Sustainable Design

18 Sustainable, Non-toxic Cleaning Products for the Home

Does anyone else feel a crazy itch to clean and declutter whenever the seasons change? Maybe it’s just us, but cleaning is something that we do often! In addition to wanting high-performing products to get the job done, we’re extremely passionate about ensuring that we’re relying on sustainable, non-toxic cleaning products for the home.

In this blog, you’ll find a roundup of our team’s tried-and-true cleaning products. While not every single product is free from having an environmental impact, they’re absolutely a step in the right direction. We’re ALWAYS open to suggestions and feedback, too, so please do reach out to us if you have any suggestions or thoughts on this topic!

Keep reading to discover 18 sustainable, non-toxic cleaning products for the home.

Sustainable, Non-toxic Cleaning Products For the Laundry Room

Dryer Balls

1. Replace the need for disposable dryer sheets by investing in a set of wool dryer balls! One set will last forever with proper care. Plus, they help to cut down drying time, so you won’t have to run your machine as long.

Pro tip: put a few drops of your favorite essential oil on a dryer ball before use—your clothes will come out smelling fresher than ever.

Laundry Detergent

2. Our absolute favorite laundry detergent is Earth Breeze’s laundry detergent sheets. In addition to being non-toxic and super effective, they are cutting edge in their design. I use this detergent personally, and LOVE it for several reasons:

It is shipped without all the unnecessary water weight that most laundry detergent jugs contain, thereby reducing the amount of carbon emissions during shipping/transport.
The packaging is biodegradable – you can literally tear it up and bury it in your backyard or compost it.
No plastic packaging
The packaging is very small and compact, freeing up tons of space!
Is mess free
Dissolves in hot, warm and cold water
Is extremely effective at cleaning!

Stain Remover

3. Once you find that holy grail stain remover, it’s hard to budge. I use Grove’s Stain Remover Spray which is AMAZING at getting out stains and is toxin free. I’ve literally never used a better stain remover than this one ever! The only downside is that it comes in a plastic bottle. I am hopeful though that one day soon this will come in an aluminum or glass bottle as Grove continues on their mission to become plastic free by 2025.

Psst…if you know of a good option that is packaged sustainably, I’d love to know! Leave me a message below 🙂

Sustainable, Non-toxic Cleaning Products For the Kitchen

Dish Soap

4. I use Grove Collaborative’s dish soap personally and ADORE it. The refill comes in an aluminum bottle which is easy to recycle and lighter than glass for shipping, which helps reduce its carbon footprint. Since these come as refills, you can purchase a chic soap dispenser to use next to your sink if you don’t have a built-in dispenser on your sink.

Grove’s dish soap can also be purchased at Target and Giant Eagle Market District, which provides an accessible way to purchase if you don’t want to sign up for the Grove membership.

Sustainable Cleaning Products for the Dishwasher

5. Back again for the win, Earth Breeze makes highly effective dishwasher tabs that come in biodegradable packaging and forgo water in their formulas to help cut down on excess weight during shipping.

Why are we shipping water all over the country and world in our laundry and dishwashing detergents when water is added to your dishwasher and laundry machine during the cleaning cycle. It makes no sense, is a waste of money, and is harming the planet, thereby harming our own health and security.

Can you tell we’re huge fans of this brand? Haha!

Sponges/Brushes

6. We love this option from Public Goods because it’s functional and beautiful.

7. For a hand brush, this vegetable and dish brush is made of compostable materials, and the natural curves lend to a nice-looking cleaning tool that is easy to hold in your hand!

Hand Soap

8. Just like their trusty dish soap, Grove’s hand soap comes in lightweight aluminum bottles which helps reduce its carbon footprint when shipped. And since these come as refills, you can purchase a fun soap dispenser to use next to your sink if you don’t have a built-in dispenser on your sink.

Grove’s hand soap can also be purchased at Target and Giant Eagle Market District providing an accessible way to purchase if you don’t want to sign up for the Grove membership.

Reusable Paper Towels

9. The Useless Brand’s washable cotton paper towels are great for simple cleaning around the house—spills in the kitchen, dusting and wiping down surfaces, you name it, these can handle it all. You can purchase directly from their website, but we find that Amazon is a bit more accessible to most people.

Sustainable, Non-toxic Cleaning Products for the Bathroom

Toilet Brush

10. Simple and made from natural materials, this minimalist beechwood toilet brush is perfect for any bathroom! Whoever said that functional products can’t be beautiful? We love when function and beauty are combined – it makes everyday more enjoyable and beautiful.

Sustainable Cleaning Products for the Toilet

11. Tru Earth’s toilet bowl strips are one of the most eco-friendly bathroom products we’ve found to date! Simply tear off a strip, let it dissolve, and scrub the bowl for a perfect clean every time.

12. We also love Blueland products for the home, and their toilet cleaning tablets are another home run product. Just drop, brush and flush!

Cleaning Concentrates

13. + 14. Grove’s cleaning concentrates and reusable glass bottles are something we absolutely LOVE when it comes to all-purpose cleaning. Their concentrates come in small glass bottles with aluminum caps so everything is recyclable and plastic free. And their concentrates are very small, so not very heavy for transport. Plus, their products can also be purchased at Target, making them easily accessible to everyone! Here are a few of our favorites:

More Sustainable, Non-toxic Cleaning Products For the Home

Mop

15. The Full Circle Mighty Mop is the most effective, mostly sustainable mop that we have found to date While we don’t love that there is some plastic in it, it is at least recycled plastic. And hopefully the whole mop itself isn’t something that you need to replace often, so it’s definitely more sustainable than most of its all-plastic competitors.

16. Once it’s seen a lot of use, you can purchase a mop head refill in lieu of buying an entirely new mop, which helps to reduce the amount of waste ending up in the landfill.

Pro tip: Our philosophy is progress over perfection. Sometimes it is not possible to find products that are 100% sustainable or toxic free. In these cases we strive to find and use products from companies that are taking steps towards make their products in more sustainable and/or health conscious ways, even if they are not perfect.

Sustainable Cleaning Products for Dusting & Cleaning

17. We LOVE E-Cloths because all you need is water to use these, no harsh cleaning chemicals needed to get that perfect clean! And we ALWAYS recommend their microfiber cloths for dusting and cleaning anything since they can be washed and reused over and over and over again. No single use disposable waste here!

18. And for areas that may need a little more scrubbing power to get clean, we love these versatile reusable sponges. Use them in the bathroom, kitchen, or anywhere that needs cleaning and simply toss them in the washing machine between uses!

*This post contains affiliate links, which means East & Gray Interiors earns a small commission from your purchase at no cost to you.

As always, we’re continuing to learn and grow in the area of sustainability. If you have any cleaning product recommendations or feedback, please do reach out and share them with us!