Green Cleaning For Dummies

291 Pages·2008·2.77 MB·English

by  Elizabeth B. Goldsmith

01_391068-ffirs.qxp 9/29/08 10:17 PM Page i
Green Cleaning
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
by Elizabeth B.Goldsmith,PhD
with Betsy Sheldon
02_391068-ftoc.qcf 9/29/08 10:18 PM Page viii
01_391068-ffirs.qxp 9/29/08 10:17 PM Page i
Green Cleaning
FOR
DUMmIES
‰
by Elizabeth B.Goldsmith,PhD
with Betsy Sheldon
01_391068-ffirs.qxp 9/29/08 10:17 PM Page ii
Green Cleaning For Dummies®
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
111 River St.
Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774
www.wiley.com
Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or
by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permit-
ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written per-
mission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the
Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax [phone].
Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing,
Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, 317-572-3447, fax [phone], or online at http://
www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
Trademarks:Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for the
Rest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, Making Everything
Easier, and related trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or
its affiliates in the United States and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. All
other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Wiley Publishing, Inc., is not associated with
any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
LIMIT OF LIABILITY/DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY: THE PUBLISHER AND THE AUTHOR MAKE NO REP-
RESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO THE ACCURACY OR COMPLETENESS OF THE
CONTENTS OF THIS WORK AND SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING WITHOUT
LIMITATION WARRANTIES OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. NO WARRANTY MAY BE CRE-
ATED OR EXTENDED BY SALES OR PROMOTIONAL MATERIALS. THE ADVICE AND STRATEGIES CON-
TAINED HEREIN MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR EVERY SITUATION. THIS WORK IS SOLD WITH THE
UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PUBLISHER IS NOT ENGAGED IN RENDERING LEGAL, ACCOUNTING, OR
OTHER PROFESSIONAL SERVICES. IF PROFESSIONAL ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED, THE SERVICES OF A
COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL PERSON SHOULD BE SOUGHT. NEITHER THE PUBLISHER NOR THE
AUTHOR SHALL BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES ARISING HEREFROM. THE FACT THAT AN ORGANIZATION
OR WEBSITE IS REFERRED TO IN THIS WORK AS A CITATION AND/OR A POTENTIAL SOURCE OF FUR-
THER INFORMATION DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE AUTHOR OR THE PUBLISHER ENDORSES THE
INFORMATION THE ORGANIZATION OR WEBSITE MAY PROVIDE OR RECOMMENDATIONS IT MAY
MAKE. FURTHER, READERS SHOULD BE AWARE THAT INTERNET WEBSITES LISTED IN THIS WORK
MAY HAVE CHANGED OR DISAPPEARED BETWEEN WHEN THIS WORK WAS WRITTEN AND WHEN IT
IS READ.
Library of Congress Control Number: Number is available from the publisher
ISBN: 978-0-470-39106-8
Manufactured in the United States of America. This book is printed on recycled paper.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
01_391068-ffirs.qxp 9/29/08 10:17 PM Page iii
About the Author
Elizabeth B. Goldsmith, PhD,is a Family Resource Management
professor at Florida State University who green cleans her own
home. A wife of 37 years and mother of two grown sons, Liz is a
nationally known expert in how households are run, including the
most documented home in America — the White House.
Curators at the Smithsonian once told Liz they wanted to “put her
in a case” as an exhibit of a vanishing breed of home economists.
Liz enjoys teaching families at all stages of life how to demystify
home management. Her words of wisdom often include a heavy
helping of personal finance. She is sought after as an expert by gov-
ernment agencies and women’s organizations and is a frequent
guest on radio and TV programs.
Before it was hip to be green, people were learning from Liz how to
make their homes ecofriendly with style. For more than a decade
she wrote “House Calls,” a regular column in her hometown news-
paper.
Liz is the author of several college textbooks, including Consumer
Economics: Issues andBehavior (Prentice Hall; 2nd Edition Pearson)
and Resource Management for Individuals and Families (Wadsworth
Publishing), now in its 4th edition (Pearson).She was a Fulbright
Scholar in Trinidad and Tobago, studying family and home-
management practices. Liz presents papers on households and
consumers at conferences worldwide and has been quoted in USA
WEEKEND, Chicago Tribune, Time.com,DenverPost, The Seattle
Times, The Orlando Sentinel, Google News, Chicago Sun-Times, San
Diego Union-Tribune, Washington Postonline, and The Wall Street
Journal.
01_391068-ffirs.qxp 9/29/08 10:17 PM Page iv
About the Contributor
Betsy Sheldondivides her writing and editing energies between the
topics of travel and the environment. She has served as editor in
chief for three travel publications, and is the author or coauthor of
six books on topics from job-hunting for women to Jewish travel.
She cherishes the memory of once having followed author Barbara
Kingsolver at an author’s book signing event — and actually attract-
ing a decent crowd of her own.
Betsy became a “born again” environmental activist because of Al
Gore, seriously, and is proud of her sustainably remodeled bath-
room, which uses reclaimed and recycled materials, sports low-flow
fixtures, and features a dual-flush toilet. Her home contains “recycle
cans” instead of trash cans, and her produce comes from the farm-
