Happy Earth Day! To celebrate, here are some earth friendly cleaning tips and ideas for your home that you can start using today.
How Earth Day Started
Earth Day was started by Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 to emphasize education about environmental issues. Held on April 22, the day was a great success and helped increase environmental awareness. Later that year, the United States Environmental Protection Agency was founded.
Small Changes Add Up
Ready to live a little greener? Small changes in your everyday life can add up to make a big difference. These changes range from the cleaning products that you purchase, to daily habits and the choices you make in your home.
By making mindful choices, taking actions to increase energy efficiency, and decreasing waste, you can make a meaningful impact on the environment. Here are some small, but important, ways that you can help do your part for the environment.
5 Eco-Friendly Cleaning Tips for Your Home
- Use concentrated products. Concentrated cleaning products, like OdoBan® Disinfectant and Odor Eliminator Concentrate, use less packaging than traditional ready-to-use spray bottles. Additionally, because the product is concentrated and contains less water, fewer fossil fuels are burned to transport the products to retailers and customers.
- Green certifications. Choose cleaning products with green certifications. Green certifications, like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Choice certification and Green Seal certification, help bring awareness to certain products that meet stricter environmental and sustainability standards. Companies that make these products are regularly audited to prove that their products meet these environmental standards. OdoBan products with Safer Choice certification include OdoBan Pet Oxy Stain Remover and OdoBan 3-in-1 Carpet Cleaner.
- Clean, declutter, and donate. Are there items that you no longer use? Instead of throwing these items away, consider giving them new life by cleaning out and donating items that you no longer need. It feels good to declutter areas of your home, while giving them a new purpose for someone else.
- Choose cleaning products with recyclable packaging, like OdoBan®, and recycle them appropriately after use. Before recycling plastic packaging, check the plastic number to determine the type of plastic.
- AC and heating settings. Live a little greener and save money on energy costs by checking your thermostat and controlling your air conditioning and heating settings. The U.S. Department of Energy recommends setting your thermostat to 78F (26C) or warmer in the summer while you are home. In the winter, try keeping your thermostat at 68F (20C) or below.
- [BONUS] Clean and maintain your HVAC system. Consider having your HVAC system serviced and maintained at least once a year to keep your heating and cooling systems running at maximum efficiency. Not only will this save you money on energy bills, but help reduce environmental impact.
Did you know? At OdoBan® headquarters in Georgia, we use a 150kW grid-tied, ground-mounted solar panel array to capture and reuse solar energy. These solar panels generate nearly 400kWh of power annually to offset the energy used in our plant to manufacture OdoBan®. Learn more about our sustainability efforts here.
