EnviroStars, Aqua Duck and Maid Naturally working together to keep houses clean and the aquifer safe!

Ever tried to read the list of ingredients in common cleaning products? If you do, good luck! The maze of tongue twister chemicals like diethanolamine, triethanolamine, and butyl cellosolve are not only a mouthful, but hazardous, and in some cases toxic, to human health and the environment. We expect cleaning products to be one thing: clean. And yet they continue to dirty our waterways. Maid Naturally owners Ruthane Eberly and Heather Brown decided there had to be a better solution. So they built it. In 2006, the women ran a maid service. Rather than using commercial cleaners, they began mixing all-natural cleaning supplies with essential oils to give them a pleasant scent. Once they perfected their recipe, they decided to expand their business and sell their invention commercially. Committed to the purest and freshest ingredients, today they import orange oil from Florida, lavender oil from France, cinnamon oil from Madagascar, and eucalyptus oil from Africa. Nathan Brown, who quit his job in insurance to join his wife at Maid Naturally, says, “It all comes down to our philosophy of ‘truth in labeling.’ You can pick up any of our products, look at our full disclosure label, recognize everything that’s in it, and know that it’s safe for your home and family.” Today stores throughout eastern Washington carry Maid Naturally products and the company ships nationwide through Azure Standard and their online store. The business continues to grow, but the best testament to their products may be the feedback they hear from dedicated customers. A former employee of the maid service moved to California and began cleaning houses there, yet to this day continues to pack her trunk full of Maid Naturally products every time she visits Spokane. The maid service cleans almost 400 homes a month and employs over 20 staff. But the most remarkable feedback Brown got was from a woman in Steptoe, Washington. While he doesn’t endorse this, he recounts the women’s story: “I got this call and the women said she had been using our citrus Abrasive Scrub in the bathroom and left it next to the tub. A couple weeks went by and her husband told her how well the new product was curing his eczema! He didn’t look at the label and assumed it was for skin care. By the time I got the call he had been using it for years and swore by it! Unlike chemical brands that can cause skin damage, our all-natural products are completely safe.” Maid Naturally’s model is simple: compounds found in nature can clean homes and businesses and then go back into nature without disruption. As a certified EnviroStars member, their values align perfectly with our goal to provide business-friendly solutions to keep our river and aquifer safe. Look for Maid Naturally products at Main Market, Rosauer’s, and Yokes, or visit their office at 3012 N. Nevada Suite 1, Spokane, Washington 99207. For a limited time, Maid Naturally is liquidizing inventory carrying their old label. Their office is selling gallons of “All Purpose Cleaner” and “Glass Cleaner” (normally priced at $18) for only $10.   Note: This article was partially funded through a grant from Washington Department of Ecology. While these materials were reviewed for grant consistency, this does not necessarily constitute endorsement by the Department.