Shaklee H2 Natural Cleaning Products Review
April 4, 2008 · Written by Joel
“We believe in a kitchen that supports the 3-second rule”. Most of us know that household cleaners contain toxic chemicals, and our review of Eco-Me’s products prove that you can create good cleaners with household ingredients. But what if you just want to create natural cleaning products from a concentrate? We all know that bathroom cleaner, kitchen cleaner, window/mirror cleaner, oven cleaner etc is all the same stuff, just in different concentrations, so why can’t we create this ourselves?
Shaklee Basic H2 is an organic cleaning concentrate, that allows you to make 48 gallons of cleaning liquid from one 16oz bottle. Some example mixes are:
- Windows and Mirrors requires 16oz of water and 1-2 drops of the magic concentrate (2oz of concentrate can make the equivalent of 728 bottles of Windex).
- Degreaser: 1 and a half teapsoons with 16 oz of water.
- All-Purpose Cleaner: 1 and a quarter teaspsoon with 16oz of water.
However you can also mix it up for pots and pans, floors, washing woolens and nylons and so on. Bottles are available to buy or you can use any spare spray bottles you have (label them clearly though, we don’t want little Timmy drinking it do we?).
The bottles come with a ounce measurement guide on the side, but strangely only up to 12oz, so the last 4oz is a nice bit of guesswork. They worked really well, the mirror cleaner mix was particularly effective, leaving no smears, no fragrance and it was nice and clean.
Shaklee was founded in 1956 and is the first company to be Climate NeutralTM, that is apparently having zero impact on the environment. They recommend looking at this website to educate yourself on what products you’re bringing into your home, essentially you want to avoid ingredients such as sodium hydroxide, hydrochloric acid, butyl cellosolve, sodium hypochlorite (bleach), ammonia, sulfamic acid and others.
I have one problem with the Shaklee Basic H2 concentrate - what’s in it? I’m told it it non-toxic, with no toxic fumes, no fragrance, pH balanced and with no bleach, but what is actually in it? I suppose this might be a corporate secret, but there we go. I also like companies to “walk the talk” (or a similar banal phrase) so printing their press release and information sheets on virgin white paper doesn’t impress me, but this is a minor quibble as they have plenty of other great green initiatives, awards and testimonials in environmental leadership and excellence.
A 16oz bottle of concentrate (that will last a long time) is available for a bargain price of around $12, or even cheaper if you’re a member. The extra bottles I also tested are around $8 (again cheaper if you’re a member). They also have a Get CleanTM Starter Kit which looks expensive but when you realise how much you get and how long it will last it’s actually a great deal.
Go here for more eco product reviews.
Once I deplete the toxic waste dump under my sink I will have to look into safer cleaning products like this one.
If you want to know what’s in it sign up for a free account at msds.com and download the file. I would post a link but it requires you to sign in first.
Thanks for the Shaklee H2 review. As Shaklee Distributors for 15 years we can attest to the quality of all the Get Clean products. To answer your question about the ingredients, the ingredient base for H2 and most of the Get Clean products are from sustainable sources such as corn and coconut. Shaklee does not list the specific ingredients for all cleaners as some of the formulas are proprietary. However the ingredient information they do provide actually exceeds the legal requirements for manufacturers of household cleaners - who are required to list ingredients on labels only if they are hazardous, have legal limits, or are required by the EPA. If you look at labels of many competitor products you will note that they often list anionic surfactant, non-ionic surfactant which is simply a detergent builder list and not the actual ingredients in the product.
Shaklee ingredient information can be found in respective product bulletins which are accessible online as well as in the MSDS sheets Shaklee makes available.
Shaklee does indeed have a long history of being green and Dr. Shaklee, the founder, was often credited with coining the term biodegradable.
Shaklee’s Get Clean cleaners come with an unconditional money-back guarantee. Feel free to contact us for more information or a Get Clean Products ingredient list.
Why not use vinegar, lemon juice, baking/washing soda, and other kitchen essentials to clean? It is very cheap and very natural! What could be better for the environment!
I put a mix of 50/50 vinegar-water in a spray bottle and it works wonders.
I also have another spray bottle with a few drops of tea tree oil mixed with water. good for cleaning and as an air freshner.
-R
Hi Rashid, thanks for that. That’s what the Eco- Me cleaning kit does, taking everyday household items and showing oyu how to make cleaning products. Also with some essential oils to get rid of the vinegar smell.
I have been using homemade cleaners for a while now. Today I went to the store to purchase a clorox green cleaner or two… in the end I did not. After reading the ingredients, I felt that what I was using was just as good. There was nothing that indicated what the ‘magical’ ingredient was that made it a better cleaner… and there was the disclaimer about if swallowed or ingested… so is there something not good in there? Like poster above said, the trade secret ingredient…
I do LOVE the look of the bottles! Wonder if you can just buy the empty bottles? Then I wonder about local availability–
Hi Becky. The bottles do come separately as the main bottle is all concentrate and the rest are empty to add water and a few drops to. I think they’re mainly mail order, so they do have to be delivered. I’m convinced that these cleaners, and homemade ones are just as good as the artificial chemical cleaners.
Question:
I have hard wood floor that is covered with old carpet glue, what do I use to remove this?
Hi Becky-I love to use steamers to clean and disinfect without chems but I also use non toxic cleaners (which have really pretty spray bottles too ;D. I have checked out the clorox green works and wouldn’t use them. First, they are 3.50 per 32oz bottle, 2nd, I’m happy to have turned my back on clorox long ago for their animal testing policy and 3rd, they have Kathalon preservative which the manufacturer states is harmful. A link should appear below for the full article on it.
I just bought some of this (along with some other Shaklee products) and am very happy with them. They cleaned the floors really well and with no scent. I don’t really care for vinegar smell, so this is nice! I do wonder if it disinfects and all of that, but the floor did get clean with only a bit of cleaner! I haven’t yet used it for mirrors/windows (I need to get a new spray bottle). Curious what others think too!
Hi Jen, I haven’t tried the floor yet so thanks for letting me know. The glass/mirror cleaner is what I use mainly and it works great with just a few drops per spray bottle. The vinegar smell with other eco cleaners is easily covered up with essential oils (like with Eco-Me) so it’s not a problem.