Lately it seems like green is the new gray because it all blurs back into the same nondescript haze of sales pitches and half-truths. In my business, it appears to be looking that way more and more. I went into a local branch of a national distributor of professional grade cleaning supplies to purchase some hoses and a new drapery wand. Whenever I am there, even though I do not purchase any cleaning solutions, I always look at the new offerings from the giants of the industry. While perusing the newer items, I was greeted with "Now you can buy your green cleaning supplies here!"
The convenience and ease of purchasing did cross my mind. So I took a close look at the ingredients on the various labels and asked for the Material Safety Data Sheets. All the usual suspects were produced. Petrochemicals were present, as were sodium octanesulfonate, various forms of glycol ether, to name just a few of the less offensive chemicals. These so called green carpet cleaning products were just as toxic as when I first looked at the regular cleaning compounds by these same companies, 8 years ago. These were just packaged differently - greener, fresher, I guess. In all fairness, some of the chemical rations were at a lower percentage than before. But still quite troublesome, if you are calling them green.
Air duct sanitizers were more of the same, and also never going to pass an allergy MD who does test the products we use before he refers his patients to us. Let's not even move on to these carpet cleaning products - spotters, boosters, de-foaming agents, de-browning agents, protectors... Long story short, no viable changes in the industry on a corporate level. Even Clorox Green Works, while certainly a baby step in the right direction; these products still contain an unnecessary chemical content for a company that has the means and the experience to produce an exquisite green product if they chose to. If you look at their MSDS, the chemicals listed in the section for hazardous content shouldn't even be there. These same chemicals are not present in the formulas of truly effective plant based cleaning compounds, produced by smaller independent companies. Those compounded quality products no not need that chemical boost to perform as well. The ratio of plant based ingredients to the entire sum of the product is key. It appears we still, as a nation have a chemical romance that is not soon breaking up.
Geen, Eco-friendly, Earth Friendly, non-toxic, they are just buzzwords if you take them at face value. One must really read the small print on the label and ask for the Material Safety Data Sheets. Ask your carpet, air duct and tile cleaners for these if you have any questions or concerns about what is being sprayed into your living environments. Whether the carpet or air duct cleaning company says it is green or not, it is required by law in most states to carry those MSDS sheets in the van. Especially, if they are using chemical based cleaning products. Michelle Viggiano, Four Winds Healthy Home Carpet and Air Duct Cleaning, http://www.healthyhomeaz.com/
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Michelle, it's amazing what passes for truth in advertising these days... one would think that such eco-promises, which can be disproved in the contents list, would be cause for some sort of legal action.