Los Angeles is a beautiful, sunny place and it is unrelenting in its efforts to make our homes filthy and dreadful. The Santa Ana winds blow sand from the desert through the tiniest crevice and miniscule crack in our windows. Wildfires leave behind a grey, grimy residue of soot on our homes. And because so many of us live in far-flung areas to accommodate our commutes to the central hub of LA, we are all subject to a constant layer of car exhaust and road grime that blows through our doors at all times. LA is a dirty, dirty place. Clean the house in LA? It’s a part-time job.

Good news: It is totally feasible to transition to an eco-friendly cleaning routine that not only benefits the Earth but also is very effective. Plus, it is more than possible to transition to an eco-friendly cleaning routine without having to do an overhaul of your cleaning products. In fact, using eco-friendly cleaning products can not only result in a cleaner, healthier home and environment but can also benefit your budget and can be very seamless to adjust to. The cleaning experts at MaidThis Cleaning of Los Angeles, an eco-friendly house cleaning company located in Los Angeles, share their top green cleaning tips that work:

Why Eco-Friendly Cleaning Is a Bigger Deal in LA Than You Think

Dust. Is there really such a thing as a dust free city? We like to think of LA as a beachy town, but the reality is there is always going to be some level of dust and debris present. From smog to wildfires to our constant marine layer of fog and mist, we deal with everything from thick black smoke to salt residue blown in from the ocean on a regular basis. Cleaning our homes is never easy, but green cleaning products have made keeping our homes clean and safe for our families while also helping to reduce our environmental footprint possible.

I used to spray and scrub and clean using regular household cleaners, all of which contain VOCs or Volatile Organic Compounds. Some cleaning products have bleach, others are aerosol sprays. The VOCs release chemicals into the air, contributing to pollution. And Los Angeles, where I live, has some of the most heavily regulated and pollluted air in the country. Cleaning your bathroom using toxic chemical sprays and doing it in an unventilated area, doesn’t really clean and remove the grime. It just adds pollution to the air that caused the grime to form in the first place.

Eventually all products that are not biodegradable drain into our watershed. Our water systems in Southern California are under a great deal of stress already. Green cleaning products reduce the amount of harmful chemicals entering our waterways while not diminishing the effectiveness of the product.

Room-by-Room: Sustainable Cleaning That Actually Gets the Job Done

Living Room and Common Areas

The dust is winning. LA air can leave a fine layer of particulate matter on surfaces faster than you can blink an eye. Depending on your location — and if you live near a freeway or in a canyon — it’s not uncommon to feel like you’re battling a never-ending dust storm. Here’s how to keep your home clean without ever using chemical cleaners.

Try switching to microfiber cloths and get away from disposable wipes. Using a microfiber cloth to dust is far more effective and won’t spread the dust about like disposable wipes do. Plus, they are washable and can be reused again and again. Yet another eco-friendly way to reduce the amount of paper products used on various surfaces.

I bet you already have vinegar, baking soda and castile soap lying around the house. All three are really versatile and great for a variety of cleaning tasks. Vinegar is amazing for cutting through grease and eradicating odors. Baking soda is a great scouring agent and doesn’t cause abrasion to surfaces. Castile soap is a fantastic agent for cutting through and removing dirt and grime. Mix all three ingredients with water and pour into a spray bottle (you can reuse old cleaning bottles for this too) and you are good to go!

I think I have 5 plants total inside the house right now. I have pothos, snake plants and peace lilies. Apparently they are good for air quality and they are the laziest plants to care for. We all need a little less work in our LA lives.

Kitchen

If your home was a car, the kitchen would be the muffin tops and grease that collect under the back bumper. A whole lot of stuff. When you switch to eco-friendly cleaning products in the kitchen, you’ll be in for a shock: it’s not that different than what you’re already using.

We had a discussion about paper towels this morning. While using washable cotton rags or a dish cloth to clean up is a drop in the bucket in terms of environmental impact, it is a huge reduction in the amount of paper towels used. That being said, the majority of eco-friendly dishwasher pods are now available at most LA grocery stores and co-ops and work very well. We aren’t yet composting food waste, but the City of LA recently launched a pilot for curbside composting and so far so good.

Stovetop Grease Stain Remover

Mix together baking soda and a few drops of dish soap to form a paste and apply to the affected area. Let it sit for 10 minutes before rinsing with water. So simple!

Bathroom

The bathroom is probably where most of us reach for bleach, and we get it: mold and mildew are legitimate concerns. If you’re in an old building in LA, you know that good ventilation isn’t always built in. You don’t need bleach to reclaim your bathroom.

My go to sidekick to battle the soap scum on tile and glass is white vinegar in a spray bottle. 3% hydrogen peroxide from the pharmacy is also great for removing mold and bacteria. I have been using baking soda on my sink to clean it out and then using the vinegar to prevent bacteria from forming. Refilling your soap dispenser is also a great way to cut out unnecessary plastic. Many zero waste stores in LA carry great quality soap refills.

