Sarah, you need to, ah...dig a little deeper.  Both baking soda and borax are at least to some extent mined products--don't know how much of our borax comes from the Atacama Desert of Chile, but do you know?  The sources of the ingredients do have environmental impact apart from their effects in use.  So comparisons have to include these issues.  Can't say that cradle-to-cradle analysis would prove even elbow grease completely safe.  But thanks for bringing up the subject.

The recent revelation from organicconsumers.org on the inclusion of petro-chemical/parabens, and carcinogens in commonly available "Natural, Organic, Biodegradable" personal care items makes me very suspicious of cleaning supplies.

I'd like to see info on whether or not they contain any carcinogens, hormone disrupters, or other known "bad guys".

"For this I got 1600 on my SATs?!"

So, which is worse, the sexism or the racism? : )

I dunno, Canis, both are pretty egregious.

I use Bon Ami, personally, and it works well enough for me.  But, OMG, the ingredients are mined!  Guess what--there is no company so eco friendly that they have a little fairy hovering over the (100% post-consumer recycled) containers waving its little wand to fill them up with something that cleans like Ajax and yet is so nontoxic you can sprinkle it on your cereal instead of sugar.  Everything comes from somewhere, and any product that you use to fight dirt is going to, well, fight dirt in some way.  If it were really that nontoxic and biodegradable, the microbes would be flocking to eat it!

"The estimated lethal dose (ingested) for adults is 15-20 grams; less than 5 grams can kill a child or pet. For this reason, borax should not be used around food. More commonly, borax is associated with skin, eye, or respiratory irritation. It is also important to point out that exposure to borax may impair fertility or cause damage to an unborn child. "

I don't think I'll be using borax anytime soon! I'll stick with my non-toxic baking soda with a bit of Dr. Bronner's. Mmm peppermint. With regular cleaning, you hardly have to scrub!

I've been told that this is pretty good, actually.

Anyone know more?

Whiskerfish

This is an extremely useful article, and I wish (despite some of the comments' criticisms) that it were more widely distributed! Because of my now-dispelled ignorance, I have tended to avoid cleaning products altogether, and yes, my bathroom is a mess. Thanks very much, Sarah.

I use baking soda for heaps of stuff, but I think you'll find it a lot more effective to clean surfaces with vinegar as well.  Mix the 2 together and wipe over surface, leave for a couple of minutes and lightly rub off (depending on the severity of the problem as to how much elbow grease is needed).  Baking soda is also hands down the best hting for removing fresh stains and odours from carpet.

What about lye soap? I got some lye soap made from all the left over oil from a catfish fry. I just use red devil lye and mix it with the oil. You can also make lye from white oak wood ash. Guess thats the way grandma used to do it, minus the fried catfish, she liked chicken.  

I think all of the comments are totally fair, and I think that there is a lot to learn about being environmentally friendly in all we do.

However, I wanted to finish the reference emgroff offered, which I believe came from About.com's chemistry site "How Does Borax Clean?"  The article goes on to say:
     "Now, none of these risks mean that you shouldn't use borax. If you do a bit of research, you will find risks associated with all cleaning products, natural or man-made. However, you do need to be aware of product risks so that you can use those products properly. Don't use borax around food, keep it out of reach of children and pets, and make sure you rinse borax out of clothes and off of surfaces before use."

I think ultimately the lesson is two-fold: If you care about doing the right thing, in any capacity, then you need to do your own research to verify your choices.  And, let's not make "good" the enemy of "perfect".  Anyone regularly using or writing for this site is interested in doing the best they can and expanding their knowledge.  That's still progress.

so here's one for the drought-ridden westerners because water use is always front and center here:  if baking soda takes 3-4 rinses (and we all know it does), then are we "globally" better off to use less water and a little more poison?

similar question for plastic grocery bags:  if we are re-using them to haul garbage and recycling around, isn't that perhaps just as good or better than washing a canvas bag over and over and buying something else to put trash in?

these questions are not that simple, and when you factor water use and bag re-use in, start to shift in other directions from the standard, one-size-fits-all answers.

what do people say?

I urge the powers-that-be at Grist to consider Shaklee products in the review process! Or at least, please explain the selection process for the products that are presented. Thanks!

Those of us old enough to remember are well aware of who did the commercials for 20 mule team Borax.  Hint: he later apppointed James Watt as Secretary for Looting the Interior, and famously quipped (regarding wilderness preservation) "how much scenery do they need?"   No product with Ronald Wilson Reagan in its lineage is environmentally friendly in my book.

I'm not a big fan of using Borax since it did a wonderful job getting rid of my ant problem.

How about using Peroxide? I use it for just about all my cleaning.

Hello, Can anyone recommend a non-toxic cleaner that does not kill the "good bacteria" on household surfaces? I heard that the anti-bacterial cleaners are creating resistent germs and I am concerned about this as well as the environment, so I can really use a good recommendation. Thanks

The thing with cleaners that kill bacteria is that they kill all of them, starting with the weak ones, ending (maybe) with the strong ones.  If you use bleach or alcohol you're going to kill all of them.  If you use those "anti-bactial" dishsoaps, etc, you're going to kill the weak ones and make the strong ones even more resistant.

The best choice is plain old fashioned soap.  Real soap simply knocks the bacteria off the surface and washes it down the drain, where is dies in a timely fashion.  It has the added benefit of being biodegradable and not too bad for you if you happen to eat it.

Also, go for an untreated wooden cutting board.  The natural tanins in the wood kill off bacteria.  Plastic cutting boards just collect little bacteria colonies in the groves you creat with your knife.  I don't know about bamboo cutting boards though.

Have you heard of or tried Melaleuca cleaning products? My family has been using them for years and swears by them. They seem to be pretty good, and natural as far as I can tell. Maybe you guys could check them out and see if they're a good green cleaning product company.

If you haven't experienced Melaleuca's Tub and Tile (power of 20 lemons and best of all - NO SCRUB FORMULA) - give it a go.  If you need help registering - call me.