Green Products

Without a doubt the fastest way to clean any room is to walk is to walk in and sweep it with a glance! Nothing could apply more aptly than to the living room. A few little tips and cleaning really doesn’t have to be a chore anymore.

How to Clean Mini Blinds:

• This speedy trick is for blinds that are past the point of no return when nothing but a good soak in the bathtub will clean the grime scene. If you do prefer to soak mini blinds in the tub protect it against scratches.
  • Measure the blinds then drive two sturdy nails into the back of your home one foot shorter than the width of your blinds making sure they are high enough off the ground that the blinds don’t drag on the ground.
  • Remove the blinds and hang them from the nails. Turn the slats downwards. Start at the bottom of the blinds and spray your way to the top using a foaming tub and tile cleaner. Wait until the foam has begun to drip from the top then sponge off, reverse the slats, flip the blind over and repeat from the back. Dry and rehang. This painless procedure should only take you 10 to 15 minutes.
  • Be sure to spray the cord as well!
• Dusting: Let’s do it the easy way. Grab an old, but clean, cotton tube sock. Spritz the sock with our Wood Care diluted 5 parts water to 1 part Wood care. Use one hand to move objects and your gloved hand to dust. You’ll find yourself zipping through the dust.

  Caution: Do not use microfiber towels for dusting. They are made from 80 to 85% polyester, which is plastic. Plastic scratches and it will over time scratch the sealant off the finish of your furniture, your car, the paint on the walls of your home, or any sealed or painted surface. The boxes used to carry warning labels but that stopped when sales were not going as well as they liked. Microfiber is wonderful for cleaning glass and mirrors.

• Cleaning Glass table tops. Never spray a glass cleaner directly on glass if it is surrounded by wood framing. You will destroy the finish. For all glass furniture, spray our Lint Free Towel with Benya and tuck that in a back pocket. Benya will not leave smears or streaks on glass or any surface. When you come to the glass table, you don’t need to remove the sock, just whip out the Lint Free Towel, clean the glass and return the towel to your pocket. Our Swifter Towels are wonderful and safe for cleaning TV or computer screens.
• Cleaning TV and Computer Screens: Use a mixture of 50/50 water and isopropyl alcohol to clean TV and computer screens. Never touch or use paper towels, microfiber or terry towels to LED TV or computer screens. Soft cotton like baby diapers or flannel cotton are fine to use.
• Carpet and upholstery: Carpet and upholstery stains got you puzzled? Please see our Stain Removal Guide for complete instructions on removing specific stains.
• Remvoing Cobwebs: Cobwebs tend to hang around the door hinges, window sills and across the tops of blinds and in those corners that are just out of reach. Purchase a new one and one-half inch paintbrush and tuck that in your back pocket while you clean. It is so much faster at removing cobwebs than feather dusters and you don’t spend hours removing the cobwebs from the fibers. One quick wipe with a clean rag and you keep going. Ok, so I use the back of my pants but who is looking?
• Removing Pet Hairs: Pet hairs on the furniture clings to anything you are wearing when you sit down. Our Dry Sponge is used dry. Without water it is safe to use even on delicate surfaces. Wipe over the furniture. It removes not only dog and cat hair, but dust and dirt as well. These handy sponges work wonders on pleated shades, lampshades, fabric car seat cushions, and just about anything fabric material.
• Cleaning Leather and Vinyl furniture: Leather and vinyl furniture also must be cleaned and conditioned regularly to prevent drying and cracking. Ink is particularly difficult to remove. Our Leather and Vinyl Care is the best on the market. Most leather cleaners only remove the dirt on the surface. They do not penetrate into those tiny crevices to deep clean and condition. This cleaner is one of the few that removes ink from leather and vinyl.

  To clean leather and vinyl weekly mix 1 part Leather/ Vinyl Care to 5 parts water. Spray on and wipe to clean. For stubborn stains apply Leather Care full strength, allow to sit then clean.

  Removing ink and blue jean dye from leather and vinyl furniture can be difficult. If our Leather Care cannot remove these marks nothing will.

