Maybe you decided to use ecologically friendly cleaning products after your 8-year-old asked what you were doing about the environment.

Maybe it was after a second viewing of An Inconvenient Truth.

Maybe it was the day you got dizzy after spraying cleaner on the gunk-encrusted oven.

If you plan to toss out the rubber gloves and do your spring cleaning without harsh chemicals, you have lots of company.

"People are waking up to the fact that it doesn't make sense to dice organic vegetables on a cutting board you've just washed down with chlorine bleach," said Courtney Loveman, marketing director for Seventh Generation environmentally friendly cleaning products.

The growing concern about household chemicals has been good for Seventh Generation, which has posted sales growth in each of the past 10 years. Catalog sales for the Burlington, Vt., company are handled by Broomfield-based Gaiam.

Orange Glo International, which also makes OxiClean laundry products, has been the natural-cleaning industry's biggest market success. Last July, its Colorado founders sold it to Arm & Hammer for $325 million.

"Orange Glo made big strides for natural cleaners," said Carrie Allen, Gaiam's director of catalog marketing. "But there are so many cleaning products out there. I doubt that natural cleaners make up a very big share of the market."

Not all natural cleaners are as effective as the traditional kind. Linda Hunter, author of Green Clean: the Environmentally Sound Guide to Cleaning Your House (Melcher Media, $17.95), concedes that Drano is more likely to open a clogged drain than is a baking soda-and-vinegar solution.

"But the harsh chemicals in drain cleaner are going to pollute the Earth from cradle to grave - from manufacture to disposal," said the Des Moines-based writer.

Orange Glo, Seventh Generation, Ecover, Mrs. Meyer's and Simple Green are among the many brands whose "Earth-friendly" cleaning products crowd the shelves of natural-food groceries such as Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Sunflower and Vitamin Cottage.

Green cleaning products also have gained space on the shelves of mainstream retailers. Method brand cleaners, for example, are sold at Target, Kmart, Office Depot, Costco, Lowe's and Safeway. Safeway also sells products from Seventh Generation and Boulder-based Eco-Products.

Recipes for homemade cleaners

Drain cleaner

• Baking soda

• Distilled white vinegar

Maintain drains by using a trap to catch hair and by keeping grease out. Pour a kettle full of boiling water down your drains weekly. If a drain becomes clogged, use a plunger. To make your own drain cleaner, add one cup baking soda and one cup vinegar to a large pot of boiling water (they'll fizz) and pour it down the drain. Flush with tap water until the drain is clear.

Basin, tub and tile cleaner

• Half a lemon

• Borax

Dip the lemon half in borax and rub on the area to be cleaned. Rinse surfaces and dry with a soft cloth.

Oven cleaner

• Baking soda

Maintain ovens by pouring salt on fresh spills once the oven has cooled and then scraping the spill and washing the area. To clean the entire oven, sprinkle with baking soda and spray with water. Let it sit for several hours or overnight. Rinse the oven thoroughly with water.

Window cleaner

• 2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar

• 1 quart warm water

Mix ingredients well in a new spray bottle. Spritz on windows and wipe with a natural linen towel or other cloth. If necessary, use rubbing alcohol to remove residue from commercial glass cleaners.

Floor cleaner

• 1/8 cup liquid soap

• 1/8 cup distilled white vinegar

• 1 gallon water

• 10 drops essential oil of your choice

Combine all ingredients in a pail; use to mop any type of floor.

Lemon furniture polish

• 2 cups olive, vegetable or mineral oil

• Juice of one lemon

Mix oil with lemon juice. Apply with a soft cloth and buff until you can see your reflection.Source: Linda Hunter, Green Clean: The Environmentally Sound Guide To Cleaning Your House (Melcher Media, $17.95)

simonsj@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-2547

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