Clean

Hi there. Welcome to the first ever Green Pages article about Green Cleaning. Allow me to introduce myself: my name - Bridget Gardner; history - five years owner /chief scrubber for the domestic green-cleaning service Fresh Green Clean

Clean - Assessing Green

Carolyn is a university Professor and mother trying to make conscious shopping choices. Having read about high levels of sodium salts in many laundry detergents, she choose a brand that was ‘grey-water safe'. Her garden was happy, but her daughter broke out in a rash.

Clean - Get rid of that abrasive oven cleaner

Channel 7's Today Tonight1 recently ran a story about a woman whose leg was so badly burned, it needed a skin graft. What caused it? A common supermarket oven-cleaner.

Clean ~ How to remove Shiraz from Grans’s white tablecloth

With all the festivities and good holiday cheer, I'm sure we all saw it happen at least once (or did it ourselves!) - a hand catches a wine glass mid animated sentence and sends a crimson tide across a pristine white tablecloth. What to do?

Clean ~ Guilt free spring cleaning

Following tradition was never one of my finer points, although I'd like to think that's an attribute. So when spring comes, I don't believe my strong urge to roll up sleeves and get stuck into spring cleaning is motivated by duty.

"We have to use bleach to clean the floor", apologised the mop-wielding staff member. "It's the only thing that works." This was not the first such response to politely pointing out that the smell of chlorine was a little too strong for comfort.

Clean - Is vinegar a disinfectant?

"Can I use vinegar to disinfect the toilet or the nappy change mat instead of a chemical disinfectant?" I’ve been asked this so many times, I decided to research it thoroughly and share my reply with you. The short answer is no. But don’t run out and buy a disinfectant yet until you’ve read to the end...

Clean - Activists take cleaning product makers to court (if they don’t come clean!)

Do you know what is inside your air freshener or bathroom cleaner? I doubt it. That's because cleaning products, unlike food or personal care products, are not required to disclose a complete list of ingredients. But that could be about to change.

Clean - Green Cleaning has hit mainstream

If you've been wishing the person cleaning your workplace or home were a tad greener, it's getting a whole lot easier to persuade them to change.

Clean - Welcome swallows, cleaning and, well, poop

Our back porch is home to a devoted pair of welcome swallows. City dwellers might think that sounds romantic. Country folk know better. Yep, my back steps are covered in poop. Now that might be more information than you wanted to know in a green clean column - but bear with me, I'm going somewhere with this story.

Clean : Green washing ~ shop smart guide to laundry detergents

Natural, eco friendly, safe, plant-based, biodegradable, grey-water safe... When CHOICE ¹ campaigned recently against Greenwashing, they found one cleaning spray with 19 separate green claims.

Clean: Something smells ...

The other morning my train ride was so overwhelming, I felt compelled to scribble the following note: "Dear fellow train traveller, I thought I should tell you something your girlfriend /mum obviously doesn't have the heart to say - you're wearing way too much fragrance.