• Removing Scratches in Wood Furniture: Most light scratches, water ring marks and greying in cabinets or furniture can be removed with our Wood Care. Apply, add elbow grease and let it set about 30 minutes then buff but do not remove the Wood Care. It will soak into the wood, which will restore the color.
• Young children: For young children, who are just beginning to potty train, purchase a plastic table cloth and keep it handy. When they lie on the couch for a nap, put the cloth on the couch fuzzy side up. If they have an accident, the fuzzy side catches the accident while the plastic protects your couch. Take the table cloth with you when visiting to prevent accidents on their furniture as well.
• Oil paintings: You can safely clean and dust oil paintings with our Dry Sponge . Use it dry, wipe over the painting making sure to change spots frequently to prevent dirt from spreading. Use our dusting brush to remove dust in the crevices. This brush comes in our package of the most useful tools you could ever have around your home.

Answers to your questions:

1. My daughter just opened my gel pen and the ink stained my couch. I tried alcohol but it doesn’t help. What can I do?

   It is very wise to write all your checks with a gel ink pen. Gel ink cannot be acid-washed off a check if your check is ever stolen out of your mailbox. Just be very careful to keep the cap on and out of the hands of young children or puppies.

   Unfortunately I do not have any suggestions for removing the ink. Locate the company on the internet and find their customer service number. The service reps are very helpful and may be able to give you some suggestions. Sometimes there may be information on their website as well.

2. Is there an easy way to remove cobwebs from my stucco ceilings? My walls are textured and the cobwebs smear when ever I clean those as well.

   Grab a metal paint roller and attach it to a long handle. Purchase two to three replacement tubes of lint removers. They fit right over the paint roller and you can roll the cobwebs off any kind of rough surface. The cobwebs adhere to the sticky tape. Just be sure to keep removing the tape as it soils. This works quite well for stucco ceilings, textured walls, wood beams and wall paper.

   When stucco becomes soiled it really needs to be removed and the ceiling reworked. It is difficult to paint over stucco without it falling down.

3. I set a glass down on my coffee table and it left a white mark. What can I do to remove the mark?

   First of all rub a bit of real mayonnaise into the mark. Let that set 30 minutes then buff to polish. Wait for two to three days, then treat your entire table with out Wood Cleaner and Conditioner. The Wood Cleaner and Conditioner will finish restoring the mark, you may need to rub a little extra on that area, and will clean and condition your entire table. Treat your chairs as well. All wood needs to be deep cleaned and conditioned at least twice a year to prevent dry and cracking. Our Wood Cleaner/Conditioner works well on all kinds of finishes on both furniture and cabinets. It will also prevent your bathroom cabinets from drying and cracking if you follow manufacturers guidelines.

4. My metal table legs left rust stains on my carpet. Is there any help?

   First of all, all fabric stores carry felt pads that are sticky on one side. I highly recommend putting them on all metal that touches any floor surface. And you want to put them on furniture legs that come into contact with hard flooring to prevent scratches.

   To remove those rust stains, get a fresh lemon or two from the grocery store. Roll the lemon then slice it lengthwise. Squeegee the juice onto the rust spot and sprinkle it with salt. Keep the area damp with the lemon juice for several hours. Covering it with a plate will help keep the juice from evaporating. The next day use a damp cloth and blot to remove. See my Stain Removal Guide to learn the right way to blot. You may need to repeat this a time or two but it will safely remove the rust. It works well for any fabrics.

5. The windows and skylights in my home are to high to reach without a ladder. What is an easier way to clean them?

   Lightly dampen one of our Microfiber towels over the mop head. Extend the handle to reach those tall areas. Clean your windows with one side then turn the mop over to dry. This is a fast and easy way to do windows or skylights that you can’t reach.

   Be sure to use a dry towel first to whisk away the cobwebs. Run the edge of Mary Moppins along the edge of the window sill to clean that along with dusting the cobwebs. You will love having one cleaning tool to do so many chores for you and quickly as well.

Warning: What you don’t know can damage your floors.

During 12 years professionally cleaning homes, I felt it was an important part of my job to study the proper care of all floor surfaces and spent hours doing so. During this process it became clear that 100% cotton was the safest, best and fastest way to clean any hard floor surface.

Before we start on the actual care of floors, I will warn you that I recommend cleaning most floors with hot water only. I do not recommend disinfectants or detergents as they can ruin the sealant on the floor. Ah, but you ask, “Don’t you have to disinfect your floors?” My answer? “Do you disinfect your feet?” Your carpet contains billions more germs than your hard floor surfaces. Don’t worry about the few germs on your hard floor surface. Hit the mute button on those TV commercials. They are geared to sell products and what better way to sell than to make you feel guilty about a few germs.

