Eco-Friendly Ways to Keep Your Home Germ and Allergen Free

Everyone wants to cut down on the number of germs living in their home. Yet those with pets and babies may worry about using household cleaners. Many of those cleaners can contain harmful or harsh chemicals that can be lethal to both pets and babies. Here are a few eco-friendly ways that you can sanitize your home.

1. Baby-Safe Cleaning Wipes
Whether you have a baby or not, you could always use baby-safe cleaning wipes. These are different than traditional cleaning wipes because they’re made with less powerful chemicals. Baby-safe cleaning wipes are designed to be used against the sensitive skin of babies.

They’re powerful enough to sanitize but not powerful enough that they’ll harm your baby or pet. You can be sure that they’re safer for the environment, too.

2. Remove Carpet
Your carpet could contain a lot of allergens within its fibers. Even if you vacuum regularly, allergens could be lurking deep in the roots of the fibers where vacuums can’t always suck.

You do away with these lurking allergens by removing the carpet entirely. Hardwood floors, vinyl floors, and tile floors are easier to clean. They also don’t trap allergens.

For those who like comfy and soft textures beneath their feet, you can keep the carpet, but keep allergens at bay by having a professional carpet cleaner come in twice a year.

3. Baking Soda

You can never go wrong with using baking soda. Besides being a great way to deodorize, baking soda can also be used to sanitize.

The alkaline powder inside baking soda can remove proteins and neutralize acids. When mixed with vinegar, it can create a bubbly cleaning paste that can effectively remove most stains and other problems.

Baking soda is safe to use and easy to buy.

4. Hydrogen Peroxide
Commonly used to disinfect wounds, it can also be used to remove mold, mildew, and stains in your home. It can kill many kinds of dangerous bacteria. Simply coat cloth in the peroxide and wash away counters and bathtubs to sanitize and kill bacteria instantly.

5. Salt
If something is rusty in your home, or you just want a powerful clean, you can add salt to some lemon juice. This can not only clean off the rust, but it can also disinfect your home. You can also create a paste of salt, flour, and vinegar to remove burnt stains on cooking supplies. It can even be used on pewter, gold, and silver to make it shiny.

Finally, if you’re someone who uses their sponges frequently, you can clean them up by having them soak in saltwater when you’re not using them.

6. Clean Air Ducts
Keeping your heating and/or cooling ventilation systems clean and running smoothly is essential for a healthy environment. Change the filters for your system regularly to prevent unhealthy particles in the air from circulating through your home.

Even if you are consistently changing the filters and limiting dust and dirt in your home, allergens can accumulate in your air ducts. Hire a professional to come twice a year to clean air ducts and remove the hazardous particles.