There are many reasons why people should only perform natural green cleaning, including improving air quality and the environment. “Green cleaning products are naturally derived, non-toxic, and biodegradable, meaning they have less impact on the environment. Other chemical cleaning products may contain ingredients from non-renewable sources and have toxic impacts that can hurt the world’s eco-system” (The Cleaning Authority: Benefits of Green Cleaning, n.d.). To find a cleaning company that is green cleaning certified visit the IJCSA Green Cleaning Service Directory.

Using green cleaning products substantially cuts down and even eliminates VOCs or carbon-based chemicals from being released into the air. VOCs can be responsible for many health issues in humans including organ damage, and even links to cancer risks. Green cleaning practices are very important for indoor air quality. EPA's Office of Research and Development's “"Total Exposure Assessment Methodology (TEAM) Study" (Volumes I through IV, completed in 1985) found levels of about a dozen common organic pollutants to be 2 to 5 times higher inside homes than outside, regardless of whether the homes were located in rural or highly industrial areas”(United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2024). If everybody participates in only using green cleaning products, the reduction of VOCs would be immense and earth’s air quality would receive a major upgrade.

Other aspects of the environment would also greatly improve if everyone were to start utilizing green cleaning practices, which would mean using products that can easily break down and not negatively affect the environment. Toxic runoff from dangerous cleaning chemicals such as petroleum solvents, chlorine bleach, phosphates, and surfactants all play a negative role in diminishing the environment through toxic runoff. Negative effects include the poisoning of aquatic life, causing algal bloom that deplete the oxygen in the environment, and bioaccumulation. Ingredients in these toxic cleaners like polyvinyl alcohol, alkylphenol ethoxylates, and nonylphenol ethoxylates that stay in the environment for very long amounts of time, cause many health problems to everything and everyone.

References

The Cleaning Authority: Benefits of Green Cleaning. (n.d.). The Cleaning Authority. Retrieved September 10, 2026, from https://www.thecleaningauthority.com/blog/green-living/benefits-of-green-cleaning3/

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2024, August 13). Volatile organic compounds” impact on indoor air quality | US EPA. US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/indoor-air-quality-iaq/volatile-organic-compounds-impact-indoor-air-quality