Is there really a way to be clean, green and have time to relax on the couch drinking organic wine? Jaynie Ralph investigates the latest urban miracle.

Supermarkets are full of cleaning ranges that profess to care about our family. These products often contain substances that have a skull and crossbones in the small print. Chlorines (bleaches), phosphates and other dangerous chemical substances are toxins that enter the atmosphere and waterways, causing environmental and wildlife destruction. It’s important to find services and solutions which cause as little ecological harm as possible.

Lynne Edwards, a successful sales director, is concerned about her imprint on the environment – she also wants a spotless kitchen floor that she knows is fastidiously germ free. At the end of a day she wants to relax with a glass of Sancerre and the latest episode of Desperate Housewives, not get out the scrubbing brush. Greenmop is a cleaning service based in Hove, whose ethics are cleanliness, customer service and eco-friendliness. Racheal Hughes started the company after becoming tired of her IT business and deciding to spend more time doing what she loved – cleaning.

“As an eczema, asthma and allergy sufferer, I can feel chemicals and toxins burning my skin, inhibiting my breathing and irritating my eyes,” she says. “The harmful effect the chemicals and toxins have on our homes and workplaces, and on plant life, animals, rivers and oceans simply isn’t necessary. Natural, bio-degradable, non-toxic alternatives are available and are just as effective.”

Doubtful the green products would be as efficient as conventional cleaning products, Lynne was surprised to learn that they were and at a cheaper price. Lynne was delighted with her sparkling kitchen and gleaming slate floor and realised she could now throw away her collection of chemical products to opt for the more natural ones.

“I would like to say that the soda crystals and spray was all that was needed to clean the oven, but Racheal had to use some elbow grease too,” Lynne says. “She finished off the job with a little vinegar mixed up with the soda spray which made the front of the oven positively sparkle.”