Earth-friendly housecleaning

April Gleason freely admits she likes to clean other people’s houses. Grimy kitchen floors, dusty windowsills, water-stained bathtubs — you name it. Gleason will work her magic.

Gleason also likes clean air to complement freshly scrubbed and shined homes.

About four months ago, she merged her interests and started an eco-friendly cleaning service she calls Clean Green.

The reviews, as well as the hardwood floors, are glowing.

“April is different, because when she comes in to clean the house, not only does she clean with products that do nothing to damage the environment, but she adds special touches, like aromatherapy, that bring a sense of freshness and beauty,” said client Annemarie Lewis.

Gleason, a wife, mother and former stockbroker, does the cleaning with her own elbow grease. She also makes the cleansers.

Some of her must-use products are baking soda, which is a deodorizer and a mild abrasive; liquid soap made from vegetable oil; white distilled vinegar, also a deodorizer and dissolver; lemon juice, a naturally acidic cleaner; and salt, an antibacterial grease buster.

Club soda also is important to Gleason’s method.

“It’s great for windows, chrome, mirrors, anything glass. And if you get thirsty, you can drink it,” Gleason said, half-kidding.

For cleaning wood, Gleason mixes olive oil, white vinegar and orange oil. It produces a shine that leaves Pledge in the dust.

“I have a passion for more than cleaning,” said Gleason. “I’m doing so much more because not only am I cleaning up the quality of the air, I am educating people.”

If every household in the United States replaced one 28-ounce bottle of petroleum-based dishwashing liquid, it would save 82,000 barrels of oil, enough to drive a car more than 86 million miles, said Gleason, quoting a report by the American Lung Association.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, American homeowners use more than 40 pounds of toxic cleaning products every year, Gleason said.

Gleason’s business is based out of her South Hill home. She often brings another worker along.

Her prices are based on the house size and time involved. On average, they run from $60 to $75.

For more information, call 879-2730 or 443-1324, e-mail april@cleangreenspokane.com, or go to www.cleangreenspokane.com.