Here it is! My ever-so-sexy list of go-tos for green cleaning supplies. I’m pulling back the curtain and sharing what I use for all-purpose cleaners, dish soap, laundry detergent, odor removal, wipes and more. I even have an option for tree-free paper towels. Now, that’s hot.
IN THIS POST:
- All purpose cleaners
- Hand soap
- E-cloths
- Odor removal
- Laundry
- Wipes
- Dish soap + dishwasher detergent
- Air filter
- Paper towels
I am a big advocate of small, intentional steps when it comes to greening up your home. “Do what you can with the information you have now” is one of my many mottos. (YOLO is another 😜.)
After testing product over the past 7 years, this list is literally a breakdown of what I use day in and day out. I wanted to list everything in one place so you can bookmark it and use it as a tool or reference the next time you head out shopping. This is by no means a bible of products you “should be using”…consider this more of a peek behind the curtain of my day-to-day cleaning looks like.
How did I land on these products? Above all, I need a product that works. Like, you WILL NOT find me on my hands and knees trying to scrub grout with essential oils or “freshen up” a room by spraying vinegar, NO! Everything you see here is tried, tested and legit works.
Second, I’m not down with bringing any of these ingredients into my home, so you won’t find those here either. Consider the following the crossroads of where “it works” and “green” meet.
Happy cleaning!
All purpose cleaner
Force of Nature | $69 Starter Kit; 80-cent refills
Force of Nature uses electricity to turn salt, water & vinegar into a multi-purpose cleaner, deodorizer and EPA registered disinfectant that kills 99.9% of germs, including Salmonella, Norovirus, Listeria, STAPH, MRSA, Pseudomonas & Influenza A. The EPA registration means the suppliers, purity, concentration & processing of all ingredients have been rigorously tested, and that stringent microbiological tests have been passed using EPA approved protocols in EPA approved labs.
Force of Nature is NEXT LEVEL. It uses electrolyzed water which is the key (learn more here)—and I use it for everything. I use it all around my house—come see before and after pics or check it out in action.
SAVE: Code THENEWKNEW will save you $25 off all Bundles (the Extra Value and Year of Capsules Bundles).
RELATED: We tried it: 24 ways to use Force of Nature cleaner.
Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap (all purpose) | $15.99
Dr. Bronner’s is a concentrated castile soap, meaning it is a plant-derived soap. It is biodegradable, earth friendly, certified organic and vegan. This concentrated formula can be used for so many things from bathing your pet to mopping floors to shaving your legs. I happen to love it as a dish soap.
I dilute it 1:10 with water in a little oil/vinegar glass pourer and keep it by my sink for hand washing dishes with a scrub brush. There are a ton of scents to choose from like orange, rose, almond and an unscented one too. I often find these on deep discount (like half price) at HomeGoods, T.J. Maxx or Marshalls, but available on Amazon too. Cleaning for pennies with this product!
Bon Ami Scouring Powder | $5
All purpose cleansers are great but sometimes you need something rough and tumble…something with some grit to handle the tough stuff. This biodegradable scouring powder can be used for almost anything including the tough spots like keeping grout white, removing toilet, sink and bathtub stains, freshening up the inside of a microwave, removing the caked bits on pots and pans, cleaning scuff marks and finger prints off walls and more.
Probably the most exciting thing about this cleanser is that it takes up the utensil marks from my 12-year-old plates and bowls 😱. All of this with just some limestone, feldspar powder, soda ash, baking soda and alkyllbenzene sulfonic acid as a surfactant.
Hand soap
Kosmatology Hand Soap | $8.99
Loving these foaming hand soaps from Kosmatology. Ingredients are on point, they come in some fun scents and clean hands like a champ.
These are also Leaping Bunny Certified, vegan and free of concerning ingredients in soaps like: parabens, phthalates, SLS and triclosan. Instead, these are made with organic oils and organic essential oils. I have one by my kitchen sink and another in my bathroom.
*From time to time, these pumps clog. Just run them under warm water to get them working smoothly again.
E-cloths
E-cloth | $10
Say hello to E-cloth! These are amazing little tools that clean stainless and windows with JUST WATER! That was not a typo. Just. Water.