ers’ market, her CSA subscription, or her own garden.
Betsy writes “Green Watch,” a regular column for Indianapolis
Monthly Home magazine, and contributes articles about environ-
mental issues and sustainability to publications including Indiana
Living Green and Vacation Industry Review. She is involved in a
number of environmental initiatives, including the greening task
force for the American Resort Development Association and the
Indiana Sustainability Coalition, and also serves on the board of
Earth Charter Indiana. She facilitates “Low Carbon Diet” workshops,
which help participants discover the steps to lowering their own
carbon footprint and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
01_391068-ffirs.qxp 9/29/08 10:17 PM Page v
Dedication
From Liz:To my daughter-in-law Jessica and to the rest of my
family, friends, and students whose life stories show me how
orderly homes can make happier lives.
From Betsy:To Tatiana, Simone, and my grandson-to-be. May the
Earth I leave behind for you be one that you’ll be proud to pass on
to your grandchildren.
Acknowledgments
From Liz:My work takes me into contact with so many inspiring
people it’s hard to know where to begin. Most of all, I’d like to
thank my family who gave me so much encouragement while writ-
ing this book. When the word went out, my sons and extended
family members (including many I haven’t met and look forward to
meeting) sent green cleaning recipes and how-to’s. I also want to
thank my friends Joan Bradley, Sharon Lynn, Leisa Flynn, Sue
McGregor, and Gale Workman, who explained how they clean and
what they find most effective.
I give huge thanks to the Wiley editors and staff: Acquisitions
Editor Mike Baker and Editor Kelly Ewing. They have been
absolutely wonderful to work with and have thrown in their clean-
ing tips, too. Betsy kept me focused on the greater ecological con-
sequences.
From Betsy: Deepest gratitude goes to the For Dummiesteam: To
Mike Baker and Joyce Pepple, for giving me the opportunity to
write about a topic I love — the greening part, not the cleaning
part. And to Kelly Ewing for her gentle and diplomatic editorial
guidance. Also, to Lynn Jenkins, whose knowledge and attention to
detail kept us honest. And to Liz Goldsmith, from whom I’ve
learned much about keeping a home to be proud of, and who
inspired me to finally organize my utility closet.
Special recognition goes to the many inspiring people in my com-
munity, devoted to furthering environmental awareness and action,
and who’ve given me guidance, not only regarding the content of
this book but on my own personal progress toward sustainability:
Ed Cohen, Bill Scott, JiaYi Chan, John Gibson, Todd Jameson, Bill
Brown, Doris Jane Conway, Mary Loe, Paul Chase, Vena Burriss,
Bob Proctor, Anne Laker, Leslie Webb, Sam Carpenter, Sam Miller,
and all the organizations and causes they champion.
01_391068-ffirs.qxp 9/29/08 10:17 PM Page vi
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online
registration form located at www.dummies.com/register/.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Composition Services
Development
Project Coordinator: Erin Smith
Project Editor: Kelly Ewing Layout and Graphics: Reuben W. Davis,
Acquisitions Editor: Mike Baker Nikki Gately, Melissa K. Jester,
Christine Williams
Assistant Editor:Erin Calligan Mooney
Proofreaders: Laura L. Bowman,
General Reviewer: Lynn Jenkins
David Faust,
Senior Editorial Manager: Jennifer Ehrlich
Indexer: Potomac Indexing, LLC
Editorial Supervisor and Reprint Editor:
Special Help:Alicia South
Carmen Krikorian
Editorial Assistants:Joe Niesen,
Art Coordinator: Alicia B. South
Cover Photos: ©Botanica
Cartoons: Rich Tennant
(www.the5thwave.com)
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Joyce Pepple, Acquisitions Director, Consumer Dummies
Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Ensley Eikenburg,Associate Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan,Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings,Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
Gerry Fahey,Vice President of Production Services
Debbie Stailey,Director of Composition Services
02_391068-ftoc.qcf 9/29/08 10:18 PM Page vii
Contents at a Glance
Introduction.......................................................1
Part I: A Greener, Healthier Way to Clean ...........7
Chapter: 1:Cleaning House in a Brave Green World.............................9
Chapter 2:What’s Green Got to Do with It?..........................................15
Chapter 3:Adding Up the Pluses of Cleaning Green............................27
Part II: Getting to Work....................................41
Chapter 4: An Ounce of Prevention.......................................................43
Chapter 5:Assembling Your Hardware..................................................57
Chapter 6:Mixing Things Up: A Green Cleaner Cookbook.................75
Part III: Cleaning Green, Room by Room..........101
Chapter 7:Everything in the Kitchen — Including the Sink.............103
Chapter 8:Coming Clean in the Bathroom.........................................125
Chapter 9: Airing the Dirty Laundry Room.........................................145
Chapter 10:Creating a Clean and Healthful Sleeping
Environment.....................................................................................165
Chapter 11: Greening and Cleaning the Living Room........................183
Chapter 12:Transitioning from Home to the Great Outdoors..........207
Part IV: The Part of Tens.................................235
Chapter 13:Ten (Or So) Ways Your Grandparents Got It Right.......237
Chapter 14:Ten Steps — Beyond Clean — to Green
Your Home and Your Life................................................................245
Appendix: Green Resources.............................257
Index.............................................................263