The Best Non-Toxic Products for a Green Kitchen
Updated: Jan 18
First and foremost, I'm not affiliated with any of these products or companies. I just keep a green home and LOVE all the products I'm writing about. Everything in my blogs is my opinion and my opinion alone. I don't get any money, I don't get any kickbacks; I only link to these products and places so you can benefit the same way we have, with a clean, green home.
With that being said...
Did you know that indoor air quality is often MUCH worse than outdoor air quality? This is especially important if you have children, older adults, or those with underlying health issues living in your home.
This is often due to harmful chemicals used inside the home, often containing dangerous VOCs.
But how can you improve your indoor air quality while still keeping it sparkling clean?
The best way to do this is with non-toxic products. In today's post, we'll be covering the best non-toxic products for a clean, green kitchen.
So strap on those cleaning gloves and let's dive into the top non-toxic kitchen cleaning products of 2022!
Non-Toxic Dish Washing Products
The start of a healthy, clean kitchen begins with dishwashing products. With so many companies claiming to be "green," how do you know where to begin?
For starters, there is one amazing website I refer to for just about EVERYTHING. The EWG. This organization spends countless hours delving into all the nasties we use in everyday life, from cleaning products to suntan lotion to skincare products...and beyond. No matter what you're curious about, The EWG has done their research- and trust me, it's extensive.
Based on my research on the EWG's website along with talking to other Green Mommas on the web, I came across the following products that I absolutely swear by.
Dr. Bronner's
If you haven't tried Dr. Bronner's Baby Unscented Castile Liquid Soap, you're missing out.
Does it seem pricy? At first. But we have hard water so we can only use Castile Soap on our hands and body (although we use something different for the bath- more on that in another post!). We have glass mason jars with foaming soap pumps and fill each bottle 1/5 of the way with Dr. Bronner's and the rest with water.
Voila! Non-toxic hand soap you can feel good about using. Pair this with a fruit and veggie scrubber, and you've got a way to clean your produce!
Here's what I order from Amazon:
Mason Jar Foaming Soap Dispenser
Mason Jar Foaming Soap Pump Dispenser Lids
Produce Brush (these are bamboo- we aim to avoid plastic- so make sure they have time to air dry and don't let them sit in the sink or they'll get moldy)
Dishwashing Detergent
Like I said earlier, we have hard water and I find that Castile soap isn't the best fit for us (we'd need to rinse everything in vinegar after, and I personally found that even with a vinegar rinse, the dishwasher still didn't work well with Castile-soap. This may just be our dishwasher).
If you don't have hard water or if a vinegar rinse works for you, then I highly recommend Mama Suds. Her products are about as clean as they come. Here's her link for Automatic Dishwasher Powder.
Since we do have hard water that loves nothing more than to stain my countertops and anything stainless steel it comes into contact with, we use a gel for our dishwasher. I love Better Life Natural Dishwasher Gel Detergent.
Oh, and if you're not using smile.amazon.com, you're missing out on the opportunity to allow a portion of all proceeds to go to the charity of your choice! (As long as the product you buy is part of the Amazon Smile program, but I've found that most products are.)
Now, for cleaning counters my concoction is simple: I mix water, dish soap, and white vinegar together in a spray bottle and THAT'S IT. I use Attitude Liquid Dish Soap for Baby Products, and everything I purchase is unscented.
Recently Amazon added green products called Amazon Aware. We now purchase our paper products from Amazon. Here's the link for Amazon Aware Paper Towels.
Why Purchase Non-Toxic Products?
So why should you purchase non-toxic products? Tons of reasons! Non-toxic products aim to reduce or eliminate the types of toxic chemicals we're exposed to in everyday life. Take paper towels, for example. What's so bad about a paper towel?!
Plenty!
Paper towels commonly contain chlorine and formaldehyde. When reading Amazon Aware Paper Towels product information, it states the following:
"No added dyes, inks, or fragrances. Whitened without chlorine bleaching. Plastic-free packaging.
This product is produced from 100% recycled paper, minimum 65% post-consumer content
Made in U.S.A. of U.S. and imported ingredients
This product is certified carbon neutral by ClimatePartner. Learn about our third party sustainability certifications below."
Now, the best is to clean with cloth and wash after use, but it can be nearly impossible to avoid using paper towels. We do, however, use cloth napkins in the kitchen. We purchase whenever possible, but our backup is OEKO-TEX.
Here is the link to our cloth napkins. We have them in beige and grey (the grey is slightly larger). We LOVE them! They're 100% cotton (always buy 100% cotton whenever possible) and OEKO-TEX.
Go Green Today!
This about sums it up for our kitchen cleaning products. In addition to creating a non-toxic home for your family, you can save money by switching to these products. Cloth napkins eliminate the need to purchase paper napkins, and my vinegar cleaning solution eliminates the need to purchase other cleaning products.
FYI- I use it all over the house! Toilets, sinks, you name it! And warm water and Apple Cider Vinegar will remove stuck-on grime in your cooking pots and pans.
Check back often for more tips and tricks on how to create a non-toxic home!
In the meantime, be sure to contact me for any questions or if you need professional writing done!
