Un-clog Your Drains

Don't you hate it when your sinks get clogged up? Drain cleaner is one of the worst substances environmentally that you could ask for. What are your other options?

For starters, you could do it manually. With a plunger. Preferably a different one than you use in the toilet. See here.

Or mix a couple of kitchen supplies: 1/4 cup baking soda and 1 cup vinegar. Leave it down there for 15 minutes, then rinse with boiling water. See here.

Finally, there are eco-friendly ready-made products available. Look for "enzymatic biological drain cleaners on the market today, such as Earth Friendly Products' Enzyme Drain Cleaner... These make use of a natural bacterial and enzyme mixture to open and keep drains clear. And unlike sodium hydroxide they are non-caustic and will not facilitate combustion." See this article for more info.

What works best for you?

Greening your bathroom

A great article today on Planet Green today. "How to Go Green: in the Bathroom" features lots of important tips and topics that you wouldn't want to overlook.

The article talks about:
-Low flow shower heads and faucet aerators
-Dual flush toilets
-Toilet paper (even rolling "over" or rolling "under" matters!)
-Cleaning supplies
-Showering and brushing your teeth
-Using vinegar and lemon as natural cleaning agents
-Shower curtains
-Soaps
-Towels and linens

In the later pages of the article, Planet Green recommends lots of links for further investigation into whatever topic(s) you are interested in.

You've probably heard of most of the tips. But I can almost guarantee that there will be one or two points in this article that will be new and useful to you.

Also, remember that the goal is to phase out your not-so-green habits and products as they need replacing (with a few health exceptions, of course). The article says, for example, that bamboo or organic cotton towels are the way to go. True. But the towels you own right now are infinitely greener because new things take so much energy and so many resources to produce and ship.

Vinegar

A few weeks ago, we did an article about the multiple uses of lemon as a substitute for chemical products. Lemons, of course, aren't the only miracle product. Take vinegar as another example.

You can use it for a million different cleaning, laundry, hygiene, lawn/garden, edible, and pet applications. Examples include:
-Killing weeds
-Cleaning toilet bowl
-Washing mirrors and windows
-Cleaning up cat urine

For details on all that and more, please read "Vinegar, the #1 Cheapest and Most Versatile Product for your Home" on One Green Generation.

Drain Cleaner

We've talked before about reducing the sheer number of cleaners in your arsenal. A goal to be worked toward slowly but surely. But there's one cleaning product that is much worse than others: drain cleaners.

Green is Sexy gives us some advice in the article "Hard Boiled":

"The active ingredient in most drain-cleaners is sodium hydroxide, otherwise known as caustic soda or lye. It is a man-made chemical used for its corrosive properties, and corrosive it is! Not only is drain-cleaner deadly to ingest and irritating to your nose, throat and lungs if inhaled, it can also corrode your pipes! While non-toxic alternatives are available, try avoiding clogs in the first place. Pour a kettle full of boiling water down your shower drain once a week. The boiling water breaks down any soap or hair conditioner coating the pipes, helping everything flow a lot easier. If a clog should occur, despite your best attempts at prevention, try a non-toxic solution before turning to products made with sodium hydroxide." [emphasis added]

So, try to prevent. But if it's already too late, try making your own (from Clean & Green):

1/2 cup baking soda
1 cup white vinegar
1 gallon boiling water
1/2 a used lemon
Pour baking soda down drain/disposal, followed by vinegar. Allow the mixture to foam for several minutes before flushing the drain with boiling water.