Let’s take an in depth look into the new floor care products on the market. This information comes not only from hours of research but first hand information from far too many of my seminar attendees when they speak of the damage the products have caused their floors.

Microfiber: This fabric has been touted as the neatest thing since chocolate and it does have a place of honor when cleaning glass or mirrors. When microfiber first came out, the packages warned about not using them on any kind of sealed or painted surface. Some packages still carry this warning.

Microfiber is made from 80 to 85% polyester which is plastic. Plastic scratches. Given time and repeated use, plastic will scratch the clear coat sealant off any vehicle including RVs, cars, boats, motorcycles, airplanes etc. It will scratch the sealant off wood, laminated, linoleum, marble or any sealed flooring. It will scratch the paint off a wall.

Wood floors, although expensive can be sanded and refinished. Laminated floors must be replaced. Marble floors may not be able to be restored. Linoleum at least can be stripped and waxed.

I sell microfiber but I will not sell a product to clean a surface when I know the damage that can and will be caused from its use. When questioned about microfiber scratching, even the manufacturers hesitate to answer the question directly. When they do answer, it is always affirmative.

Premoistened towel mops: The towels on these mops are so thin that the towel itself is incapable of cleaning a floor – besides being extremely expensive. The sticky residue left behind on a floor over time deteriorates the sealant just like most detergents.

Detergent of any kind softens the sealant on linoleum, wood and laminated wood flooring. You can tell that is happening because the floor is sticky underfoot after cleaning. By the time you notice that your floor has lost its shine, the damage is done The only solution is to refinish the floor.

Any kind of detergent on a tile floor is damage waiting to happen. The detergent works into the porous crevices of tile floors and it’s impossible to remove it. Which means the floor ends up looking dirty even after cleaning. The tiles are also very porous. Anything that is applied to the surface goes straight to the base of the tile, which is glued on. If a cleaner has an acid or strong base, it will soften the adhesive. Over time the tiles loosen and must be replaced.

OK, you’re saving on your hot water bill and your light bill, what’s next?

DAY 3

We  have appliances. Some big, some small, but they all use power and energy.

This Organically Green step is quite simple to do, but will require thought to make it happen.

We spoke before about running your dishwasher and clothes dryer only when full, which are two very highly used appliances in your home. Let’s talk about a couple others.

There’s your heat and air conditioning. When it’s cold it’s cold, and I’m not asking you not to run your heat all together. Or your A/C. But aren’ there perhaps times that you run your systems when you really don’t have to? Or maybe run them more than you need to?

Say for instance, you get up at 7am, get ready for work and leave the house at 7:45am. You come home at 6pm, eat dinner do all that good stuff, and are usually in bed by around 10-11pm. You have “used” your home for about 5-6 hours of the 24 hours in a day. Were you running the same constant temperature the entire time? A big way to save on your heating and cooling bills is to cut the thermostat down when you’re not in the house (at work, at play, where ever) and down when you go to bed at night. A big way you can do this easily is to buy a programmable thermostat to replace your current one, if it’s not programmable. Any local hardware store will have these for $30.

Programmable thermostats:

• are more convenient and accurate than manual thermostats and improve your home’s comfort
• contain no mercury
• save energy and save money on utility bills — when used properly, about $150/year
• are better for the environment, since using less energy helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy production

And what about your computer. Do you leave it running all the time, even when you’re not using it? Whether at work or at home, computers are an often used item but can be a big energy hog. Computers today are equipped with this neat little feature called “hibernate.” Yes, like a bear, your computer can curl up and keep it’s current state by storing everything on from your memory onto your hard drive so it doesn’t get lost. That way, your computer can shut off, then when you want it back on, it’s like you didn’t miss a beat!

Turn your computer off when you’re not going to use it. If you’ll be away from it longer than 30 minutes, it’s a waste of energy. And don’t forget your monitor. Even though most monitors go to “sleep” after a while, they are still using energy during that time.

And how about your TV. Did you know that your TV is still using lots of juice even after you turn it off? A great solution to your stereo, TV, and other electronics using power while you’re not even using them is to plug them all into a surge protector, and then hitting the kill switch on it! That way, all you have to do is flip one switch and your stuff has juice again, but it didn’t run up your power bill in the meantime.

