About Core Cleaning
We are a family owned and operated Specialty Cleaning Services business located in Whitby, Ontario and servicing the Greater Toronto Area for over 30 years! Core Cleaning is fully licensed and insured to offer both residential and commercial cleaning services. Karen Marth a.k.a. “The Queen of Clean” and her daughters have devoted themselves to providing reliable, consistent, high-quality and eco-conscious affordable services that allow them to take exceptional care of their clients and the environment.
Greening Your Cleaning
A clean, healthy home is a happy home. Deciding to switch to Eco-Friendly or Green cleaning can seem overwhelming and daunting. Where do you start? How do you know what products are actually eco-friendly? And how much will it cost?
Our tagline at Core Cleaning is ‘Greening your cleaning … inside and out!’ We truly believe in using eco-friendly products and cleaning techniques when it comes to providing our services. And the best part? We love sharing green cleaning tips and product reviews with others! Having a chemical free home makes it safer for everyone who comes through your house, those with respiratory issues, children and pets.
So where do you start?
Household Cleaning Chemicals
I’m sure you have a cupboard, closet or caddy full of various cleaning products, something for your tile floor, something for your wood floor, windows, mirrors, toilets, sinks, bathtub, kitchen etc. It could be anything from wipes, sprays, liquids to abrasive scrubs and anything in between.
First, you don’t need to go and throw them all out. Take stock of what you have and what you use each cleaner for. Then research what eco-friendly product could replace it, and gradually replace those products over time (our Core Cleaning experts can help with that!).
How do you know what is eco-friendly? Look for labels that say eco-friendly, bio-degradable or non-toxic. Look for items that use natural ingredients like vinegar or are water based and products that use less packaging.
You may even consider making your own cleaners at home. Vinegar and water are great solutions for cleaning mirrors and windows. Lemon juice and baking soda also make great homemade, natural cleaning products. One of the best cleaners is simply just using water with the right cloth!
Household Cleaning Tools
Chemicals aside, there are also cleaning tools that you could replace with longer lasting, reusable items. If you use paper towels or disposable sponges and cloths, consider switching to a reusable cloth.
We use and trust the Norwex line of products which offers a number of really great reusable products like dusting mitts, the enviro cloth and the window cloth. These are all designed to be used dry or damp to clean, scrub or dust. You don’t need to use any chemical cleaner with them, they’ll clean with just water! One of the benefits of the Norwex cloths is that they can be rinsed and hung to dry if not soiled or thrown into the wash so it’s clean for the next use. All of the cloths are designed using BacLock, which is an antibacterial agent for self-cleaning purposes. This agent is designed to inhibit odor from bacteria, mold or mildew growth within the cloth. No more stinky cloths beside the kitchen sink. We also use and recommend the Superior Mop System, its reusable mop pads and ability to clean with only water makes it a great addition to your cleaning team, helping you clean faster, and for less money.
A handheld steamer and a steam mop are also great tools to have at home for deep cleaning. They provide the elbow grease while you get the credit. Steamers are versatile and much easier than lugging around a mop a bucket. And the best part? They give your home a deep clean by just using water! At Core Cleaning we offer a number of great hand held steamers and steam mop options to our clients from Reliable, a company whose values align with our own.
Investing in cleaning tools and systems can be expensive and you never want to buy items that will sit around and gather dust (that would defeat the purpose!). If you’re unsure what you need or where to start the experts at Core Cleaning are happy to discuss with you, your personal cleaning needs and based on that, recommend what tools you could use to meet your household cleaning needs.
Cleaning Services
The types of cleaning services you have completed in your home can also improve things like air quality.
For instance, having your air ducts cleaned and sanitized every 2-5 years will improve the quality of the air you breathe. Although you may regularly change the air filter in your furnace, many people often forget to consider the build-up of dirt, dust and contaminants that linger in the duct work itself. When you turn on the central air conditioning or the heat those contaminants just recirculate throughout your home. Core Cleaning provides air duct cleaning and sanitization. Our cleaning system both brushes the insides of the vents and vacuums. This ensures the dirt and dust doesn’t just resettle after brushing. Once cleaned we can sanitize your ducts with a medical grade antimicrobial product (which is eco-friendly!) called Benefect.
And of course, just generally it’s important to find a service provider who specializes or focuses on eco-friendly cleaning. At Core Cleaning we strive to use eco-friendly products and tools in all of our divisions. We’re big fans of Norwex products and the Reliable steam mop systems. We’ve even created our own eco-friendly stain and odor remover for use on carpets, upholstery, in your vehicles and it even works on laundry! Most recently we began offering hardwood floor cleaning and coating, a water-based solution. And when all else fails,our go to is always water! Whether it’s any one of our specialty services; carpet/upholstery cleaning, air ducts, tile & grout, hardwood flooring, windows and eaves, Core Cleaning works to do it with materials and products that leave your home clean and safe for everyone to enjoy!
Other Changes
You can also improve the air quality in your home by adding plants. Aloe Vera plants help clear formaldehyde and benzene. The Spider Plant battles benzene, formaldehyde, carbon monoxide and xylene (a solvent used in the leather, rubber and printing industries). Gerbera Daisies are effective at removing trichloroethylene, which you may bring home with your dry cleaning, it’s also good for filtering out the benzene that comes with inks. Snake plants also filter out formaldehyde along with Golden Pothos. Not to mention that just generally, plants intake the carbon monoxide we breathe out and produce oxygen. It’s a win-win situation!
Finally, there’s the old faithful methods of reuse, reduce and recycle. Cut down on household waste by composting, buy less plastics, reuse containers for other purposes or recycle and donate items that can be reused instead of trashing them.
Approach
Our best advice is to start small, do what you can manage and what is reasonably within your means. You don’t need to throw away all of your current supplies. We recommend taking stock of what you have, what you use it for and then make a list of what it could be replaced with. Slowly integrate new products or processes over time. Determine your specific needs and then create a plan to work towards. Don’t do or buy things that don’t fit into your lifestyle and won’t get used. Still unsure, reach out to the experts at Core Cleaning. We’d love to work with you to create a fulsome plan and suggest products you could consider using. If you live within the Greater Toronto Area and are interested in our services, we can also come up with a yearly home detailing plan. If you are outside of our service area, we can still help you choose who to use in your area, we are always happy to help! We can ship any products you need, and we offer convenient payment plans if you want to make a change all at once. Cleaning products and tools make great gifts to first time home buyers, students or anyone moving out on their own for the first time.