EnviroHumanImpact

Product Reviewed: Method Surface Cleaner

Place of Purchase: Whole Foods

Purchase Price: About $5

Product replaced: Comet and Scrubbing Bubbles, although it could replace any number of surface cleaners.

Ingredients: sugar beet derived surfactant blend, soda ash and mineral alkalinity builder (grease cutters), purified water — That’s all. How’s that for having fewer than five ingredients?

Use: Today, I used it to scrub the shower, toilet, and sink in my bathroom. Could be used in the kitchen as well.

Results: I loved it!

Slightly less scrubbing was necessary than with either Comet or Scrubbing Bubbles, the products I previously used to melt away the ugly triplets of the bathroom (you know ‘em: pink, black, and that off-white soap scum). Okay, so it had been a while since I last scrubbed.

Method’s surface cleaner was amazing! I didn’t have to withstand any noxious fumes while scrubbing — I could have even shut the door to the bathroom.

My hands don’t smell like bleach (they in fact smell like nothing), and I had no concern of making bleached spots on my clothing. No perfumes and no dyes. No skin or respiratory irritation whatsoever. Wow!

Best of all: cleanup took less time. Rinsing away comet can be a pain, because it tends to leave a (ironically, green) residue on fixtures. Method washed away cleanly and with only one rinsing.

This knocked 5-10 minutes off of my bathroom cleanup time! It also meant that I used less hot water for rinsing, saving an (albeit relatively small) amount of both water and the gas used to heat it.

But small amounts definitely count, as they are multiplied over many users’ lives, times multiple products used. It’s about trimming our negative envirohuman impact.

Why try it? Bleach and other detergents can be very harmful for the environment, upsetting ecosystems and it’s difficult to say what the long-term hazards might for the environment to take the increasing numbers of chemicals rinsed down our drains.

Your indoor environment will be much fresher as well! Consider that your indoor air quality will be much better and that you will be able to breathe comfortably while cleaning, when more natural detergents are used.

The drawback: At $5 for my 28 fl. oz bottle, it is more expensive than Comet, but probably similarly priced to Scrubbing Bubbles and other surface cleaners (which usually cost $3-$5). Definitely worth it, because it’s biodegradable, non-toxic, and rinses away cleanly (again, saving you time!).

Judging by the amount I used, the bottle will likely last me two to three months, scrubbing the bathroom weekly (and we know I don’t get around to it every week!).

First Review Note: This is our first (of what will be many) product reviews of greener products. These are part of my own journey toward a more sustainable lifestyle. I’ll provide you with the straight-up truth about these products’ worth and usability.

No, I don’t consider myself to be, “green,” quite yet, but I’m changing my habits and products and I want to share the products I’ve tried that get the job done (sometimes even better than their non-green counterparts). This will help you to try greener products with confidence.

More Green Product Reviews!

EHI There! What green products are you using that you love? What products are you trying to replace? Got an idea for a product you would like to be reviewed? We welcome guest columnists; just contact us!

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