May 14, 2007 8:16 pm US/Eastern
Go Green At Home: Easy Tips From CBS 2
by Kirstin Cole
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Lisa Rowley has been going green at home. From organic fruits and vegetable to re-usable canvas shopping bags, she's hoping the change will help the planet and protect her sons' health at the same time. And she's choosing natural when it comes to cleaning. But what do "eco-friendly, natural and green" really mean?
"Consumers really should not rely on labels. Often these terms can be used by the manufacturer without any verification or oversight or indeed without meeting any particular standards," says Urvashi Rangan of Consumers Union, the publishers of Consumers Report Magazine.
According to advocates of green living, many conventional products use chemicals like phosphates, chlorine and ammonia, which should be avoided. "There are a lot of these cleanering products that emit gasses like ammonia and chlorine that can cause breathing problems," warns Paul McRandel, editor of the eco-minded Green Guide.
Watch out for products that don't fully list all of their ingredients. "Without an ingredient list, there's no way to evaluate whether a claim is truthful or not," said Rangan.
So if you don't feel like scouring labels before scouring floors, you may want to make your own green cleaners using simple ingredients, like vinegar and lemons--acids that eat dirt, baking soda to scrub away grime, and hydrogen peroxide as a natural bleach to disinfect.
Another use for peroxide?
"This will kill the bacteria in red meat and chicken?" asked CBS 2's Kirstin Cole. "Yes, and can be used to clean cutting boards and countertops. You can also spray it on greens to clean them, then give them a rinse," advises McRandle.
And to clean your wood furniture?
Vinegar as a cleaner, mixed with olive oil, then rubbed with a clean cloth will do the trick.
For more on how to go green, visit
our Go Green special section and also visit
The Green Guide.
(© MMVII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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