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Spring is finally in the air!  It’s time for tank tops, sunshine, beach days, and for most of us it’s time for a little spring cleaning.  Recently I’ve been seeing a lot of commercials for green cleaning supplies so I thought now would be a good time to dig a little bit deeper.  What’s so bad about my trusty bottle of Windex, my Scrubbing Bubbles, my Mop N Glo?!  Well it turns out…a LOT!  Most of our favorite household cleaners are bad for our health and for the planet. 

According to the EPA, most of our tried and true household cleaners are chock full of organic chemicals.  Now, don’t let the “organic” part fool you, these chemicals are toxic to humans and they  release organic compounds into the air both while you’re using them and while they’re just sitting there being stored.  As with other pollutants, the short term effects range from eye and respiratory tract irritation to memory impairment and long term exposure is known to cause cancer in animals.  Some organic compounds are even suspected of causing, or are known to cause cancer in humans.

That’s definitely a little unsettling, but I’m still thinking, what damage could a tiny little bottle of household cleaner do?  Well, the EPA's Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) studies found that levels of over a dozen organic pollutants were up to 5 times higher inside US homes than outside…and that remained constant whether the homes were located out in the country or in highly industrialized areas.  And, the most likely cause of this household pollution?  Our trusty bottles of Windex…our Scrubbing Bubbles…our everyday cleaners.

Now on top of the risks to our health, most common household cleaning products harm the planet as well.  Their organic compounds cause pollution and their production causes CO2 which directly contributes to global warming.  Most household cleaners contain non-renewable resources and many are actually petroleum based.  Some other environmentally threatening ingredients include phosphates, phalates, phthalates, antibacterial agents and chlorine.  And then there’s always the plastic packaging that will, if not recycled, spend eternity in our landfills.

As always, don’t fret my friends, there are cleaner and greener alternatives out there.  There is a wide range of green household cleaning products on the market today but if you’re going to buy them make sure you read the labels.  If something is “biodegradable” you can be pretty sure it’s safe, but always read the ingredients.  Just because a product claims its ingredients are “natural” doesn’t always mean it’s safe.  Check out this article  by the Union of Concerned Scientists to learn what to look for.  Seventh Generation and Method  brand cleaners are the most common and readily available biodegradable cleaners (I’ve seen them everywhere from Target to Publix).  If you’re on a budget or still can’t trust “the man” you can always make your own!  Check out this great article over at Care2 for super simple recipes that you can make with stuff you probably already have in your kitchen like vinegar and baking soda! 

Wondering how all this relates to travel?  Think about the size of a hotel and then think about how often everything is cleaned.  Hotels use tons and tons of cleaning supplies each year (harming the planet) and clean every room daily (harming our health).  It makes me wonder if the EPA TEAM study ever tested the toxin levels in any hotels, I’d be scared to see the results of that!  Lucky for us travelers, hotels are starting to catch on and many of them are making the switch to environmentally friendly and non-toxic cleaners.  We thought that was great news and that’s why it’s a part of our RezHub Green Score.  We have hundreds of green hotels across the US and around the world already in our system, and you can see what each one is doing and whether or not they’ve started using green cleaning products by checking out their Green Score.  If you know of an environmentally friendly hotel or a green hotel using green cleaners send us an email at greentravel@rezhub.com and let us know.  We’ll give you two extra entries in our Dream Green Giveaway where you can win one of three dream green vacations!!

Article Originally Written By: Melissa Evans