The window cloths are great for mirrors, glass and windows. I have a spray bottle with just water in it that I use to spritz down whatever surface I am cleaning and then wipe with the glass cleaning cloths. There are two cloths for glass, a textured one to remove water and a finishing cloth which leaves glass streak free. Honestly these work so well I don’t even need the finishing cloth most of the time. Clean, CHECK! Cheap, CHECK! Nontoxic, CHECK!
The stainless cloth works the same way but I actually get better results if I use an all-purpose cleaner like Force of Nature or Dr. Bronner’s with it. It works fine with just water but it works fantastic if you add a little uph to the mix. I use this on my fridge, dishwasher, range hood, stove and washer/dryer.
So good right!?
Odor removal
Fresh Wave Odor Removing Packs | $10 for 6 sachets
Love these for the bottom of my trash barrel in the kitchen, a stinky pair of shoes and behind the toilet. They are little sachets filled with gel-like balls. They smell good and they definitely help eliminate any foul odors. I spoke with the company about their ingredients and they explained these packs are made of a proprietary blend of water and pine, lime, cedarwood, aniseed and clove and a ploymer/gel. The gel is a food-grade polymer that allows for the ingredients to create a gel-like substance and is safe to touch and eat (although not recommended).
RELATED: 9 ways to make your home smell good.
Laundry
Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent | $12.99
Nine times out of ten, I’m grabbing Seventh Generation’s Free and Clear. Now, I know, I know, this isn’t the most organic option on the market, but it’s also not terrible either. If you are looking for the most organic options you can check out Molly’s Suds, Melioria and The Simply Co. I personally gravitate towards Seventh Gen because it’s one of the better options at Target, stocked at most grocery stores and available via Instacart. It’s convenient and it works well.
However, if you are looking for the cleanest of the clean options, you can try making your own with soap berries. This is an especially fantastic option for people with multiple chemical sensitivities.
Dryer Balls | $17.95
Eliminating dryer sheets from your home is one of the most powerful and simplest cleaning swaps you can make. Dryer sheets can be loaded with potential health compromising components, one of the heaviest hitters being “fragrance.” Products intended to keep rooms smelling fresh can set people up for a lifetime of chemically induced illness, and repeated exposure to small amounts of household chemicals can trigger symptoms to previously tolerated chemicals (1).
Reusable dryer balls, on the other hand, are made of 100% wool and help eliminate static, while skipping the synthetics. You can buy them or create your own. I like to add a couple drops of water and my favorite essential oil to the balls for the last 2-3 minutes of drying my clothes for an extra static-free and scent boost.
Puracy Stain Remover | $8.99
Literally the holy grail of all natural stain removers. I never use anything else because THIS WORKS. Love that they offer refills too. Several people have asked Puracy about the sodium borate used in this formula, which they respond to here.
ECOS OXO BRIGHT | $17
Love this as a whites booster. It’s made with two ingredients: Sodium Carbonate Peroxide (mineral-based stain remover) and Sodium Carbonate (mineral-based water softener) and it’s rated an A via the Environmental Working Group. I add a scoop of this to each load of laundry (whites or colors) for that added freshness.
Wipes
Hydrogen Peroxide Wipes | $7.49
For all the wipe lovers out there. These are just hydrogen peroxide and water. This is a great substitute for disinfecting bleach wipes. The CDC confirms hydrogen peroxide is active against a wide range of microorganisms including bacteria, yeasts, fungi, viruses and spores. I use these on my toilet and on the counter after prepping meats/poultry/eggs. These are also effective for disinfecting cuts or scrapes too.
Dish soap
Seventh Generation Dishwasher Packs | $12.99
I’ve been grabbing the Seventh Generation dishwasher packs because they are convenient and effective. They are not the cleanest option but they are better than most and they don’t leave my dishes streaky.
If you are looking for a better option, Better Life Dishwasher Gel leaves dishes clean and streak free too. It’s plant derived, fragrance free, biodegradable, safe for kids, pets and the planet.
Better Life Dish Soap | $12.99
Again, Better Life uses plant-derived, biodegradable, safe for kids/pets/the planet ingredients in their dish soap. It’s natural grease-fighting ingredients make it a go-to for me, as well as the fact that they have unscented and scented options. It’s a safe bet that you can usually pick up at Whole Foods or on Amazon.
