Your Questions About Green Living

The Expert answers:

Darling…..you are certainly using the almost complete arsenal of green cleaners for whitening and brightening. All thats left to add is either borax or perhaps a half mixture of bleach with half of your usual dose of cleaning detergent. While not the greenest solution, it is better than the full dose of bleach you might use. Also, if your water is hard, you may be suffering the “hard water dingys” and need to soften the water more. A friend of mine who used to repair appliances said that most people use entirely TOO MUCH detergent to clean their clothes and actually make their clothes dingier by continuing to add too much. He advised me to use less detergent and when possible, to let clothes soak for a bit, even as little as 15 minutes can make a TREMENDOUS difference. My Mom taught me to NEVER, EVER, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, to mix whites with ANY colors AT ALL. And her whites are the whitest. Once I took that into my arsenal of cleaning, I noticed a distinct difference in the white of my whites. Also, you might try finding a little product my Grams used to use, don’t know how green it is, but I have it in my cleaning kit and use it when I need an item whiter that white, called Blueing. Its hard to come by these days, and any time I see it, I clear the shelf. I am down to my last bottle, and its half full. Add a few drops to a glass of water and add to your front loader, or if you have the standard top loader, a bit more to a glass of water and add AFTER the water has been added to your last rinse. Its a bit of effort to catch that last rinse, or you can try adding it instead of softener, oh oh….which also can make your clothes dingy too. Try giving that up for a bit and see if the clothes brighten up. Okay, I have emptied my cleaning tips for white on you! Good luck!

The Expert answers:

Recycle recycle recycle! Reusable shopping bags can be bought or you can bring your old ones. If people give you any grief on this, simply counter with “have you been to England lately?” If I buy one big object, I usually forgo any bags. Look out for biodegradable ingredients in cleaners, food, paper. Recycle your receipts on the way out (remember to tear up first if you have your credit card # on it). Try to eat organic if you can afford it, because organic means less spraying and artificial ingredients. But don’t be misled. The amount of effort it takes to ship organic foods to your location will invariably tax the ozone layer. A lot of liquid cleaners now offer small refillable bottles that are super-concentrated, so you just add to your old big bottle and add water and shake. Good Luck, and THANK YOU for caring about our environment!

The Expert answers:

Many high school and college students are already into the green/eco friendly concept (or at least they like to think they are) so that’s obviously a very important aspect of the product. If it looks cheesy (uncool in the world of the high school student) no one will by it. All aspects of advertising the product should really focus on balancing eco friendly with the latest trends. If advertising through the radio or television, for example, you’ll probably want the more popular recent music rather than old classics. For whatever reason, listing to the same music as our parents did and attaching that to a product can (sometimes) turn us off. Anyways, lots of music, color (maybe even green?) and a cool look will have us all hocked in for sure.
Good luck : )

The Expert answers:

I love Method’s detergent and softener! Currently, I’m using water lily & aloe detergent products for my washes and they smell great and work well (haven’t tested it on heavy stains yet though). They’re also really affordable – the HE detergent is only $8 and the softener is only $6, both for I think 32 fl oz.

Method’s products are all biodegradable and made with natural ingredients.

The Expert answers:

There are 2 types of solar panels, photovoltaic – that create electricity to use for any purpose (like heating water) and solar thermal – used for collecting heat which is typically used to heat your home, your hot water, or even your pool. The former are typically expensive, the latter can vary a lot in price depending on technology. I wouldn’t dismiss solar thermal collection before exploring it. It is likely more expensive, and certainly more complicated than a standard (and probably tankless) hot water heater too, but remember the difference is paying for the higher cost up front, then getting essentially free energy for years. The cost of energy will likely keep rising over time too, so saving 50% now might cost you a whole lot more over the lifespan of the product you buy.

Depending on your location, a geothermal heat pump system can be much more efficient for heating and cooling your whole house, as well as heating water. Its not worth it for just hot water, but if you are looking at larger solutions these systems get rave reviews. Cost is high, but again you are paying up front and saving in the long run.