Spackle

When typing the word "spackle", the spell checker corrected it to "Spackle". After looking it up in the dictionary, I discovered that it would be capitalized because it's a brand name, like Kleenex or Xerox.

This begs the question, how would one talk about "Spackling" without using a brand name? What do other makers of Spackle call their products?

Wikipedia actually has a very interesting article on genericide (what an evocative term!). Especially interesting is that while every company wants its brand names to be well known to the public, if they become the generic terms for that product (e.g. Aspirin, Zipper), then the company can lose control of the brand and trademark.

In everyday language, is it important to avoid trademarks such as Kleenex, Xerox, and "Google-ing"? Does one have a responsibility to not show preference toward any one corporation? When teaching English learners, how should one approach language regarding tissues/Kleenex?