Lake Friendly Products
Using lake-friendly products is a call to action to do what matters to help protect the lakes and streams within our watershed. Many chemicals find their way into our water. Knowing the right products to use and how to use them helps to protect the health of the Glen Lake/Crystal River watershed.
LAKE-Friendly Product Alternatives
Whether you live on or near a lake or river, are vacationing, or own a rental, consider the following alternatives to commonly used products in order to keep harmful chemicals from entering the water.
Use these handy Lake-Friendly product checklists when shopping!
Commonly Used Products and Their WATER-Friendly Alternatives
| COMMONLY USED | ALTERNATIVE |
| Chlorine bleach | Hydrogen peroxide |
| Drain cleaner | 2 cups boiling water and/or Baking soda (1/2 c.) followed by vinegar |
| Bathroom cleaners | Baking soda, borax |
| Toilet cleaner | Vinegar, salt & water Baking soda & water |
| Disinfectant | 1/2 c. borax in 1 gal. water |
| Lime Away | Vinegar |
| Scouring powders | Baking soda |
| Rug cleaners | Club soda & sprinkle with cornstarch, then vacuum |
| Floor cleaner | Mop with 1 c. vinegar in 2 gal. water |
| Furniture polish | 1 part lemon juice with 2 parts vegitable oil |
| Copper cleaner | Dip side of lemon in salt, rub |
| Oven cleaner | Salt and scrub Wipe with ammonia & let stand overnight, scrub with baking soda |
| Porcelain cleaner | Make paste of baking soda and water, apply & let stand, rub clean & rinse |
| Silver polish | Soak in 1 qt. warm water & 1 tsp. baking soda & 1 tsp. salt, and piece of aluminum foil or in aluminum pan |
| Stainless steel cleaner | 1 qt. water & 1 tbls. baking soda, rinse in hot water |
| Floor cleaner | 1 c. vinegar in 2 gal. water |
| Window cleaner | 1/2 c. vinegar & 1 gal. warm water, use newspapers to dry glass |
| Ant traps or pesticide for inside ants | Sprinkle thick line of borax around foundation |
| Flee repellent | Rosemary on pet bed |
| Moth balls | Lavender or cedar chips in small bags |
| Wood preservative | Water based wood preservatives |
| Fungicide | Avoid watering in the vening and over watering |
| House plan insecticide | A few drops of soap & water, spray on leaves, rinse |
| Pesticides | Insecticidal soap |
| Herbicides | Weeding and hoeing, corn herbicide |
| Snail and slug killer | Shallow pan with stale beer |
Refuse, Reuse and Recycle/Hazardous Household Chemicals
Take action to help protect the lakes and streams by following best practices which promote lake-friendly products and reduce the impact of harmful chemicals on the watershed.
Watershed-Friendly Best Practices
- Recycle all that you can! Recycle all materials accepted by sites in Empire and at the Leelanau School
- Use gallon jugs of shampoo, rinse, laundry soap, hand soap, and dish soap to refill small reusable containers
- Shop where you can use reusable gallon containers, small reusable containers, and cloth bags in place of plastic bags
- Take your own cloth reusable bags to the store
- Support local agriculture by buying local produce and products to preserve rural landscapes
- Buy suggested alternatives to household chemicals
- Compost garbage and use it on the garden
- Compost yard waste
