Ecover Non Biological Integrated Washing Powder Eco Product Review

Ecover Non Biological Integrated Washing Powder. Washing powder is washing powder right? Well no it’s not. I’ve reviewed Simply Sensitive non bio before and loved it and also soapnuts as well as using many unenvironmentally friendly products in the past. And found the all to be slightly different. Nowadays I don’t buy whatever’s on offer and go for an eco choice.

Ecover non bio comes in a 97% recycled cardboard box and a little cardboard scoop to measure out your powder. Nice idea, but not sure you need one in every box. The main selling point, apart from the natural ingredients and natural fragrance, is the fact it has no optical brighteners.

Optical brighteners are in most washing powders and liquids. They are chemicals which reflect light, making clothes look brighter than they really are. It’s said that optical brighteners make an irreversible chemical bond with the skin and exposure is more or less permanent as we are always in contact with some kind of material.

They also claim to use some pioneering ingredients, which is more easily explained by them than me:

Almost all cleaning products are based on surfactants. They work by lowering the surface tension of water to allow dirt to be removed more easily. Conventional cleaning products tend to be based on petrochemical surfactants which are derived from finite oil supplies and are often poorly degradable and toxic to aquatic life. At Ecover we have always favoured plant-based surfactants, which are renewable, have minimal aquatic toxicity and also biodegrade quickly and completely.

Our new laundry formulations contain a pioneering new surfactant that has an even lower aquatic toxicity to the surfactant we were using previously. The surfactant is based on rapeseed oil (non GMO) that is grown in continental Europe and as a result means that we have been able to reduce the distance ingredients are transported.

So there we go. A complete ingredients list is at the end of the article, but what you want to know is whether it works or not. And it does. I don’t often get incredibly dirty but am sometimes muddy, sometimes careless with a curry or tomato ketchup so can test whether those stains come out and mostly they do. I found it effective at doing the wash I want to do – whether it be a colour, white or delicate one. Coupled with the Ecover Fabric Softener it proved up to the challenges I set it.

Look at www.ecover.com for more details. It also has a list of stockists but Ecover products can be found in most supermarkets.

Complete ingredients list:
Zeolite
Sodium Disilicate
Sodium Carbonate Peroxide
Sodium C12-18 Alkylsulfate
Sodium Bicarbonate
Sodium Sulfate
Ethoxylated Rapeseed Methyl Esters
Sodium Citrate
Tetra Acetyl Ethylene Diamine (TAED)
Sodium Cocoate
Sodium Poly Asparaginate
Magnesium Sulfate
Cellulose Gum
Parfum
Limonene
Linalool

Shaklee H2 Natural Cleaning Products Review

“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 Neutral^TM, 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 Clean^TM 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.

Eco-Me Home Cleaning Kit Eco Product Review

Eco-Me is a company that provides 100% natural eco kits. I call them “starter kits” as they’re an easy way to get started using more environmentally products. In fact, you mix these yourself so you know exactly what has gone into them.

They currently have five kits, Home, Body, Baby, Dog and Cat kits. Not owning a dog or cat (or baby for that matter), it was the Home kit that I was sent for review.

Containing two empty reusable plastic bottles, a reusable tub, a microfiber cleaning cloth, natural fiber scrub brush and a small bottle of Home Blend essential oil, the large box bag it comes in was pleasantly light. The two bottles are for “All Purpose Spray Cleaner” and “Wood Polish Spray Cleaner” with the tub being for “Home Scrub Cleaner”. Each one has really simple instructions on the side and a measurement guide. For example, pour white vinegar up to this mark on the label, water up to this mark, and then 1 unit of essential oil.

The essential oil is there to cover the smell of the other household ingredients. It’s a mix of Tea Tree, Lavender, Rosemary and Lemongrass and only a few drops are usually needed. Creating the cleaning products was so easy it was almost untrue. Surely these can’t be as good as all those weird chemicals?! Creating the scrub cleaner was actually fun, the initial pour of baking soda into the vinegar and water mix, and resultant foaming expansion reminded me of several school chemistry experiments that went awry. This was fine though :). The wood cleaner includes the addition of olive oil, which makes for a nice addition to the experiments.

So, how well did they work?

