Eco-Friendly Cleaning

Each kitchen is a place particularly exposed to dirt. It serves to store food products and prepare meals, and is often the heart of the home where household members, including four-legged ones, like to gather. Therefore, it is necessary to keep it clean, hygienic and orderly.

The surfaces that usually become the most dirty are floors and worktops. Composites’ advantages were described in previous entries. They work well as surface finishes for cabinets and shelves with many possible colour and installation arrangements. So it was time to take up a difficult challenge – check what could be used to clean composites and whether each dirt and stain could be removed. For this purpose, I carried out a quite specific test the consequences of which were hard to foresee. Beetroot juice, kale juice and turmeric water were spilled over the worktop. An hour later, I started cleaning.

The preparation used is 100% natural, the fragrances contained therein are lavender and orange essential oils, also 100% natural. Furthermore, its active ingredient is ECOCERT certified and the product comes in a non-plastic packaging – which means 99.8% less plastic to recycle. It is a powder soluble in a tiny amount of water, so cleaning any surface we do not use much of the latter as well.

The effect proved also 100% satisfying – the stains disappeared after a dozen or so seconds of rubbing with a damp paper towel. This was the first time this preparation, chosen for the purposes of this blog, was used. Available in a well-known chemist chain, it is inexpensive, efficient and, as you can see, effective. I should mention that this, according to the information on its packaging, “highly concentrated universal bathroom cleaner” works well in the kitchen and, as we may presume, in the household in general.

Everyone who prepares everyday meals knows that is impossible to avoid spills, grease splatter or dirty marks left by various products or dishes. These are quite easy to remove with commercially available chemicals. It gets more complicated, however, if we want to be eco-friendly, as it is much easier to buy what is available in every shop. Still, it is worth taking your time to plan shopping so that cleaning agents would be healthier. Remember that using preparations containing chlorine and caustic agents we not only pollute the ground and water, but also inhale unhealthy fumes.

It is recommended to use natural substances. Soda works well, also in its eco-friendly version, or vinegar. Information how to prepare such mixtures can be found on the Internet. To be honest, all well-known liquids and powders available in the market can be used to clean composites. If your sink has changed its colour as a result of spilling coffee or tea, it can be easily restored to its original state with bleach. However, bleach can make the composite tarnish. In the case of stains that are particularly difficult to remove, worktops, washbasins, sinks or shelves can be abraded. This will require professional help. As it is not done too often, it might be a good idea to refresh colour or clean surface as part of the scheduled renovation.

To refresh high-gloss or semi-gloss countertops, make them shiny again and cover microdamages, you can use maintenance products for wooden surfaces, but even body oil will work – and you do not have to worry that using these substances will adversely affect the look of the composite. This is a practical tip hard to find in user manuals. I know lustring products and their effects from my long-term first-hand experience and experiments aimed at learning about composites’ properties.

All described methods have been applied as part of my everyday work for 15 years, and are tried and tested. But it must be added that cleaning should be a systematic activity and leaving it for later is not a good idea.

Paying attention to the use of eco-friendly substances is becoming a requirement for both manufacturers and users, all those who care about health, harmonious development and the future of the Earth and its inhabitants. Unable to cope with the problem of proper cleaning, disposal and waste segregation, we tend to choose widely available and cheap preparations. Cheap usually means unhealthy. Think about it when picking chemical cleaning products in a shop.