Eco cleaning products: Tried and Tested

Good Houskeeping\'s Green Living Awards

eco friendly,homecare tips,Good Housekeeping,kitchen wisdom 123 cleaning products and gh green logo Which eco cleaning products are endorsed by the rigorous Good Housekeeping consumer team? Every year Good Housekeeping tests dozens and dozens of products that claim to be environmentally friendly. Click through our gallery to discover the seven products which the magazine is endorsing with the 2009 Good Housekeeping Green Living Award. They\'ll make your cleaning easier and won\'t harm the planet a bit..

Simply laundry detergents

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Green credentials: These are the first UK laundry detergents to carry the EU Ecolabel, showing they meet strict manufacture-to-disposal environmental criteria. They were voted Green Product of the Year in the 2008 Good Housekeeping Consumer Awards.

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Good Housekeeping Green Living Awards verdict: In our stain removal tests, Simply Sensitive matched the equivalent brand-leading product, with a score of 8/10, while Simply Active earned 7/10 - one point less than the biological brand leader. Both detergents work out at a reasonable 20p per wash.

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£2.99, 0800 107 3454; www.simplywashing.com

M&S Naturally Derived bathroom cleanser

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Green credentials: Previously known as 100% Natural bathroom cleanser, this spray has no artificially based ingredients, colour, fragrance or preservatives.

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Good Housekeeping Green Living Awards verdict: This cleaning spray matched the 88/100 score that was earned by the brand-leading conventional bathroom spray in our tests, coping with everything from soap scum to limescale around taps.

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£1.94, 0845 302 1234

E-cloth cleaning system

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Green credentials: These chemical-free microfibre cloths clean tiles, glass and other hard surfaces. You use one cloth damp and one dry to bring up the shine, with no need for additional cleaning products. E-cloths were voted our 2007 Green Product of the Year.

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Good Housekeeping Green Living Awards verdict: In our tests, the cloths coped easily with splatters and fingermarks on mirrors. They also cleaned muddy, greasy windows, leaving them smear and streak-free, and earned a score of 88/100. Readers voted E-cloths the top Household Timesaver in our 2008 Consumer Awards.

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£8.80 for a two-cloth kitchen/bathroom pack; 01892 893131; www.e-cloth.com

Antony Worrall Thompson\'s Fresh and Green Kitchen and Hob Degreaser

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Green credentials: This green alternative to conventional kitchen surface cleaners is made from renewable plant materials, with no optical brighteners or petroleum-based chemicals.

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Good Housekeepign Green Living Awards verdict: With a score of 83/100, this product just beat the brand-leading conventional cleaner in our tests. We found it particularly good at removing burnt-on grime from hobs, oven doors and grill pans, and it also made a good job of tiles, worktops and sinks.

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£1.99 Stockists: 0151 653 0253; www.freshandgreen.net

G-save Economiser

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Green credentials: The g-save unit cleverly connects to your central heating system and monitors the heat circulating through the pipes to optimise the amount of fuel the boiler uses by ensuring it fires only when necessary.

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Good Housekeeping Green Living Awards verdict: In a two-week trial carried out in a four-bedroom house during winter, the gas consumption was 31% lower during the week the g-save was in use, which would work out at a saving of £165 in heating bills over a year if it was maintained. It can be used with gas, oil and liquid petroleum gas (LPG) boilers, including combination and condensing types.

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£156 unfitted, £216 including installation: 0800 587 0666; www.gas-elec.co.uk

Smart String floor mop

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Green credentials: The cleaning head on this mop is made of microfi bre fabric, which needs no chemicals or cleaning products and can be used dry or with water.

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Good Housekeeping Green Living Awards verdict: The mop cleaned up in tests on wood laminate fl ooring and made a reasonable job of tiles, too, earning an overall score of 86/100. Muddy or oily fl oors might require the addition of a fl oor cleaning product, however, to lift the grease.

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£9.78 Stockist: 015394 88100; www.lakeland.co.uk

Earth Friendly Products Floor Cleaner

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Green credentials: Earth Friendly Products are made in the US from plant-based ingredients, with no bleach, ammonia or petrochemicals.

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Good Housekeeping Green Living Awards verdict: With a score of 90/100, this product earned just two marks fewer than the brand-leading winner in our tests. Results were excellent on laminate, vinyl and ceramic tiles - the cleaner removed mud, oil and a range of food and drink residues with ease.

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£3.90 Stockists: 01892 616871; www.earthfriendlyproducts.co.uk

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