Well the all purpose cleaner works perfectly fine, though the vinegar smell isn’t the best in the world. I am the first to say that “clean” has no smell (certainly not pine), but vinegar is not my first choice of smell for the bathroom. This isn’t malt vinegar, else I would have been delighted my bathroom smelt like fish and chips (pass the ketchup), no this is white vinegar. Another half unit of the essential oils did the trick and it was now nice and naturally scented. Cleaning wise, the vinegar cleans, deodorizes and kills bacteria, so no need for anything else except the water to dilute it and the oil to scent it. In the scrub, the baking soda did all I needed it to, i.e. clean, so again it seems a great alternative.

By using natural, chemical-free and non-toxic ingredients I certainly felt better about the cleaning. As mentioned Eco-Me provides plenty of kits and ranging from $26 to $36 they’re not expensive. Refill kits are cheap (for the oil, cloths etc) so one kit will last you a long time. Coupled with the fact they can be made up with what’s in your kitchen cupboard, it will be a long time before you feel the need to buy any cleaning products at the grocery store. Their website also has some great eco tips, so take a look.

Go here for more eco product reviews.

Ecover Washing Up Liquid with Lemon and Aloe Vera Eco Product Review

As you can probably tell, I’m a fan of Ecover, which initially seems mainly down to lack of other options. But, for the washing up liquid at least, I’m a fan of it because it’s really good.

From an environmental standpoint, the product stands up well. It’s completely biodegradable, has a minimal impact of aquatic life (whatever that means, the best I can say is that it’s better than other products) and is suitable for septic tanks.

The one worrying aspect is the bottle. While the bottle itself is made of polyethylene and the cap of polypropylene, meaning they’re 100% recycable, they are only if the facility exists near you. It would be better if an alternative could be found but one good thing about Ecover is that you can buy refills so you only need to buy it once. Although the refill bottle is again made of the same stuff, it is huge and you can actually get those refilled from a ‘filling station’ so you only need one of them too.

So its environmental credentials are pretty good, but how does it do the dishes? Very well in fact. I initially thought I’d need to use a lot more of it to create more bubbles but there is a decent amount, and even without it seems to clean just a well. Of course the test always comes on grease, and again it performs really well. I found no problems with it and even ground on food came off fine after a little soaking.

To be honest, I can’t say it was better than well known brands, but it’s just as good.

Thanks to the Ecover website there’s a complete ingredients list too:

The list below displays ingredients in descending order, with those present in highest quantities first.
Water
Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate
Alkyl Poly Glycoside C10-16
Sodium Chloride
Citric Acid
Perfume
Limonene
Protein Hydrolysate
Aloe Barbadensis Extract
Citral
2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol

It’s now stocked in most supermarkets or you can buy it easily online, such as from Drugstore.com.

Greenwoods Soft and Safe Product Review

Greenwoods Soft and Safe is a versatile cleaning product that is not only affordable but environmentally friendly as well. The list of ways you can use Soft and Safe is extensive, from fabric softening to the cleaning of greasy kitchen surfaces to being an additive in dish washing and even cleaning your car! The actual product is described as ‘washing soda crystals’ that are composed of sodium carbonate and water. The crystals can be dissolved in both cold and hot water which adds to its impressive versatility.

The green credentials of Soft and Safe look to be good. It’s 100% biodegradable, the container is recyclable and it is sold in a large 1kg quantity, considering that the weight of the crystals are minimal. It’s also a locally (Palmerston, Otago, New Zealand) produced product which makes it a fantastic buy for Kiwi’s, reducing freighting (and carbon emissions) and helping to support the local economy.

Soft and Safe performed well in all our testing. Obviously the crystals dissolve better in hot water than in cold, and both did require a little stirring. After a few seconds the crystals had completely disappeared in the hot water while a few remained in the cold water.

The cleaning power of Soft and Safe is fantastic. I tried it out in bathroom cleaning and included it in a load of dishes and found that it performed well in both of these areas. Of course with such a large list of potential uses I couldn’t try out everything, in fact, Greenwoods even offers to provide you with more suggestions for uses of their products.

The quantities required are consistent for their uses and comparable to that of other products, such as using a handful of Soft and Safe in your laundry load, this being roughly similar to the laundry powder cup.

