Going Green: Cleaning Naturally|NewsChannel 8

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Going Green: Cleaning Naturally

posted 3:56 pm Mon January 14, 2008 -

tags: green • clean • chemical • organic

Americans spend billions of dollars on everything from hybrid cars to organic foods to go green, but now there is a push towards green cleaning.

NewsChannel 8 - Going Green: Cleaning Naturally

Tracie Thomas is all about organic from her garden, to her koi pound to her kitchen cleaner. "I just didn't like the chemical smell. I didn't like the idea of all the chemicals in the home." About six months ago, the Alexandria resident dumped her traditional cleaning service and went for the green mop.

"It was really not a business move for me, it was a personal stand," Green Cleaning owner Mia Gallina said. The idea started a couple of years ago while she was volunteering at a battered woman's shelter. Her first three employees were women trying to get a fresh start, which has grown to 28 employees cleaning 350 homes and businesses. The company uses nothing but earth-friendly cleaners like baking sode, vinegar, lemon juice and club soda.

"We've found a vinegar warmed in the microwave is a lot better to use for soap scum." Nationally, the natrual products industry is booming, growing 15% year to year with sales close to $31 billion, according to the market research and consulting firm Spins. $114 million of the billion was spent on natural household cleaners and supplies, which is up 23% from last year.

"There's been a major shift in the last three to five years, I think, in people's acceptance of use of chemicals in their everyday life, whether its in the toys their kids play with, the clothes they buy off the shelf, the cars they drive," said Stephen Lester, Science Director at the Center for Health, Environment and Justice.

Thomas said she just wanted to come home to a clean house that didn't smell like a bottle of bleach. "It just felt better to me for our home, our family, the environment."

Gallina said green cleaning does take a little longer to finish where a traditional size house takes a regular cleaning crew about two hours, it takes a green team of four about three hours. The price, Gallina said, is competitive with tradition cleaning services.

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