about it getting wet and ruined. Using the tips and recipes contained in the book can save your family money, but more importantly you'll learn how to green your environment. I had already been using cleaning products similar to those recommended (baking soda and vinegar can do wonders) and find they work excellently, and I do not have to worry about having toxic cleaning products in my house near my child and dogs. Overall, I learned from this book and highly recommend it to anyone looking to green their cleaning routine.
Belongs in every household: "Green Clean" is a treasure for every household. Even if you do not care about the environment or about your health, this book is definitely worth its money. It contains not only the expected environmentally sound advice but also strategies for keeping your home clean and orderly. There are also great do-it-yourself recipies for cleaning products (my favourite: DIY air freshener, it smells exactly the way I want it), and countless invaluable little tips on how to make life easier, e.g. how to load your dishwasher most efficiently, how to organize your kitchen appliances.
I used to hate cleaning, truly hate it. I would put it off all the time and if I finally got around to it I never got it all done, and I always felt deep down inside what a hopeless task cleaning is because even the most sparkling bathroom looks messy again the next day.(br>
Since buying this book I haven't started to love cleaning but it's not so bad anymore. Cleaning has become easier and less time-consuming and way more efficient. It's now part of my daily routine, no big deal. I save money, water and electricity. My home stays clean and good-looking every day and it smells great, too. Mother-in-law, you're welcome to drop in any time!
You don't have to read this cover to cover (although that's nice too) to begin benefiting from its content. It's great for quick reference. I've used several of the "recipes" for cleaning products and have been pleased with the results. The format of the book is user friendly and I love its stain-resistant, washable pages. Lots of good info. about having a green household! I highly recommend it if you're thinking about making some positive changes for your home and the planet!
This is an excellent resource for those of us wishing to remove the pollutents from our homes. The authors give detailed information on exactly what is in those 'wonder products' we currently use, like dishwashing liquid, floor waxes and cleaners and innumerable other items we use on a daily basis. The information in this book will shock you, prompt you to change the way you clean and give you the necessary tools and information to not only purchase SAFE products but create your own and live a 'greener' life. Creating your own cleaning products is not only less expensive then purchasing premade cleaners, but you KNOW what went into them!! You know how safe they are; for example - would you rather accidently drink windex and hope for the best? Or accidently ingest home made window cleaner (club soda)? Did you know that dishwashing liquid is the number one cleaning product accidently ingested by children? I didn't. And even though my cleaning products are kept well away from my 2 year old son, it is possible that accidents happen and I am not willing to take that chance. This book is filled with information so that you as a consumer can make informed choices about what you will and will not tolerate in your home, the chances you are willing to take with cleaning products and how to change what you use...and even our impact on the planet.