Greenwoods Soft and Safe is available in most New Zealand Supermarkets and is very affordable. We always keep a bottle in the household and personally think it’s a fantastic product.

Ecover Fabric Softener Product Review

Fabric softener is fabric softener really, so I thought it’d be tricky to test. However while it’s tricky to compare, it’s easy to test and Ecover’s works nicely. I did a review of soapnuts and felt after that I didn’t need laundry powder or fabric softener again. But the advantage of using it is not only softer feeling clothes, but mainly the smell. Soapnuts worked brilliantly cleaning, but on my sport clothes it didn’t give the off the ‘clean’ smell.

So along with washing powder and, on a separate occassion, soapnuts, I poured just one capful (you can do two for ‘extra softness) into the drawer of the washing machine and washed away. It can also be used for hand washing too.

And it did a good job. The smell of ‘freshness’ isn’t as strong as some brands, but it was a nice smell and my sports stuff were the same.

Ecover’s website has a list of ingredients:
The list below displays ingredients in descending order, with those present in highest quantities first.
Water
N-methyl-triethanolammonium-dialkylester, methosulfate
Dipropyleneglycol Methylether
Perfume
Sorbic Acid
Magnesium Chloride
Linalool
Citronellol

It’s now stocked in most supermarkets or you can buy it easily online, such as from Drugstore.com.

Product Review: Simply Sensitive Non Biological Washing Powder

I’ve recently been testing Aquados’ Simply Sensitive Non Biological Washing Powder – a new detergent and the first in the UK to be awarded the EU Eco Label (there’s a bio version too). A box of 30 tablets was sent to me by Emma from Nigel’s Eco Store (more on them later) and I was promised a nicer smell to my washing than Ecover which I normally use along with their softener (I have a five litre tub of the stuff).

The immediate advantage over Ecover which will appeal to many people is that it’s in tablet form. Two tabs in each wash uses “50 per cent less than a typical big box equivalent, and 36 per cent less than ordinary washing powder”. All the ingredients are biodegradable and even though they come in a plastic tub, it is recyclable.

So onto the washing. I resisted writing this after doing the first wash as according to the other half I’m a bad clothes washer as I put too many clothes in (although I disagree). But the two tablets coped remarkably well, everything was nice and clean – a job well done.

However, I was looking forward to a nicer smell, so the second wash involved less clothes. Two tablets are far smaller than the amount of powder I normally use so I was already happy. But along with the smaller wash, came the nicer smell – lovely.

There’s no much else you can write about a washing machine powder, the important thing is whether it works or not and it certainly does. I do like Ecover, but it’s nice to have an alternative and the convenience of the tablets make it a winner.

A tub of 30 tablets costs £3.49 and is available at www.nigelsecostore.com. If you don’t know anything about the store and are wondering what it’s all about, I’ve copied some details below:

About Nigel’s Eco Store
We set up Nigel’s Eco Store because we wanted to do something positive.
We were, and continue to be, inspired by eco friendly products and ideas that solve environmental challenges, and yet are still fun, functional and desirable.
In our searches for new eco products to add to our range, we love things that use less energy, re-use materials, don’t pollute, or that are natural and organic, and compared to non-eco alternatives, do the same job, and look and feel just as great - or better!

When you choose something eco friendly, you get a double benefit; you love it (we hope) and you’re moving towards sustainability, which means it’s better for everyone, and the planet.

We’re constantly looking for new and innovative, environmentally friendly, natural and organic and feel-good products, and make them easier for you to have and own, so we can all make this move towards environmental sustainability.

And so Nigel’s Eco Store was born: the stuff we sell means that you can choose to live in a more sustainable way, and so make a positive contribution to a better and brighter future.
This is what Nigel’s Eco Store actually does:
• We provide practical, functional and beautiful eco friendly, natural and organic products that you can buy right now, at reasonable prices
• We make eco choices easier
• We carefully select the eco products we offer from the best of what’s available
• We give you ideas, information and inspiration to be more eco-friendly
• We help you make good buying decisions
• We make it easy to shop and buy environmentally friendly

Lovely eh? We’ve started a Review Centre where we’ll be adding all our reviews, so if you want something reviewed, or have something you want us to take a look at, let us know.

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