Being aware of our daily habits is important to improving our quality of life and the quality of our community. There is a stigma that making a transition to a less wasteful, more environmentally conscious lifestyle is a difficult endeavor to take on. We are made to believe that living an eco-friendly lifestyle will cost us more money, will be much less convenient, and that green products are less effective than their store-bought cleaning counterparts. 

The truth is that being environmentally conscious is easy and is as convenient as you want it to be. You’d be surprised at how quickly you adapt to simple changes and how much better your quality of life will be just by being more aware with your decisions. From personal care products to ways to green your home, you can find products and methods that can meet you where your needs are — and that includes employing eco-friendly ways to clean your car.

The Importance of Being Eco-friendly

Defining the meaning of being eco-friendly is pretty straightforward. At its core, being eco-friendly is the simple act of living with intent. The intent being focused on not creating unnecessary damage to the environment, and to prevent as much harm from occurring to the environment through your interactions with it. With simple practices, you can influence your community positively by being conscious of your relationship with the environment. Being eco-friendly can be just turning off lights when you leave the room or separating your garbage for recycling – but it can also be more extreme changes like going vegetarian or only buying used clothing.

Like I mentioned before, it can also be being conscious of the products you’re using. In fact, did you know The EPA names phosphorous, nitrogen, ammonia and chemicals known as “Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs)” as the worst environmental hazards in household cleaners? VOCs and many of the aforementioned chemicals are also found in some of the most popular car cleaning products.

The Benefits of Cleaning Your Car

But cleaning your car is something we all need to do from time to time. Keeping clean the spaces you frequent is important for your mental and emotional health, and your car is no different.
Cleaning your car has many benefits. It helps protect your car from contaminants like dust, pollen, tree sap and salt, which can deteriorate your vehicle’s paint and get into your car’s ventilation systems.

When your car’s paint starts to deteriorate, surface rust will develop which can turn into a big problem, not to mention look bad. Letting rust form on your vehicle compromises its structural integrity, quickly making your car unsafe to drive.

Eco-Friendly Ways to Clean Your Car

That’s why The Zebra wants to help us clean our cars without hurting the environment, so they created this helpful guide on eco-friendly tips for washing the interior and exterior of your car.
From exterior protectants to interior air fresheners, they compiled a list of easy-to-make green cleaning mixtures from basic household ingredients such as vinegar, lemons, baking soda and cornstarch. The guide also includes tips on minimizing water use and reducing waste by reusing materials like newspapers and toothbrushes.
Check out the full infographic below. My personal favorites are the wheel cleaner and the interior protectant. Try the mixtures out and tell us what you think!

Click the link below to view the full infographic:

Natural Ways to Make Your Car Shine

Infographic courtesty of Zebra.com

What are your favorite tips for cleaning your car in an eco-friendly way?
Share your thoughts and comments with us.