And your dryer– do you run it when it’s completely full? Ok, this is one place where you really shouldn’t, because your dryer isn’t going to get them dry and you’ll end up running it a second time. And make sure your lint filter is clean every time. Give some room for warm air to help dry your clothes while they’re in there. Also, you don’t have to put everything in the dryer, why not hang it on a clothesline? They’ll have that fresh air scent without using a dryer sheet, and you’ll have used zero energy to get them dry.

Think about how often you use your appliances, and then how often you really need to use them, and scale back accordingly. Using the tips above will get you on your way to saving lots of energy and money on your power bill, as appliances make up a big chunk of everyone’s power bill. I think that goes without saying.

So day three’s over, let’s recap:

• Careful on when you use heat and A/C
• Get a programmable thermostat
• Turn your computer and monitor to hibernate when not in use
• Plug your electronics into a surge protector you can hit kill when not in use
• Hang your clothes out to dry

You’ve spent around thirty bucks and will save WAY more money than that on your energy bill over the course of a year. Next up is Organically Green day 4!

So I’ve been working on a TON of green projects lately that has taken my time away from blogging. But I need to!

I have been working on a few different websites, so for one if anyone has a green business and needs a website please get in touch with me. Anyways, here’s the one that I’ve been working on lately that I want to tell you about. It’s a real estate company that specializes in sustainable real estate! Eco-Realty International specializes in how to green your home for sale, buy a greener home, and is a complete consultant in these areas as well as an expert for buying and selling a green sustainable home.

Exciting, huh? Nancy Riehle is the broker, and she got started by investing in a home here in Spartanburg, SC that was in need of repair. Their repair option? Make it green! They put in Icynene spray foam insulation, used a tankless hot water heater, recycled/able carpet from Milliken, bamboo flooring, concrete countertops, geo-thermal heat pump, I mean everything, and the house sold for $100k MORE than any other house on the street! She had over 200 people at the open house! Green is in baby!

So, now she along with her agents would like to help others do the same thing. Maybe not as large of a return, but it will definitely help your home sell.

Besides, buying and living in a green home is the healthy, wealthy, and wise choice to make!

By Nigel Hunt and Brad Dorfman

LONDON/CHICAGO (Reuters) – As recession drives consumers to cut costs, their commitment to organic food has been tested with sales growth slowing — but so far, sales are not falling. How green are our wallets?

Grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, organic food has been booming, driven by claims it is healthier, tastes better and its production does less damage to the environment than conventional agriculture.

The global market for organic food and beverages was worth $22.75 billion in 2007, after more than doubling in five years, according to market research firm Euromonitor International. The United States accounted for about 45 percent of that total.

With economies in crisis, the trend is slowing in the United States, Britain, France and Europe’s most important market for organic food, Germany. So far, Britain is the market tipped for a fall as shrinking incomes force the newly green to save money.

Typical growth rates of 20 to 30 percent for organic food sales in the United States eased in the second half of 2008 as middle- and upper-income families felt the strain of layoffs and declining investment portfolios, said Tom Pirovano, director of industry insights at market research firm The Nielsen Co.

Sales in December were up 5.6 percent, year on year, against a 25.6 percent rise a year earlier.

Even though growth is slowing, Pirovano noted that most people who purchased organic foods were very committed.

“I’m not convinced that we are going to see big declines in organics any time soon,” he said.

Nielsen data measures packaged foods with bar codes at many retail outlets. Discount retailer Wal-Mart does not participate in the market research.

Late on a Friday in London’s South Kensington, shoppers at the Whole Foods store owned by the U.S.-based organic and natural foods supermarket were sparse.

“I always try to buy organic if I can. But I definitely have cut back,” said Mary Boynton, 20, adding that she buys more organic produce from supermarkets which have a cheaper offer.

Shares in Whole Foods Market Inc. have been on a broadly weakening trend since 2006 and trades around $11, down from nearly $80 in late 2005.

But Michael Besancon of Whole Foods, which claims the world-leading slot in the sector with more than 270 stores in North America and Britain, says there is a hard core.

“It is not a fad,” said Besancon, the company’s senior global vice-president of purchasing, distribution and marketing. “I’m 62 and my mother is still waiting for me to shave my beard and stop eating organic food. That isn’t going to happen.”

Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association, said occasional buyers of organic produce were cutting back, but regular buyers were lightening up on processed food in favor of organic whole fruits, vegetables and meats.

“They are trying to stretch their money but they are not willing to stop buying organic,” he said. “We think in the long run the prognosis is good. The energy crisis and climate change can only really be addressed with organic production.”

