Product Selection
There are products we choose by word of mouth, packaging and what’s on the label. When it comes to cleaning, scent can also play a large factor in this decision. All of these details led me to wonder if we’re looking closely into the products we bring into our homes in an effort to be more eco-friendly and just plain healthy.
I’ve seen a few brands repeatedly amongst the cleaning supplies our clients (and we ourselves) keep. I thought I would check out some of the details about the ingredients of these popular products since some clients have asked what our thoughts are.
Nothing smells as heavenly or comforting as Mrs. Meyer’s. According to their site, they have no antibacterial agents by design.
If used incorrectly, antibacterial agents can actually strengthen bacteria, evolving a ‘super bacteria’. My research on essential oils turns up the very same conclusions. Mrs. Meyer’s philosophy is that normal, well kept households just need soap and water cleaning regularly.
Method brand offers two types of product. The ‘regular’ brand and antibacterial versions. since products go through testing to achieve that label, I’m concluding that the percentage of botanical oils is high enough to be effective, which is great news.
Seventh Generation offers a similar lineup, but their antibacterial is based on (and smells like) Thymol. ‘Nough said, that’s already in my cabinet!
So it all boils down to this: What to you want to accomplish? A house can smell and look and even be clean with soap and water. the antibacterial solutions take a bit of time to sit and silently kill, but we at the Fig let things ‘cook’ so that’s what we use.
Keep in mind what you want the product to do, read the website and not just the label and you should be just fine.
Happy Cleaning!