Monday, January 14, 2008

Clean Well


I had the chance to review something pretty cool recently for ParentBloggers. The makers of Clean Well offered some of us the chance to try out their new All Natural Anti-Bacterial Foaming Hand Washes. They use essential plant oils to make an anti-microbial compound that kills 99.9% of germs.

I realize there are people on both sides of the antibacterial fence. I happen to fall on the side that likes to kill the bastards, with a kid who seems to always get sick and who possesses a lack of thorough cleaning in general it grants me further peace of mind. So eager to try it, I signed up and was quickly sent all three scents, Lavender Absolute, Ginger Bergamot and Orange Vanilla. We put one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen and let it ride.

The hand pumps are easy for kids to use and the foam seems less wasteful for kids to use than pumping liquid soap, where less is more and more is easy to come by. The scents are pleasing, the essential oils come through nicely and each of the bottles are made from the most recyclable plastics possible. And the best part is the soaps are all natural and don't contain any Triclosan, something causing problems for frogs in our streams and rivers and that potentially causes problems for humans.

The compound in CleanWell is called Ingenium. It's the only all natural antimicrobial that meets both EPA and FDA standards for germ killing efficacy. It's made from plants, so it's a renewable resource and uses no pesticides in it's production which means less toxic chemicals are produced as a result, not only protecting us by the planet as well.

We love this soap. The prices are reasonable and comparable to what we'd pay for hand soap off the shelf. The only recommendation we have for CleanWell is that they make big refill containers so you don't need to replace the bottles as often. Ours lasted in the bathroom for about a month and it's close to empty. Purchasing a large refill bottle would mean less waste over all, perhaps one bottle in exchange for twelve small ones.

I am very happy to have been able to check this out. J felt the same way, it's rare for him to get involved with my reviews but he thought this was terrific and specifically asked that we buy it again. That alone is saying a lot.

2 comments:

David said...

All natural will be all that will be sold one day. I hope this happens sooner rather than latter. Most of disease, cancers, immune problems etc., can all be traced to some chemical in the environment. When we were kids my mother cleanded with bleech most days. One of the most powerful chemicals there are. Dry cleaning chemicals can and do cause blood cancers. this is something that I know plenty about as my wife battled Luekemia for 5 years. She was getting dry cleaning done once a week for 20 years. Now we do NOT.
David

Steve Hengsperger said...

I'm sorry, plant-based does not equal non-toxic. Just look at all those natural cleaning products currently available that use natural ingredients consumers would rather avoid, such as petroleum distillates, some of which can cause cancer. And just because a cleaning product is biodegradable and made from plant-based sources doesn't mean that it is without potential adverse effects on health.

Plant-based ingredients included in some green cleaners include limonene (a citrus-based oil), pine oil, and the foaming agent coconut diethanolamide -- all of which can cause allergic dermatitis. And a recent study of natural and nontoxic consumer products found the suspected cancer-causing chemical 1,4-dioxane in roughly half of 100 tested products -- including several dishwashing liquids with words such as "Earth friendly" and "eco" in their brand names.