Surf City business owner promotes chemical-free approach to home cleaning

SURF CITY, NC (WWAY) — A Surf City business owner is encouraging homeowners to consider natural cleaning methods, saying the approach can help reduce exposure to common household cleaning chemicals.

Cathy Mails founded Sea Green Natural Cleaning in 2011 after searching for alternatives to traditional cleaning products when her daughter struggled with severe allergies.

“I’m a mom and my daughter had really bad allergies and I felt really bad for her,” Mails said.

Mails said she began researching how previous generations cleaned their homes without modern chemical products.

“I can’t control what goes on outside of my house, but in my house I can,” she said.

That research led her to start a cleaning company that relies on products such as vinegar, rubbing alcohol and hydrogen peroxide instead of conventional cleaners containing chemicals like ammonia or bleach.

“We don’t use any Mr. Clean sponges, we don’t use ammonia, we don’t use bleach, we strictly use vinegar, rubbing alcohol, hydrogen peroxide,” Mails said.

She said many of her clients include pregnant women, families with young children and people managing health conditions who are looking for alternatives to traditional cleaning products.

“People that are in remission of cancer, somebody that was just diagnosed with lupus or Parkinson’s,” Mails said.

The company also uses cotton and microfiber cloths instead of disposable sponges, charcoal filters in its cleaning equipment and washes reusable cloths between homes to help prevent cross-contamination.

Mails said she views green cleaning as more than a business.

“Like I want to cry, my heart is full of such joy making differences, it’s not just about the cleaning, it’s about educating people and helping them make changes,” she said.

Click here to learn more about Mails’s recent book and Sea Green Natural Cleaning.