It’s Your Choice! Safer Cleaning Product Options at Home

Ready to explore easy, safer, and inexpensive cleaning options outside of conventional cleaning products? You may already have some of the products needed to switch to safer cleaning practices, such as liquid soap, baking soda, and lemon juice. We now know it’s not necessary to depend on heavy chemical products for effective cleaning in the home. Try a few safer cleaning products found here and share your experience with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram @smchealth, or leave a comment in this blog!

Check out even more Safer Replacements videos:

Safer Cleaning Basics                                  
Simple Safer Spring Cleaning Ingredients!
Conceptos Básicos de la Limpieza Menos Tóxica
Ingredientes Básicos para Limpieza Menos Tóxica

💡Helpful hint: It’s not necessary to clean mold with chlorine bleach. Try hot, soapy water and be prepared to DRY THE AREA THOROUGHLY. If you do not dry the area, the mold may return due to moisture in the air.

Safer cleaning resources:

💚One of the more popular and effective safer cleaning recipes is our creamy cleanser. Follow along and make some of your own with this video.
🌎Women’s Voices for the Earth demonstrates how to make safer cleaning products at home!
🧼Our 3 Steps to a Healthy Home also highlights less toxic pest and mold control.
🧽Environmental Working Group (EWG)-Verified Cleaning Products
🌎The Safer Choice Label for safer cleaning, car care, laundry, dish detergent, degreasers, and other home products that contain the least toxic ingredients.

Making the switch? Check out our safe HHW management video! Have you decided to opt for less toxic products and would like to safely dispose of or donate your existing cleaning products? Make an appointment for an upcoming collection event near you.

Video: Manejo Seguro de Desechos Peligrosos del Hogar

Last but not least, FREE household products! The Product Give Away Program at the Household Hazardous Waste Facility donates partially or unused products Thursday through Saturday, 2-3pm.

Engage! Contact Cynthia Knowles at cknowles@smcgov.org for any questions or feedback on Safer Cleaning at Home!

¡Involúcrate! Comuníquese con Cynthia Knowles al cknowles@smcgov.org con cualquier consulta.

Hazardous Products: Convenient Recycling and Used Products for Free!

Did you have flooding in your home? Reduce potential harm and avoid contamination

Flooding can put our health and the environment at risk. Floodwater may contain raw sewage, animal waste, toxic substances, chemical compounds, fungus, bacteria, and other harmful materials. If floodwaters come in contact with hazardous products in the home, such as batteries, paint, paint thinner, pesticides, fertilizers, and cleaners, the products may become household hazardous waste (HHW). Visit smchealth.org/hhw-appt to make an appointment to safely dispose of HHW. Events take place every weekend around the County!

Recent heavy rains tend to increase mold growth so check out 3 Steps to a Healthy Home for mold control guidance.

Spotlight: Neighborhood Retail Partners increase HHW recycling!

Neighborhood retail partners increase HHW drop-off opportunities and make it easy to clear our homes of hazardous waste. The San Mateo County Household Hazardous Waste Program partners with retail stores around the County to increase easy drop-off options for safe HHW recycling, right in your neighborhood! If you have paint*, household batteries, or fluorescent lights only, it’s not necessary to make an appointment at an HHW collection event. The County partners with local retail stores to provide you with convenient neighborhood drop-off sites.

Paint only? Visit paintcare.org.

*Visit Paintcare.org for neighborhood drop-off sites. PaintCare accepts latex, acrylic, water-based, alkyd, oil-based, enamel, primers, sealers, stains, and varnishes. They do not accept paint thinner, mineral spirits, solvents, or aerosol paints (spray cans). For these products, make a collection event appointment at smchealth.org/hhw-appt. Check paintcare.org for a complete list of accepted products.

Interested in Second Chances? Our Give Away Program makes it happen!

Many items collected at San Mateo County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility are in good, usable condition. Products may include home and heavy-duty cleaners, solvents, auto supplies, pesticides, fertilizers, adhesives, paint, and stains. The Product Give Away Program redistributes these products for free each Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 2-3 p.m. at the San Mateo County HHW Facility.

Paint Your Walls and the Town, Then Recycle!

PaintCare makes it easy to recycle leftover paint!

