When it comes to cleaning our homes, many of us rely on harsh chemicals, but do we really need to? From DIY recipes to store-bought options, there are plenty of natural cleaners available out there. The best part? Unlike their chemical counterparts, they can get the job done without all the toxic fumes and nasties.
Let’s take a look at the main differences between eco-friendly cleaning products vs regular cleaning products – and how they stack up in terms of safety, environmental impact, effectiveness, and cost.
What are natural cleaning products?
You know how vinegar and baking soda can clean, well, pretty much anything? That’s the prime example of a natural cleaner – free of harmful chemicals and formulated only with safe, simple, everyday ingredients. Lemon juice is also commonly used in natural cleaning recipes, as is olive oil, salt, soap nuts, and essential oils.
If you’re looking for something more convenient and ready to use, it’s becoming increasingly easy to find cleaning products made with natural, eco-friendly ingredients at the shops (or online, wink wink). If you look at the label of a cleaning item and can pronounce every ingredient listed, voilà, you’re likely looking at a natural product!
Now, the thing about natural cleaning products is that they’re often not suitable for large commercial settings. They’re not exactly heavy-duty, after all. However, if it’s your home or office you’re wanting to clean, there’s truly no reason not to go natural. It’s better for the environment, safer for your family (and furry friends), easier on your wallet… need we say more?
What are regular (chemical) cleaning products?
Chemical cleaning products – the kind many of us grew up using – are made with, you guessed it, chemicals. Once again, the secret to identifying these cleaners is to examine the ingredients list closely. If you spot any of these dangerous chemicals, it’s a no-go.
Although often advertised as hyper-effective and guaranteed to eliminate every single piece of grime in your home, chemical cleaning solutions are very harsh. So harsh, that they could pose a risk to your and your family’s health.
Take a look, for example, at bleach, a staple in practically every Australian household. Did you know that it can burn your skin, eyes, and even the inside of your nose as you breathe it in? Or ammonia, an ingredient commonly used in glass cleaners that can irritate your nose and throat and, at high concentrations, damage your lungs.
Like these two, there’s a whole list of toxic compounds you want to avoid in your cleaning products. Some of the names are complicated (to say the least) which can make things tricky – but it’s all about training your eye. The longer you stay in your journey towards natural cleaning, the easier it becomes to identify harmful chemicals.
What is the difference between chemical and natural cleaners?
Health impacts
We touched on the hidden health dangers of traditional, store-bought cleaning products before. Many include chemicals that can leave your eyes watering, your skin itching, and your throat scratchy. If that’s not enough, they can also mess with your lungs – something to keep in mind if anyone in your home has asthma or allergies.
Natural products, on the other hand, are made with ingredients we all know and probably have in our homes. Some of these ingredients we even use for cooking (vinegar and baking soda, anyone?) – and if they're safe enough to eat, how could they not be safe enough to clean with?
Environmental impacts
The chemicals in traditional cleaners aren’t just harmful to our health, but to our planet as well. All those toxic compounds? Well, they don’t magically vanish. They’re often sprayed in the air or make their way into our waters, adding to air and water pollution.
Their natural counterparts, though, are formulated with environmentally friendly, biodegradable ingredients. Plus, many come with reusable containers. This means less trash is transported into our landfills – which are, sadly, packed to the brim as it is [1].
Effectiveness
You may be hesitant to go natural because you’re worried chemical-free products won’t get the job done properly. We get it, it’s a common concern. However, a lot of ingredients used in natural solutions have been proven to effectively dissolve and remove residue [2][3].
While we’re on the topic of effectiveness, let us debunk a common myth: not all bacteria are bad! And being able to kill 99.9% of bacteria – the promise many traditional cleaners make – isn’t the benefit it may sound like.
In fact, the remaining 0.1% of bacteria that conventional cleaners leave behind can mutate and grow biofilms to protect themselves, which are estimated to cause over 80% of bacterial infections in our bodies. No good!
What you want your cleaning products to do, instead, is to introduce probiotics (aka good bacteria) in your home. These microscopic helpers will then outcompete the nasty ones and leave them to die – not multiply.
Cost comparison
Another common concern when it comes to natural products is the price – but green doesn’t always mean more expensive. In fact, it often means cost-effective.
Are natural cleaning products better?
Even if initially, you do spend a bit more on natural cleaners, these tend to be more concentrated and versatile. You can use them in different rooms and don’t need a huge amount each time to achieve a deep clean. Instead of buying a different chemical concoction for every room in your home, you can keep it nice and simple – and save some dollars in the process.
Go natural with Orbies
Made with nothing but eco-friendly ingredients, our Universal Probiotic Cleaner is safe for humans (even those with allergies), pets and our planet.
More than just natural, our multi-purpose cleaner is powered by 60 billion probiotics that will outcompete the bad bacteria in your home, making it harder for them to breed. Thanks to its gentle, yet powerful formula, it helps you achieve a clean that is:
- Balanced, fostering a healthy microbiome on all your surfaces
- Deeper, working microscopically to clean what you see – and what you don’t
- Longer, continuously cleaning for up to 3 days
Choose Orbies and make the switch from harsh chemicals to natural, probiotic cleaning.
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