And if you are looking for a simpler option, you can make your own using a few drops of castile soap in water, which I do from time to time.
Air filter
Austin Air Filter | Starting at $715
With the recent pandemic and its possible respiratory after-effects, air quality has moved to the forefront of many people’s minds—which is where it should be. Much like the water you drink, the air you breathe on the daily impacts your health more than practically anything you put on your body.
I haven’t tried Austin Air filters yet, but they’re regarded as the gold standard. Their founder modeled its design after technology already utilized in leading medical facilities, using a combination of True Medical HEPA and Activated Carbon to engineer a filter to specifically target particulate contamination and chemical toxicity (read more details about what that means here).
In government tests, Austin Air outperformed more than 100 other air purifiers. Because of this, FEMA and the American Red Cross chose Austin during some of America’s most challenging times, including 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Sandy and the 2015 SoCal gas leak in California.
Kinda hard to beat that stamp of approval, right?
Paper towels
Tree-Free 2-Ply Paper Towels – 100% Bamboo | $4.95
Let’s be honest, sometimes you just need a paper towel. I also do use washable and reusable rags and towels, but once they get wet, it’s just all downhill from there…the potential for mold, the smell, the re-spreading-something-I-already-wiped-up-feeling…I just prefer a paper towel. But what I don’t prefer is chopping down trees to satisfy my own personal convenience. Enter; paper towels made from bamboo. I’ve tried the Seedling ones by Grove, which are 100% tree-free and they are decent. A little thin but they get the job done.
RELATED: Check out my living room furniture makeover and the compostable bags I use throughout my house.
These are my go-tos for green cleaning products—what are your faves?
TNK Team Note: This article contains affiliate links. TNK uses affiliate links as a source for revenue to fund operations of the business and to be less dependent on branded content. TNK stands behind all product recommendations. Still have questions about these links or our process? Feel free to email us.
REFERENCES
1. Miller CS. The compelling anomaly of chemical intolerance. Ann N Y Acad Sci. 2001;933:1–23. PMID:12000012. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
Margot
November 10, 2016Definitely could use help with stainless. That cloth really helps with the streaking?
thisorganicgirl
November 10, 2016Oh my gosh, YES!!! Especially if you use a little all-purpose cleaner with it – its performance doubles!
Chrysta
March 30, 2021Do you have a recommendation for cleaning a leather chair?
Dena Deprospero
February 26, 2022My yoga teacher recommended EcoStrips for laundry and they work well 100%! No big plastic trash, super effective, and I think environmentally friendly. Expensive, but 1/2 sheet does a whole load so….? I use the unscented Then just hit it with a Bronners Castile for added cleaning and scent.
Lisa Fennessy
April 10, 2022Oh cool, we will check them out. Thanks Dena!
Christina
April 9, 2022I just want to thank you for all the useful information you provide! I’m trying to make my home cleaner and safer for my family and me, and trying to do my part for the planet and your articles are a true help! Trying to find all the information separately takes me forever. It is so nice to have it all together in one place.
Lisa Fennessy
April 10, 2022Hi Christina! So happy you found this helpful! Thanks for being here! xo, L
Christina
April 10, 2022Also, what are your thoughts on Blueland? I like the idea of them and they do list all of their ingredients I just don’t know if the ingredients are good or not…
Regina J.
May 25, 2022I really do like these non-toxic supplies – thank you for sharing!
Most commercial cleaners contain potentially harmful chemicals. I would like to pay special attention to drain cleaners here. Not only do they pose a great danger to health. According to this source https://escoutah.com/are-drain-cleaners-safe-for-my-pipes/, drain cleaners come with yet another hazard: they have the ability to corrode metal pipes. Using a powerful drain cleaner several times in a row has the potential to corrode an entire pipe system.
Kat
December 26, 2022Love you blog, as I’ve been following you for some time now. Thought you’d want to know that the website has some issues when searching for a specific topic previously posted on.
Today I’m trying to locate your posting on recycling empty beauty containers, but this has occurred when looking for posts as well. The search engine seems to have some glitches when searching for specific topics. I’m finding it returns to the beginning of the blog, but not on the topic itself.