Happy Easy Eco-Friendly Swap Sunday! Last time we shared with you our favourite essential oils for cleaning, this week we are sharing with you our favourite eco-friendly swaps when it comes to multipurpose surface cleaners.
When using any of the below products, you’ll need to use a cloth. We recommend any sustainable sponge wipes and e-cloths! Check out Ethical Superstore for all kinds of ethical shopping.
Our Recommended Multipurpose Surface Cleaners
Delphis Multi-Surface Cleaner
We love thes EU Ecolabel accredited Multi-Purpose Cleaner! It is an all-in-one cleaner which is not only tough on grease but great at removing dirt and stubborn marks. It works brilliantly on all surfaces throughout your home, leaving them clean and shiny. It can also be used safely and effectively for wool and stain resistant nylon carpets and rugs.
As a plant based, vegan friendly, eco multi purpose product, it is a versatile general cleaner spray to be used across all the rooms in your home.
It is free from VOC’s, Chlorine bleaches, Solvents, fragrance – if you’d like to read more about the dangers of VOC’s, head to our Why Go Green page. It is safe in septic tanks if used as directed, phosphate and phosphonate free and readily biodegradable.
It can be used all across your home – from hard floors, tables, work surfaces, tiles, doors, carpets, upholstery & curtains! It comes in a 700ml spray bottle (£4), or for an even more eco-friendly option, buy the 5l concentrated solution (£25). Just 30ml of this diluted can refill a 700ml spray bottle, so you’ll get plenty of use.
These products are 100% Made in Britain, meaning there are not so many miles contributing to pollution when your are products making their way to you. They are Vegan friendly, B Corp certified, never tested on animals and safe for your pets! The bottles are also 100% recycled & recyclable plastic.
If you’d like something fragranced, take a look at their Floor & Surface Lemon Gel Cleaner, though this isn’t as safe to use on as many surfaces as their multi-surface cleaner.
This product is not a disinfectant or anti-bacterial – so it’s best to wipe down or mix with the Delphis Natural Disinfectant.
Bio D All Purpose Cleaner & Multipurpose Cleaner
Bio D have two products here, an all-purpose sanitiser in a spray bottle 500ml (£2.90) and a multi-surface sanitiser in a cap bottle 750ml (£2.75). These products seem quite similar in use, though the multi-surface can also be diluted for use when not needing to sanitise, such as just mopping the floor. Both are available in much larger quantities too – so buy in bulk if you have the cupboard space to save on packaging!
Both products contain orange oil for it degreasing properties (read about essential oils here!) and uses lactic acid to neutralise 99.9% of harmful bacteria. The products are both gentle on skin, cruelty-free and vegan. They have been tested against E.coli, Salmonella Enterica, MRSA and Staphylococcus Aureus in conjunction with food grade standard BSEN1276. They are suitable for Septic Tanks, in addition to being Pet Friendly! The bottle is also made of 100% recycled materials, and both products are Ethical Consumer Best Buys. Both have 5 star customer reviews on their website – what’s not to love!
Make Your Own!
Homemade
- One part white vinegar
- One part water
- 2 drops of lemon oil
Combine the above ingredients together, pour into a spray bottle and shake! This is a really simple, easy recipe to create your own eco-friendly multi-purpose spray! The lemon oil will not only cut through grease and leave a fragrance, but is also antiviral and antibacterial! If you do not have lemon oil, you can get use a lemon rind – just wait a week for this to infuse into the mixture (it won’t be as affective but will still help!). Be careful using acidic cleaners on granite, as they will etch the stone.
Our own Magic Pixies Covid19 Cleaning Procedure for surfaces!
Step 1: Wash down all surfaces using an eco-friendly liquid soap (we recommend this one from Dri-Pack).
Step 2: Hydrogen Peroxide 3% food grade to sanitise surfaces
Step 3: 70% Isopropyl alcohol to wet cloths and wipe down high touch areas ie. light switches & doorknobs
If you’d like to add a fragrance, use essential oils! Lemongrass, eucalyptus, peppermint and orange oils are all anti-bacterial – you can read more about this in our previous post.
Other Products
Both Ecover and Method are the most widely available products out there, so we have included both of these below. However, we feel it’s very important to mention that they are owned by SC Johnson, who still test on animals. Even though these specific brands may be cruelty-free, their parent company is not. Method and Ecover both benefit from investment from SC Johnson, from profits made elsewhere in the business – which could well be from products that test on animals.. So we personally don’t believe they have the right to claim they’re ‘cruelty-free’ as they do on their packaging.
Ecover Multi-Action Spray
Ecover’s Multi-Action Spray promises to keep surfaces sparkling clean – whether it’s your kitchen surfaces, coffee table or mirrors. Endorsed by the Good Housekeeping Institute, it is suitable for septic tanks and fully biodegradable. It cuts through grease and grime effectively, with the majority of reviews being 5 star on their website.
Based on plant and mineral ingredients, this solution has minimum impact on aquatic life, created at Ecover’s ecological factory. The packaging material is all recyclable, however it would be even better if it came with refills rather than a new 500ml bottle each time! Available from most major supermarkets – for example, it is £2.00 at Sainsburys.
Method’s Multi-Surface Cleaner
Much like Ecover’s spray, Method promise to cut through grease and grime – but this time with method’s cutting edge ‘powergreen’ technology. Derived from corn and coconut, this non-toxic spray is again biodegradable and breaks down dirt naturally.
Unlike Ecover, method offer the spray in a range of scents… French Lavender, Pink Grapefruit and Naked (no fragrance), so you can pick which you prefer. It is also available in a larger quantity of 828ml. This is also available for £2.00 in Sainsburys, so you get more for your money, whilst also using less packaging per product.
These are multi-surface cleaners, but both brands also do anti-bacterial sprays. Many people don’t know the difference between these! Anti-bacterial sprays don’t always ‘clean’ and cut through grease etc, but get rid of bacteria. As mentioned above, it is best to use a multi-surface cleaner to clean the area then have a quick spray down with an anti-bac spray after.