Wholefoods’ Besancon argued consumers were treating organic purchases differently from those of other premium products.

“When you buy organic you believe it is inherently better for you and the planet,” he said. “Who can afford to get sick? So people are becoming more introspective about what they eat. There is growth in the category. It is just less than it was.”

GERMAN CARROT SHORTAGE

If the relative cost of healthcare is one significant factor keeping well-educated Americans with organic produce, in Germany producers argue organic foods are being helped out of a niche into the mainstream.

Growth in Germany’s organic food sales in 2008 to 5.8 billion euros did slow to about 10 percent, the German organic food industry association BOLW estimates.

This compared with 14 percent growth booked in 2007.

Alexander Gerber, the association’s chief executive, argued that Germany’s giant discount food supermarket chains were increasingly introducing organic food, which was underpinning the market.

Germany had a shortage of organic carrots in 2008 as major discounter Aldi suddenly introduced them into its product range, buying up most available supplies, Gerber said.

“Consumers want healthy food produced in an environmentally friendly and humane way,” Gerber said. “They are not simply throwing this concept overboard because of the difficult economic times.”

In France, the sector continued to grow last year and the head of “Agence Bio,” the main organic food group gathering officials and producers, said she was confident it would continue to do so, albeit more slowly, in 2009.

“For the moment sales are keeping up, consumers are still interested and demand is rising,” said Elisabeth Mercier.

Although official data will not be available until next month, she said her comments were based on wide and recent contacts with producers, specialist shops and supermarkets.

“In Europe, apart maybe from the U.K. where the market seems more fragile, I do not believe there will be a drop in consumption this year although growth rates may be less spectacular,” Mercier said.

DEEP GREENS

In Britain, growth in sales of organic products has slowed dramatically, to an annual rate of about 2 percent from 16 percent, according to Nielsen data for the year to early November 2008.

“What I would expect is for this year to see a small single- digit decline for organics,” said Jonathan Banks, U.K-based business insight director with Nielsen.

The challenge boils down to quality. “Organic producers must show their products taste better, are more nutritious and better for the environment. If they tick all those boxes they can sustain a (price) premium,” he said.

In the London Whole Foods store, shopper Jonathan Daniels agreed. “Eventually, it has got to hit home. I think I’ll cut back,” he said, checking his mobile phone near the cheese display, a pack of green beans tucked under his arm.

“It all hinges on: ‘Is organic all it’s reputed to be? Is it really better for you?’”

Patrick Holden, director of Britain’s leading organic certification body the Soil Association, said he was getting mixed reports, with some consumers switching from organic to cheaper free-range products.

Demand for many products is, however, holding up well: some are benefiting from growing demand for locally produced food.

“Organic food with a local story is bucking the recession,” he said. “This recession has destabilized things a little, but not catastrophically.”

Holden said about 20 percent of organic food sales were vulnerable, being bought by “light green” purchasers who had been influenced by the actions of other consumers.

These he contrasted with the “deep greens” — who make up 80 percent of demand and are committed to the benefits for health and the environment.

“Storm and tempest won’t affect their buying habits,” he said. “I think that rump of committed consumers are with us to stay.”

Posted by as Green in the News

 The grocery business is another example of an industry that could significantly cut costs by switching their appliances over to greener systems.

GreenChill, a partnership being established by the EPA, is encouraging supermarkets to switch their refrigeration units over to ones that are both healthier for the environment and more energy efficient for the businesses.

Many supermarket chains are already working with the EPA in this effort, which is still in preparatory stages, such as Publix. See more information on what Publix is doing to support sustainability by clicking on this link. They have reportedly cut energy usage in existing stores by 7 percent and in new stores by 23 percent!

 They’re going the extra mile when it comes to green ideas even beyond advanced refrigeration units, by having opened their GreenWise stores which are a one-stop shop for organic foods.

Back to GreenChill– it’s estimated by the EPA the grocery business could save $12 million per year by converting to this initiative! That’s a lot of moo-lah!

That’s 1 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

The equivalent to taking 800,000 cars off the road per year.

Coolant leakage is also a problem with current systems, with DuPont quoted as saying that as much as 20% of the coolant in the refrigerant systems being leaked. That’s a huge ozone/health hazard, since many of the systems in place still have HCFCs in them!

So let’s support the stores that are taking the initiative to care about our health (because this contributes to the indoor air quality of the stores we’re shopping in) and energy consumption.