The type of sustainable flooring you choose depends on lifestyle and budget. Older people (and those with small children and pets) often prefer carpet as it’s warmer and safer for slippery areas. Others prefer wood or bamboo, with tacked rugs. Carpet tiles are used for offices, and bathrooms/kitchens often have lino floors. Read about biodegradable flooring & carpet cleaners.
When time comes to replace, most companies will take and recycle existing flooring. Or cut it up and donate carpets to animal shelters to provide soft areas for cages etc.
- Eco-laminate flooring contains recycled material.
- Cork flooring is warm and comfortable and has good sound insulation. The cork bark is stripped from trees every few years, so no trees are cut down.
- Bamboo grows in around a year to harvest, as opposed to decades for wood trees. It’s strong (industrial bamboo is not the same as fresh shoots eaten by pandas).
- Econyl is made from ghost fishing waste (old nets recovered from the ocean). Unlike plastic clothing, this is good as you don’t launder carpet tiles, so they won’t leach microplastics from machines into the sea.
natural carpeting material choices
Most modern carpet contains plastic. Some are useful as they are easy to clean up spills (pet pee, wine spills etc). Wool is natural but has ethical issues on sourcing (and no good for vegans).
- Sisal is good for insulation and high-traffic areas and if made with good grip, is often used on stairs, lounges and halls. It’s from an agave plant (related to cactus) and sold in nice colours.
- Seagrass is thinner but easy to clean and less likely to leave water marks, so often used for living and dining spaces.
- Coir (from coconut shell husk fibres) is insulating, and naturally colours.
- Jute is a strong light brown ‘tweed’ carpet made by spinning vegetable fibre in Bangladesh. It’s less sturdy so best for bedrooms.
- Eco-underlay is made from cork, sisal or recycled materials.
Most carpet cleaners contain chemicals that cause asthma and hormonal imbalances, so bin or take to the landfill toxic waste department. Boasts to ‘kill 99.99% of bacteria’ are no use, as the single remaining cell can repopulate in just 20 minutes. Also read the post on sustainable flooring.
Avoid essential oils for allergies, pregnancy/nursing, babies and pets (citrus oils can be toxic if paws walk on floors cleaned with them). Muck Munchers offers a scent-free biodegradable floor cleaner.
To spot-clean stains or pet accidents, spray with white cleaning vinegar and dab dry (do not scrub). Sprinkle bicarbonate of soda, leave for 15 minutes or overnight and vacuum. Clean wooden floors witih pure liquid soap. For pet-free homes, you can use soda crystal solution before painting/varnishing (mop with fresh water to remove suds).
Spruce Floor Cleaner is scented with organic oils of bergamot, patchouli and geranium. Suitable for sealed wood, tiles, stone, laminate, lino and other hard surface floors, add one teaspoon to three litres of warm water (or one quarter teaspoon for 750ml spray mop). One bag lasts 75 uses and composts at end of life (store in a cool dry place).
Bio-D Concentrated Floor Cleaner (also in 5L version) is ideal for laminate, polished floors, ceramic tiles, stone, slate and vinyl. Sold in refillable bottles, it can remove dirt, grease and grime, and tackle stains.
Delphis Eco-Low Foam Floor Cleaner is a commercial-strength product for floor cleaning machines to remove grease and oil from tiled, concrete and painted floors (neat, it can remove heavy forklift truck tyre marks). Also a low-foam degreaser, it’s safe on paintwork, metal surfaces, glass and rubber. Virtually odourless and biodegradable. Sold in recycled plastic and not tested on animals. Their domestic floor cleaner is not pet-safe as advertised, as it contains citrus oils.
use a microplastic bucket filter
Most mops use microfibers that end up washed down sinks, and go into the sea to harm marine life creatures. So use with a Guppyfriend bucket filter (tighten the blue strap around your bucket, pour cleaning water through filter into the drain, then dispose of resdue in bin (in a sealed container, to avoid contents washing away down drains at landfill).
Quick Loop is a one-time purchase. Made from oak and steel, pull and loop cotton towels on the end, to secure and make your own mop. Use the handle to dust and dry floors. The built-in spring enables the right force.
how to clean carpets, naturally
Carpet cleaning machines are best avoided, due to chemicals used. Instead have a ‘shoes off’ policy for guests, and use Hug Rugs (made with recycled materials) to avoid dirt/mud tracking inside. Frequent vacuuming reduces need for cleaning carpets. Use professional steam-cleaning if needed.
Dri-Pak has a recipe for a homemade carpet cleaning machine solution: mix 4 litres of hot water with half cup of white vinegar in the water tank (this also removes soapy residue from past cleanings). Always test an area first.
For steam mops, run a solution of one-third white vinegar with two-thirds water through the chamber/mop, refill and run through with tap water.
Numatic Eco claims to be the greenest vacuum cleaner. Built to last, many components are made from recycled post-industrial material that are diverted from landfill or incineration. It has 30% less energy consumption and is good enough for professional use.
Miele vacuum cleaners last around 20 years, they are fairly quiet and comfortable. They also are easy to repair by post and Triflex cordless vacuum has a replaceable battery. Bagged cleaners hold 25% more dust, so need less replacement. The HEPA filters up to 99.9999$ of dust and allergens.
The allergy and dog/cat hair and cordless are expensive but the Classic C1 in autumn red is under £200 and just as good. It features a telescopic tube to get into nooks and crannies, and is lightweight and adjusts to your height.
If you’re on a small budget, live on a high floor or have a small area, a manual carpet sweeper is the obvious choice. Bissell and Ewbank both offer basic and deluxe versions (even these are way cheaper than a vacuum cleaner – around £30). Lint rollers (the ones to get pet hair off clothes) can also be used on small areas. For rugs, hang over a fence and beat with a tennis racket (or soak and wash the dirt out, and dry in the sun).
a plastic-free dustpan & brush
This plastic-free dustpan & brush set is made from quality materials, and designed to last a lifetime. And if for any reason it does break, the materials will safely biodegrade back to the earth. Held together by a magnet for easy storage (so store safely away from children and pets).
Made from FSC-certified beech wood (which means the trees do not come from rainforests), it features natural tampico (a plant fibre) and steel, and is ethically made in Europe. The mini version is similar, perfect to sweep crumbs off the table. A tree is planted, for each dustpan & brush sold.
When time comes to replace your dustpan and brush, this is a good choice. Plastic is the material of choice for dustpan and brushes, but most feature plastic pans and brush handles, along with nylon (more plastic) bristles.
Plastic is made from oil (so buying new plastic helps support the fossil fuel industry) and plastic never breaks down at end of use. If plastic fibres end up in our seas and rivers, they break down into microplastics which are invisible, ingested by fish and marine creatures.