Lysol Wipes & Method Cleaner vs Chiffonnettes

I actually read the instructions on the back of my Lysol wipes and Method cleaner, and put them to the test. Both cleaners did not leave my counter wet long enough to actually disinfect the surface. So, bacteria has been running at large for years in my house when I thought I had killed and gotten rid of it. Also, you would need to thoroughly wipe your counters with water after the time it takes to disinfect to remove the chemicals and dead bacteria. I don't know about you, but I have never gone back over my counters with paper towels and water after wiping them with Lysol wipes.

Check out why you should switch to using a microfiber cloth HERE.  Making the switch to H2O at Home's Chiffonnettes is easy, effective, and a great financial savings option. If you've been part of one of my H2O at Home parties - either in person or virtual, you know how incredible our products are. If you haven't, reach out to me and let's get you a party scheduled!

Anyways, I wanted to break down the cost and efficiency of Lysol, Paper Towels, and Method vs H2O at Home's Essential Multi-Surface Chiffonnette for just my kitchen needs. You will see that I include the price for both Walmart and King Soopers because we do most of our shopping at King Soopers, but I want a fair judgement, so Walmart is included because it is a store accessible nationwide; and Target because that's the only place I know to buy Method cleaners.

Lysol Dual Action Wipes- $65.88 (KS) or $53.88 (WM) for a year
From Walmart, you can purchase 150 wipes for $8.98 or 75 from King Soopers for $5.49.
I stay home with a toddler, so my kitchen/table get wiped down at least three times a day. Sometimes with just a wet paper towel, but always Lysol at night. If we just go by my evening clean, I would probably typically use 2 wipes to clean (one for the kitchen counters and one for the table and booster seat). These wipes would therefore last me about two months from Walmart and one month from King Soopers. So, I would need 6/12 packs for the year (if no other cleaning was to be done with them or no major messes occurred).

Paper Towels - $42.36 (KS) or $28.52 (WM) for a year
From King Soopers, a pack of 6 (528 individual towels), for $10.59 or Walmart for $7.13
Again, staying home, we use these to wipe our son's hands after meals, wipe up after his meal for breakfast and lunch probably, and clean any extra spills. But, let's stick with wiping up after his meals and his hands. We're looking at maybe 5 a day (one for hands/face per meal and one for wiping up table after breakfast and lunch). So with just that, these should last us 105 days, so we would need to buy this pack 4 times a year (if no other cleaning was to be done with them, which there most definitely is).

Method - $11.96 for a year from Target
I bought our Method products from Target for $2.99, thinking I had a cheaper, cleaner option. What I didn't realize was how long it has to sit to actually disinfect - 10 MINUTES! Who has time for that?! On top of that, as soon as I spray it, my toddler wants to rub his hands all up in it (I love his helper heart, but really, that is not the time). I would have probably gone through 3-4 of these a year, until I realized what I actually had to do to disinfect the surface. For the surface to be visibly wet for 10 minutes, I would have to spray a lot more than I was...so I would probably go through even more bottles to use this for the purpose of disinfecting. I still only gave you the price for 4 of them. You would also need to purchase either paper towels or a cloth of some kind to use in conjunction with the spray.

H2O at Home Essential Multi Surface Chiffonnette - $21
Lasts for years. Machine washable. Actually picks bacteria up off of the surface it's cleaning instead of spreading it around.

I think these prices speak for themselves...

And the convenience and efficiency. I don't want to sit and wipe my counter for 4 minutes to make sure that it is disinfected, and then wipe it again with a wet paper towel. On top of that, I'm just killing the bacteria (if I actually follow the directions) and spreading it all over my counter, not removing it. H2O at Home's Chiffonnette can literally take care of cleaning and disinfecting with one swipe (because it scrubs the stuck on grime, and picks up the bacteria. It doesn't just spread it all around!).

I'll opt for the Easy, Efficient, Cheaper option.

Send me an email, Facebook message, text or call. I would love to help you simplify your cleaning, detoxify your home, and save you money!

USA vs European Chemical Standards in Personal Care

I was never someone who paid much attention to health regulations. By that, I mean that I trusted the government to protect us by preventing dangerous chemicals from being a part of our food, cosmetics, and cleaning agents. Since joining H2O at Home, I have learned way more than I wanted to. I had heard through the grapevine that certain ingredients were banned in Europe that were not in the US, but I never looked much further into it. Well, now I am. 

Some facts that shocked me:

• "The EU law bans 1,328 chemicals from cosmetics that are known or suspected to cause cancer, genetic mutation, reproductive harm or birth defects. In comparison, the U.S. FDA has only banned or restricted 11 chemicals from cosmetics." 
• "Unlike the United States, EU law requires pre-market safety assessments of cosmetics, mandatory registration of cosmetic products, government authorization for the use of nanomaterials and prohibits animal testing for cosmetic purposes."
• "A key element of the European Union's chemicals management and environmental protection policies — and one that clearly distinguishes the EU's approach from that of the U.S. federal government — is what's called the precautionary principle: This principle, in the words of the European Commission, "aims at ensuring a higher level of environmental protection through preventative" decision-making. In other words, it says that when there is substantial, credible evidence of danger to human or environmental health, protective action should be taken despite continuing scientific uncertainty. In contrast, the U.S. federal government's approach to chemicals management sets a very high bar for the proof of harm that must be demonstrated before regulatory action is taken."
• "The process for restricting chemical use under TSCA can also take years; in fact, only a handful of chemicals have ever been barred under TSCA. [ U.S. Toxic Substances Control Act - the federal law that regulates chemicals used commercially in the U.S.]"
• "Industry performs copious testing, but current law does not require that cosmetic ingredients be free of certain adverse health effects before they go on the market...So, even though the personal care products and cosmetics products industry has extensive voluntary ingredient safety guidelines — and obvious incentives to meet them — they are not legal requirements." 

As a consumer, I would prefer to live under the "precautionary principle" of the EU, than the US approach of "prove it, then we'll remove it". That's crazy to me that we just let products on the market that could harm us

I obviously knew that there were certain aspects of cleaning products that were dangerous; because how else are you supposed to really clean and kill germs and bacteria? But if I can clean my house without those dangerous chemicals and fumes, you had better believe I'm going to.

Sources: Business Insider & SafeCosmetics.org