Green Cleaning in Bristol & Somerset

Green cleaners / Eco cleaning

Here at KSW, we are very proud to count ourselves among the few cleaning firms who contribute to a greener way of being clean.
We use green cleaning products whenever we can, 9 jobs out of 10 we use eco or green cleaning methods.

The only need for harsh chemicals arise when we have extreme deep cleaning to do say on a student oven or heavily stained floor or carpet.  
So if your after a truly eco / green cleaning experience in Bristol & Somerset then KSW Cleaning are here for you.

With green cleaning in mind we thought we would give you some eco or green cleaning hints and tips:

Baking Soda Rules them All
There seems to be a cleaning product for every type of dirt in the house: windows and glass, bathroom, kitchen, carpet, wood. But here’s the secret: many of them are not only harmful, stinky and overpriced, but wholly unnecessary. In fact, most of the ingredients you need to clean your house effectively and safely smell divine, and you can find the majority in your larder. Baking soda is great to use to eliminate funny fridge smells, lifts odours from carpets (just leave for 20 minutes then hoover up), and mixes with warm water to clean almost anything.

Aloe Safe Pest Control!
No-one wants termites, lice, flies or ants breeding in their house, but especially in the summer, prevention and elimination can be tricky. We’ll go to any lengths to banish these unhygienic outbreaks, often employing the help of chemicals that not only damage the environment, but also are extremely dangerous for humans, especially the very young, the very old and the sick. But did you know that the Aloe plant has natural antibacterial properties that have an equally effective legacy without any of the risk?

To eliminate pests, simply crush an Aloe plant into warm water and leave until cooled. Spray onto infestations for quick action. As a preventative measure, mix borates (commonly known as Borax) with water and spray onto doors, wood and walls.

Green Landry Hints
After central heating, our laundry accounts for the second largest energy output from your household. A lucky few will have new, energy efficient washing machines that do a brilliant job of cleaning well, and cleaning green. For the rest of us, here is how to eliminate unnecessary energy from our homes:

-       Get into good habits.  This means don’t do small loads; wait until you have a large enough load to fill the washing machine. Don’t overload either, as clothes need space to spin around in order to get clean. Cold rinse at all times to save on hot water – it gets soap out of clothes just as well as hot water. Do several loads of washing at once, as the machine will have already heated the water so it will halve the energy output for subsequent washes.
-       Shake it out! The best smelling and feeling clothes are those that have dried in a natural breeze, over time. Shaking out your clothes will negate the need to iron the majority of cotton, and reduce drying time.
-       Strategically insulate: If you must use a tumble dryer, don’t put it in a garage or basement. It will work much less efficiently as it will have to do twice the amount of heating as it would in a warm room. Also, be sure to check your dryer exhaust vent regularly to ensure it closes properly. If outside air is getting in, the dryer is being forced to work too hard and again uses unnecessary energy.
-       Unless it’s really dirty, stick to thirty! Most of us automatically switch up to 40º as this used to be necessary to get a decent clean. Now, 30º will do anything 40º will do, and save you about £100 a year to boot.
DIY Cleaning Products
Make your own wood polish
Wood polish can be expensive, and space consuming. Considering we don’t averagely clean our wood more than once a month, this stuff simply takes up space unnecessarily. Especially when it’s so simple to make your own:
-       Juice a small lemon into a jar, then add one tablespoon of rapeseed or olive oil, and one of water.
-       Seal the jar and shake until emulsified.
-       Dip a clean cloth in the mixture and get polishing!
Natural, Gorgeous Surface Cleaner
 There are many beautiful smelling surface cleaners you can make, that will eliminate germs and odours just as well as dangerous bleach-based products. Here is a link to some of the best. But our favourite has to be tea tree oil and lavender. Simply fill a 16oz spray bottle with  1/8 lavender, 1/8 tea tree essential oil. Fill the rest up with water, screw on the lid and hey presto, you’re ready to go!
Home Made Air Freshener

Sometimes, there simply isn’t time to clean away embarrassing odours, and we resort to shop bought aerosols that simultaneously damage the environment and remove any pleasant odours you might want to keep around. It’s amazingly easy to make your own air freshener: simply choose your ingredient (cloves, cinnamon and rosemary are always popular), boil, then bottle to spray next time you have inconvenient lurking smells. If you want to actually eliminate the odour, invest in some plants. These not only clean the air, but also create a fragrant serenity in your home to boot!

 Call KSW Cleaning
Sometimes, despite all your best efforts, your carpets will get too grubby to tackle alone, and it’s time to call in the professionals. We provide a reliable, friendly and thorough cleaning service that is as convenient as it is efficient. Your carpets will be left with a new lease of life having suffered no nasty cleaning erosion that so many cleaners leave.