Wash and clean environmentally friendly

Laundry

Much has improved with detergents. Consumers can still do good things for the environment:

- Prefer supercompact agents instead of compact media.

- Use color laundry detergent, they contain no bleach and optical brightener. Special agents, e.g. for black laundry, are superfluous!

- All laundry, including white, are clean with the modern means at 30 to 40 degrees in the machine - for the cooking cycle, there is no reason. Also completely redundant for several years: the pre-wash cycle.

- Dose as sparingly as possible, use the right measuring cup. Check with the waterworks for the degree of hardness of your tap water. The softer the water, the less detergent needed.

- Washing powder regularly performs better in tests than liquid detergents, because the substances contained are more effective.

- For allergy sufferers important: Manufacturers must declare on their website the complete ingredients (as with cosmetics).

kitchen

Oven cleaner: Wipe the still warm (not hot!) Ceranfelder with a damp cloth. Then you need less special cleaner; it contains silicones that are not degradable in the environment at all.

washing up liquid contain hardly any health or environmentally harmful substances. The only problem is that most consumers use too much of it. Tip: Do not change the rinsing water until the foam has disappeared. Always buy concentrates and very thick products - they are easier to dose.

Dishwasher cleaner are always polluting because they contain large amounts of phosphates. In addition, the machine cleaner contains more aggressive substances than the detergent. Wash bulky dishes like pots by hand. Then you can also choose the energy saving 50 degree program.

But it also speaks a lot for the machine: The Bonn-based professor of household technology Rainer Stamminger has made a pan-European experiment: he let subjects clean a pile of 140 dirty dishes by hand and compared the water and electricity consumption with that of a dishwasher. Unique eco-winner: the machine. However, this is only true if you pack the machine very full and no pots and pans pure, but this washes by hand. Then you can also choose the energy-saving 50-degree program. If you need a really good argument for the machine, it saves you sixteen days each year.

oven cleaner are all more or less polluting and health. Prefer agents that are declared "irritant" (black cross) versus "corrosive" cleaners (orange-red hand). Much better: clean the approximately 50 degrees warm oven with water and detergent. And by the way: the stains are an optical, not a hygienic problem. In many other countries, one does not pay attention to it.

Entkalker: Kettle and coffee makers have to be descaled regularly, otherwise they consume too much power. Special cleaners are not necessary, you also do without the "old home remedy" vinegar. As a result, gaskets become porous and metal parts are attacked. Take pure citric acid, such as that used to make jam.

Silver polish may contain harmful sulfur compounds and other toxins. Since many home remedies do not seem right: Use your silverware only for special occasions and access in everyday life to stainless steel.

Bathroom and toilet

WC cleaner: Only with muscle power you can not clean the toilet. Take cleaner with citric acid instead of with vinegar or hydrochloric acid? they do not pollute the room air.

glass cleaner are superfluous. Put a splash of dishwashing liquid, vinegar or spirit into the water, it will clean as well.

Air fresheners in the toilet pollute the air and simply have no sense. Motto of the Federal Environmental Agency: rather ventilate instead of scenting!

Mold: If he dives into the silicone joints of the shower or bathtub, only one thing helps: cut out and renew. Use special silicone that inhibits mold growth. Anti-mold for spraying usually help only for a short time. Prevention: Dry the shower, leave the door open, ventilate.

The whole flat

All Purpose cleaner are effective, inexpensive and economical; they hardly differ - neither in terms of cleaning performance nor in terms of environmental compatibility. Eco is not necessarily better: For example, the Federal Environmental Agency complained cleaner with orange oil, because this can cause allergies. Avoid using special "grease removers" or power cleaners, they attack the skin and the surfaces of sensitive materials. Better: leave all-purpose cleaner to work for ten minutes before rubbing.Use scouring cream for stubborn dirt. Scouring powder contains sand, it can scratch the fittings.

drain cleaner should quickly and conveniently drain cleaners eliminate constipation. Practice shows: a suction cup or vacuum pump does it just as well and it does not take longer. Drain cleaners contain sodium hydroxide, they are harmful to the environment and harmful to health (highly corrosive). Prevention: Attach sieves in all casts, make sure that hair and leftovers do not disappear into the drain.

waterproofing sprays are harmful to health, may only be used outdoors. At best, useful with suede. Although often recommended by shoe stores, they do not improve the water-repellent effect of other materials (such as leather or Sympatex).

Eco Friendly Exterior Cleaning -Chemical Wash With NO Pressure (April 2024).