The best way to prevent mold in the bathroom is to simply open a window or run the fan. Good ventilation is free and perhaps the most overlooked cleaning tool in the bathroom.

Floors and Carpets

LAERS: Lessons from a Real Estate Scientist For LAers

The floors in our homes are our primary interface with the outside environment. Everything on the sidewalk that we want to bring inside ends up on our floors. From the obvious stuff (dirt, pollen, dust) to the less visible (smog, whatever else settles out of the air), our floors take a beating from the outside environment. Here are two small tweaks that can make a big impact on the health of our floors, and therefore the health of our indoor environments.

This is my HEPA filter vacuum. Most normal vacuums release the fine particles they suck up right back into the air. The HEPA filter holds them in. Important to me because my son has asthma and I have allergies.

Steam Cleaning Carpet Sanitizes & Leaves

No Chemicals Behind Steam cleaners sanitize your carpet without the use of any chemicals or residues. Steam cleaning is a great cost effective alternative to hiring a professional. Many furniture and carpet rental stores in LA have steam cleaners available for rent.

Carpet deodorizer (natural carpet powder) Sprinkle

This carpet powder liberally on your carpet and let sit for 15 minutes before vacuuming. This all natural carpet deodorizer will eliminate odors on your carpet while eliminating any negative side effects from man-made fragrances.

Building a Cleaning Routine That Sticks

Why are your homes so dirty? People always think its laziness but really it is just the lack of routine. Your family may be committing to 10 minutes of tidying each day and an hour of cleaning each week, but those hours and minutes really add up and make a big difference. In contrast, the mess that comes from dedicating a single Saturday every 3 months to scrubbing down all of your walls and floors is vastly more intimidating and really isn’t worth it if you have a more consistent routine in place.

A few habits that make the whole thing easier:

Always declutter before cleaning. It is rather futile to try to clean over clutter. My hubby and I have started doing a 5-minute tidying round each week and what a difference it has made. We now spend so much less time cleaning as the surface is already dust free and the objects are all in order.

Buying green cleaning products in bulk reduces unnecessary packaging, lowers the cost per use, and eliminates the need for last-minute trips to the store. Both Costco and Thrive Market carry environmentally-friendly products that are more cost effective when purchased in larger quantities.

Encourage all members of the household to assist with cleaning and organizing. I recently heard from a client who believes she does about one-third of the household cleaning and organizing tasks. Her partner and their two teenagers assisted her and, lo and behold, the family discovered that their assistance reduced her workload to only about one-third of the original workload—down by about two-thirds. My client’s tasks are loading the dishwasher and cleaning the counters. The family’s partner and teenagers’ “chores” were washing a few dishes and “sweeping” the floors (though not necessarily with a real broom and dustpan).

If you find that you really like a particular green cleaning product be sure to make a note of it and post it somewhere. Consistency is key.

When a Professional Clean Makes Sense

As residents, we are expected to be able to sustain ourselves and complete basic tasks such as plumbing, electrical work and DIY cleaning. However, there will inevitably be times in which we require some assistance and the apartment needs a deeper clean than we are able to provide.

For example, after a move-in or move-out, following a particularly messy fire season or because we were so busy with work and personal obligations over the summer and need a professional clean. There are a myriad of reasons why a deep clean may be necessary and it is therefore appropriate that this option is available.

If you rent in LA, you better believe having a good clean ready to go for your landlord when you return your keys can make or break you getting your deposit back. For an Airbnb host, the turn around clean is the product.

We’re a Green Cleaner in LA Maid

This is your LA green cleaner of choice. We provide convenient access to a wide range of highly reviewed and background checked independent cleaners that follow environmentally friendly cleaning practices that are considered green clean. We offer affordable pricing, a 100% guarantee and an easy online booking system that takes less than 3 minutes to fill out. LA residents no longer have to choose between having the home environment be green and having their home clean. MaidThis now offers a green home cleaning service alternative in LA that eliminates the need for a cleaner to enter your home with a bag of chemicals.

The Bottom Line

No need for a full-on arsenal of chemicals and endless hours at the sink in LA! It’s all about flipping a few switches, a little bit of planning and sometimes having a little help from a professional when things get hectic.

Try out 2-3 of the tips from above. Switch to using reusable cleaning cloths instead of paper towels. Make your own all-purpose natural vinegar spray. Run the bathroom exhaust fan while you shower. Your home and wallet will thank you for going the green route when it comes to keeping your home clean and free of harsh chemicals while saving money on commercial cleaning products.

Every day your home, regardless of its location in Los Angeles, is subject to the forces of nature, accidents and general use. Even with the best of cleaning efforts, you just can’t keep everything clean and spot free on the outside surfaces of your home. Here are some of the forces that you may be able to minimize.