General Purpose Cleaners

Scrub, squirt, splash, scour. We could be winning the war against filth and grime . . . but at what cost to the environment?

Cleaning products are among the most hazardous chemicals you will find in your home or office and are
therefore regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission. These cleaners are part of our burgeoning hazardous waste stream. …

Because the chemicals found in cleaners are not as easily dispersed indoors
as outdoors, concentrations of toxic chemicals may be higher in your home or
office than outside. A recent 5-year EPA study found the concentrations of 20
toxic compounds to be as much as 200 times higher inside homes and offices than outdoors. General purpose cleaners can be toxic, corrosive, irritating,
and flammable.

Green Seal surveyed manufacturers of general purpose cleaners and these
products are available in the market at competitive prices. You should be
able to find an environmentally responsible product that does the job without
paying more for it.
In this report we identify environmentally responsible general-purpose
cleaners. These are cleaners currently available on the market which have a
reduced impact upon the environment and upon human health. This report also
reviews the information you will need to look for when buying cleaners.
All of the 11 recommended general purpose cleaners recommended in this
Choose Green Report are labeled as biodegradable; are non-toxic to both
humans and aquatic life; do not contain EDTA or NTA, do not contain chlorine
bleach or sodium hypochlorite; do not contain phosphates or derivatives of
phosphates; have acceptable packaging; do not contain phenolic compounds; do
not contain glycol ethers; do not contain petroleum or petrochemical
compounds; are concentrated and work optimally in cold water; have an
acceptable pH when diluted; have an acceptable VOC level when diluted.

To read Green Seal’s environmental rating of 11 name brand general purpose
cleaners, download their Choose Green Report on General Purpose Cleaners!

Read more: Home, Non-Toxic Cleaning

Adapted from a Green Seal Choose Green Report, by Green Seal. Copyright (c) by Green Seal. Reprinted by permission of Green Seal.
A Green Seal Choose Green Report, by Green Seal

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Duane B.

7:46AM PDT on May 8, 2012

Thank you for sharing.

send a green star

KS G.

12:22AM PDT on Apr 15, 2012

Thanks for the article.

Michele W.

10:24AM PDT on Aug 4, 2011

Thank you

Ali O.

7:50PM PDT on Apr 26, 2011

Cool!

Bon L.

10:41PM PST on Mar 9, 2011

Thanks for the info.

Robert O.

11:36AM PST on Jan 19, 2011

Thanks.

Nicole C.

11:45PM PDT on Oct 19, 2010

Past Member .

5:09AM PDT on Mar 28, 2010

Wonderful article. Thank you Annie.

2:32AM PST on Dec 5, 2009

Multipurpose cleaners are comprised of an alkoxylated carboxylic acid ester corresponding to the formula (I): ##STR1##wherein R1 CO is an aliphatic acyl group, AlkO is CH2 CH2 O, CHCH3 CH2 O, CH2 CHCH3 O, or a combination thereof, n is a number from 1 to 20 and R2 is an aliphatic alkyl group, and a betaine, an amine oxide or a combination thereof.

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