Eco-friendly house cleaning is less about filling a cupboard with new green products and more about using fewer, simpler ones well. Microfibre cloths, careful dilution, refills and an open window do most of the work. This guide explains what the labels can and cannot tell you, the swaps that make a real difference, how to keep children and pets safe, and what to ask a cleaner about the products they bring. If you would rather hand the work over altogether, our regular domestic cleaning service is described on its own page.
What an eco label can and cannot tell you
Words on the front of a bottle are a starting point, not proof. The common ones mean roughly this:
- Plant-based: some or all of the cleaning ingredients come from plants rather than petrochemicals. It does not mean every ingredient is natural, or that the product is harmless.
- Biodegradable: the product breaks down after it goes down the drain. How fast and how completely varies, and the word may apply to only part of the formula.
- Concentrated: you add the water at home, so each clean needs less packaging and less transport. It only helps if you dilute it as the label says.
- Refillable: the bottle is designed to be topped up from a pouch or a refill shop, which cuts plastic waste.
A green bottle or a picture of a leaf tells you nothing on its own. Turn the bottle round and read the ingredients and the instructions.
Simple eco-friendly house cleaning swaps
Most homes can cut chemicals and waste without losing any cleaning power.
- Microfibre instead of wipes. Good microfibre cloths lift dust and grease from many surfaces with just water. Wash them and use them again instead of throwing away wipes and kitchen roll.
- Measure, do not pour. More product does not mean a cleaner surface. Too much leaves a sticky film that attracts dirt and then needs rinsing off.
- Own fewer products. A general-purpose cleaner, a bathroom descaler, washing-up liquid and a cream cleaner cover most jobs in most houses. A shelf of single-purpose sprays rarely earns its space.
- Refill rather than rebuy. Keep the good spray bottles and buy refills or concentrates.
- Let air in. Open a window or run the extractor fan while you clean, especially in a small bathroom.
- Use the basics. White vinegar shifts limescale on taps and shower heads, and bicarbonate of soda makes a gentle scouring paste. Keep vinegar away from marble and other natural stone, which it can etch.
- Never mix products. Combining cleaners, especially anything containing bleach, can be dangerous. Use one, rinse, then use the next if you must.
Children and pets
Gentler products still need care around children and animals. Plant-based does not mean safe to swallow.
- Read the label every time, including on products sold as eco.
- Store cleaners high up or in a locked cupboard, in their original bottles.
- Keep small children and pets out of the room until floors and surfaces are dry.
- Rinse anything a pet licks or eats from, such as hard floors and feeding bowls.
For more on floors in homes with animals, see our post on pet safe cleaning products for floors.
Questions to ask a cleaner about products
If someone else is cleaning your home, it is fair to ask what they will use there. Good questions to ask an eco-friendly cleaning company, or any cleaner, are:
- Who supplies the products and equipment: you, or me?
- Can I see the labels of what you use in the kitchen and bathroom?
- If I prefer my own products, can you use them?
- Do you use microfibre cloths, and how are they washed between jobs?
- What do you use on heavy limescale or grease, and how sparingly?
A cleaner who is happy to answer these is usually one who has thought about it.
How we clean
At Pro Cleaning Woking we bring the cleaning products and equipment. We use eco-friendly cleaning products, because we do not think a clean home should come at the expense of the environment, and we try to keep waste down in how we work. If you want to know about a particular product before we start, just ask when you call.
Where a professional clean fits
Regular cleaning and eco habits work well together. When dust and grime are dealt with every week or fortnight, they never build up to the point where you reach for the strongest product in the cupboard. Many people keep the daily habits above and leave the weekly or fortnightly clean, the bathrooms, kitchen and floors, to someone else.
Ask us about the products we use
If you want to know which products we would use in your home, or would like a quote for regular visits, call 01483 773531 or send your question through our contact page.