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Spend the summer outdoors, not cleaning your home

Want to spend more time enjoying yourself outdoors this summer, instead of cleaning the house for hours each week? This is Goldstar Cleaning Services’ guide to keeping the dirt out of your house, so you can enjoy the summer. 1. Arm yourself with a spray gun Make sure there is a hose with spray gun easily accessible in your yard, so that muddy furniture, bikes, toys, dogs (and children!) can be washed down easily before they get near the house. 2. Build your home’s defences against dirt Most of the dirt in your home is brought in on the feet and shoes of your pets, family and visitors – make it easy for them to leave that dirt outside. Keep a pile of old towels in your porch or mudroom so you can easily dry off pets before they go into the living areas. Keep a laundry basket in the mudroom for muddy or wet sports clothes. Change your doormat in spring and fall Make sure your mudroom has plenty of space for shoe storage so there’s no excuse not to keep shoes stacked out of the way. Keep a plastic tub or other container outside the front door for rubber gardening boots and mountain biking shoes that are too muddy to bring inside. 3. Get your barbecue set for spontaneous entertaining Hose down patio furniture to remove loose dust and spider’s webs. Clean soft furniture with tent and awning cleaner, which will clean off dirt without reducing water resistance. Use bathroom cream cleaner to get plastic furniture back to its original colour. Keep a barbecue cleaning brush and barbecue tools close to the grill. Buy a good-quality cover for your grill to reduce rain damage

How to choose green cleaning products

Green Cleaners in British ColumbiaAlmost every bottle in the cleaning products section now claims to be environmentally friendly, biodegradable, paraben free or just ‘green.’ You may want to cut down the levels of toxic chemicals used to clean your home for health reasons or to address your environmental beliefs. But how do you know what product claims are genuine, and which ones are clever marketing phrases that skirt around the real picture?

What to avoid

The most important issues associated with household cleaners include: Health concerns — strong chemicals give a product cleaning power, but may also increase potential health risks. Always read the instructions to avoid over-exposure that may cause respiratory problems or skin irritation. Keep chemicals out of reach of children. Ingredient disclosure — Ingredient lists rarely contain information about the percent composition of different ingredients. In addition, some disclosed ingredients are generic eg. ‘fragrance’ – making it impossible to tell whether it contains the chemical you or your child is allergic to. Environmental concerns — Cleaning products are typically washed down the drain to be processed by sewage treatment systems and then discharged into surface waters. Some widely used cleaning agents (like alkylphenol ethoxylate surfactants) bio-degrade into persistent compounds that may pose ecological risks. Over two-thirds of the streams sampled by the US Geological Survey have detectable concentrations of persistent detergent metabolites (as well as disinfectants) that originated in cleaning products. Waste reduction — Most cleaning products are now packaged in plastic bottles that can be recycled. However, many consumers dispose of these bottles as trash, adding to their community’s solid waste management challenges.

What to look for:

Look past the marketing slogans on the packaging and look for one of these logos, which show an independent organization has investigated the product’s ingredients, manufacturing process and disposal process and has deemed it to Each organization has a product finder on its website so you can check which products available to you are up to standard, and read information on the findings.   EcoLogo – Founded in 1988 by the Governmentof Canada but now recognized world- wide, EcoLogo is North America’s oldest and most widely known environmental leadership standard. EcoLogo contains 120 environmental standards and almost 7,000 certified products.     Greenseal – Green Seal standards provide leadership criteria for the development of many products, from home cleaning products to paints. Certification guarantees that products perform as well as conventional products. Ingredients are biodegradable and do not contain phthalates, heavy metals, or optical brighteners.     The Good Guide – Rates products and companies on their health, environmental and social performance. The 0 to 10 rating system is easy to follow, and you can search for products that match your priorities including fragrance-free, climate change, animal welfare and health. Leaping Bunny – The Coalition for Consumer Informationon Cosmetics (CCIC) administers this cruelty-free standard. The internationally recognized Leaping Bunny logo appears on personal care and household products. They assure that no new animal testing is used in any phase of product development by the company, its laboratories, or it’s suppliers.   Make your own cleaning products The best way to be sure that your products are not harmful to your family or your environment is to make your own! • Check out our posts on using vinegar and baking soda around the house. • For more ideas on homemade green cleaning products check out this printable recipe sheet from the David Suzuki Foundation.

Five steps to reduce allergens in your home this pollen season

It’s allergy season again – take these five simple steps to help rid your home of the allergens that cause your itchy, watery eyes, dripping nose and itchy skin. 1. Remove plants from your home If you have a mold allergy, you’ll need to find a new home for your potted plants. If you can’t bear to lose them, spread fine gravel over the dirt to help contain the mold (the kind used in aquariums is ideal). 2. Flooring Hardwood or laminate flooring is ideal as it does not trap the dust that can build up to cause your allergy symptoms. If you can’t go as far as changing your carpets, shampoo and steam clean them at the beginning and end of every pollen season and vacuum weekly with a vacuum cleaner that has a small particle or high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter. Don’t forget the above steps for any area rugs and mats! 3. Furniture and curtains Vacuum and steam-clean your soft furnishings like couches and chair cushions. Wash curtains regularly and wipe down horizontal blinds. In the long-term, consider replacing upholstered furniture with wood or plastic, and make sure all the curtains and blinds in your home are machine washable. 4. Windows Prevent condensation turning into mold and mildew by installing extractor fans into bathrooms and kitchens. Every week, wipe window frames with vinegar to clean mold away and prevent it re-forming. Keep the windows closed during pollen season – you will have to rely on air conditioning during the hottest times. Consider installing a small air filter if you find pollen still gets into your home. 5. Bed and bedding Use dust-mite-proof covers on pillows, mattresses and box springs. Wash sheets, pillowcases and blankets at least once a week in hot water (at least 130 degrees Fahrenheit/ 54 degrees Celsius. Try to choose hypoallergenic bedding made of synthetic materials. Goldstar Cleaning Services A Goldstar cleaning team can deep-clean your home in a few hours, making it much easier for you to keep the dust and mold levels down for the rest of the pollen season. Call 250-423-4029 to arrange an individual quote.