🎨 What can I drop off?
PaintCare drop-off sites accept the following:
-Latex, acrylic, enamel, and water and oil-based paints
-Primers, stains, sealers, and clear coatings such as shellac and varnish

  🎨 Where do I drop off my paint?
-Local drop-off sites are located near you. Neighborhood PaintCare sites do not require an appointment! Find your closest site at Paintcare.org

🎨  How much can I drop off?
-Paint must be in its original container of no larger than 5 gallons in size
-Most sites accept up to 10 gallons per drop-off visit
-Products must have the original manufacturer’s printed label on the container
-The container must be covered with a secured lid

 🎨 Before you PaintCare, PaintSmart!
–PaintCare provides guidance on how much paint to buy, how to make your paint last longer in storage, and how to use up or give away leftover paint

 🎨 Items NOT Accepted by PaintCare
-Aerosol products, solvents, paint thinners, mineral spirits, and auto or marine paints
-Leaking, unlabeled, or uncovered cans

Place non-leaking containers in boxes or crates. Do not use plastic garbage bags.

Do you have items that are not accepted by PaintCare and other household hazardous wastes, such as pesticides, fertilizers, solvents, cleaning, automotive, and home improvement products? Make a drop-off appointment at an upcoming household hazardous waste collection event in Daly City, Foster City, Pacifica, Portola Valley, Redwood City, South San Francisco, or San Mateo.

Visit smchealth.org/hhw for more information on HHW and learn What Goes Where.

Safer Products Corner: Spotlight on the Safer Choice Label

After you clear out the hazards, choose less toxic products. Search the Safer Choice Label for safer cleaning, car care, laundry, dish detergent, degreasers, and other consumer products for the home that contain the least toxic ingredients.

Don’t forget about safer cleaning products already found in your kitchen pantry! And be sure to check out our 3 Steps to a Healthy Home for advice on less toxic pest and mold control.

Women’s Voices for the Earth also showcases simple steps to make safer cleaning products at home!

Many items collected at San Mateo County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility are in good, usable condition. Products may include home and heavy-duty cleaners, solvents, auto supplies, pesticides, fertilizers, adhesives, and stains. The Product Give Away Program redistributes these products for free each Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 2-3 p.m.

Household Hazardous Waste Program and Healthy Homes

Open Your Window to Greet Spring and Safer Cleaning

As we open our windows to enjoy longer days and warmer breezes, ventilation promotes air exchange which is necessary to control moisture and mold. Visit our Healthy Homes resources and the CA Department of Public Health’s Mold in the Home English and Spanish video series. Lastly, visit our Three Steps to a Healthy Home for step-by-step actions to safely reduce pests and mold. Women’s Voices for the Earth showcases simple steps to make safer cleaning products at home!

Home Safe Home

Place non-leaking containers in boxes or crates. Do nut use plastic garbage bags.

Time to clear out old or unwanted household hazardous waste (HHW) products and make way for safer products. Pesticides and fertilizers, solvents, chemical cleaning products, and automotive and home improvement products are considered hazardous and can be safely recycled through the County’s HHW Program. Make an appointment at an upcoming collection event in Redwood City, Foster City, South San Francisco, or San Mateo.

Have batteries, paint, used motor oil and filters, or fluorescent lights? Safely drop them off at a local retail take-back location. No appointment needed! Find a drop-off site near you. It’s illegal and unsafe to put HHW in the trash or down the drain.

Women! We Celebrate the History of a Community Champion Against Toxic Waste

For Women’s History Month, Environmental Health Services celebrates a brave woman who took on toxic dumping and won a victory for all communities. In 1978, Lois Gibbs was raising her family in Love Canal in upstate New York when she discovered her neighborhood and her children’s school sat next to 20,000 tons of buried toxic chemicals. Learn more at the Center for Environment, Health & Justice.

HHW Middle School Education Program

Calling all middle school teachers! Environmental Health Services has created a new and exciting education initiative which introduces HHW to students. Educational themes focus on how to identify hazardous products, labeling, and safety in their use, storage, and management once a product is no longer needed or useful. Interested in scheduling a 30-45 minute interactive presentation? Visit our website to learn more.

Trash to Treasure

Too Good to Waste! Many items collected at San Mateo County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility are in good, usable condition. Products may include home and heavy-duty cleaners, solvents, auto supplies, pesticides, fertilizers, adhesives, and stains. The Product Give Away Program redistributes these products for free each Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 2 – 3 p.m.

Safer Cleaning Alternatives in the Bathroom

It’s inevitable that toilets get stained, drains get clogged, and mildew develops in the shower. But before you grab a conventional cleaner with harsh chemicals found at the grocery store, protect your health and your wallet by creating your own bathroom cleaners from safer ingredients.

Here are some bathroom ingredient essentials you will need:

Safer Cleaning Products are Right in Your Kitchen Cabinet!

Safer cleaning alternatives may be things you already have at home!

By Cynthia Knowles, Pollution Prevention Specialist, San Mateo County Environmental Health

Spring is upon us and many of you will open your windows and doors for a spring cleaning. And when you do, we’re here to help you make cleaning choices that are safer for you and the environment. You can breathe easy knowing that there are lots of simple switches you can make that safely clean most surfaces in your home.