Tag Archives: Go Buy It or Pass By It

Norwex Cleaning Products | Go Buy It or Pass By It

I have heard great things about the Norwex cleaning cloths and products for some time now. Because I don’t have a Norwex consultant in my newsfeed and hadn’t been invited to a party (both shocking, I know), I never took the time to take the next step of learning more. But. I was intrigued. Fast forward to a couple of weeks ago, and I was FINALLY invited to a par-tay (thanks Julie)! I was most interested in learning more about the cloth, which I learned is called the Envirocloth.

Let’s back up for a second so I can tell you how I normally clean things that need cleaning like countertops, sinks, etc. I have Clorox wipes as a monthly Subscribe and Save item from Amazon. Mmm hmmm. I do see the problems in this, so just in this past month I ordered the Thieves essential oil cleaner and have made up a spray bottle solution that I have been using. It smells fantastic and I am a oily believer.

I am honestly still a little unsure about how I feel about the Envirocloth, and the science behind it. I really need to take an hour or so in my life to do a little research, and I will. Once I find that hour. But here is the nitty gritty, from what I understand. All of the products are chemical free (yay!). The cloths do NOT have any type of cleaning solution already loaded up in them as I had been assuming. Rather, they are made of a super fine microfiber that contains silver. Apparently, the silver traps bacteria from whatever you are cleaning and doesn’t allow it to continue to grow, thereby killing it. The claim is that you can have a counter covered in raw chicken juice (or pick your choice of gross, bacteria-ridden mess), take a damp Envirocloth, wipe down the counter, and, voila, go ahead and eat off of it. As for your chicken juice soaked Envirocloth? Just rinse it off with water and hang it to dry until your next mess needs attacking. No cleaner, no spray. Just a dampened Envirocloth. Crazy, right? I watched a couple of videos provided in the party where consultant use this test strip that indicates bacteria, and test before (instant color change on the strip) and after (no color change). But it still makes me feel a little weird in my brainwashed-to-believe-you-need-chemicals-to-clean brain.Many of the Norwex products use this same technology of trapping and killing bacteria.

When it came time to order during the party, I decided to give the Envirocloth a try (how could I not?), as well as the Window Cloth, the Spirinetts, and they have a super cute Optic Scarf for cleaning things like glasses that matched my camera bag perfectly. And I really needed a new lens cloth, so I got that too! I have had a few days to use the products, and decided to start a new series for the blog, Go Buy It or Pass By It.

Envirocloth ($16.99) and Window Cloth ($18.99)

Austin TX Newborn Photographer_0105

I decided to go with the Envirocloth that has a little scrubby corner for those harder to clean messes, i.e. dried up food that wasn’t immediately cleaned. Why? Well. Because this happens in my house. All the time. Ahem, cleaning isn’t my strong suit. The cloths are the same size, the only difference being the scrubby cleaner and a $2 difference ($18.99 v. $16.99). For me, worth the $2.

I attacked one of the bathrooms sinks that was covered in dried toothpaste (seriously, do kids use half a tube to brush their teeth?) first with the Envirocloth. I was genuinely surprised by 2 things. First, I didn’t have to do much more than a firm wipe to get the caked on toothpaste up, and only 1-2 swipes. Second, while I would normally choose to just throw away the washcloth I used to clean the sink rather than try to get all that toothpaste off (or, let’s face it, I would have just used a Clorox wipe), I just rinsed off the Envirocloth and it was clean!

As I said earlier, I still need to do some of my own research before I feel 100% confident in using the Envirocloth completely on its own to clean all counter tops regardless of what is on them but I have been using it for regular wipe downs and it does a good job. It picks up and holds crumbs fairly well. Much better than a Clorox wipe or a paper towel or a regular washcloth.

The Window Cloth isn’t an all-in-one like I had assumed. I am sure it was in a post or video during the party, but I probably didn’t watch it. Um, we have satellite internet. Videos are not watched on my computer, and I usually forget when I actually have my phone in hand. Instead, you use the Envirocloth with the Window Cloth. Wipe down the window or mirror or faucet with the dampened Envirocloth, and then dry with the Window Cloth. My mirrors were in bad shape. Really, who has time to clean mirrors?! I did the mirror over the kids’ sink first (code for the worst of them all). I tried to take pictures for you but it was not an easy thing to capture. Anyways, I wiped it down with the Envirocloth with minimal effort and then dried with the Window Cloth. And, I was impressed. I haven’t seen myself so clear in a very long time! These two cloths (minus the scrubby corner) also come in a set for $32.99.

Spirinetts ($5.99 for a set of 2)

I also got the Spirinetts, which are these little scrub balls of stainless steel. I decided to test them out today on a tough job. My stove top. The burners have been pretty grungy looking since we moved in. I have tried, on a couple of occasions, to do something about it with no success. Granted, I only put minimal effort into it as I do with most cleaning jobs but I used those green scrubby pads once. And another time, soaked them in scalding hot, soapy water, followed by the green scrubby pad. We have a propane stove, and just assumed this happens and they were long overdue in needing to be replaced. I wipe them down when I wipe down the stove top, and carry on with life.

Austin TX Newborn Photographer_0106

I grabbed one of the gray things first, brought it to the sink, turned on the water and went for the worst spot and gave it a rub with a Spirinett. I was shocked how easily pretty much all the stuff came off. And so, I continued.

Because I only put minimal effort into cleaning, I really didn’t go all crazy to try to make a point. There were only a few spots where I needed to scrub a little more vigorously, and really get into it but those were usually in the harder to reach spots. I had 4 gray things and then the four spots on the stove to clean, so it wasn’t a 15 minute job. But it also took me less than an hour. I probably could have had even better results if I really got into it but cleaning just isn’t my thing. Hence my need for products that make tough jobs (or everyday jobs) easier!

Austin TX Newborn Photographer_0107

I am pretty sure the hubs is going to shit his pants when he sees this. He almost did yesterday when he noticed the bathroom sinks and mirror!

Final Verdict

So far, less than a week in, I am happy with my purchase and impressed with the products. The products are to be used over and over, and should last quite some time thus eliminating the repeat purchases of Clorox wipes (bye bye Subscribe and Save), paper towels, Windex, etc. They are all CHEMICAL FREE. That should be worth its weight in gold. Now, if I need to clean up some raw chicken juice, you can bet I will be spraying my Thieves cleaner first. At least for now until I do some more research. But I am excited to try some of the other products as well, and will definitely be a repeat customer. They have these dryer balls that are high on my To Try list so that I can eliminate the use of dryer sheets.

I say Go Buy It if you want to reduce the use of chemicals in your cleaning, or if you are looking for a one size fits all cleaning cloth. And, if you have a really tough job, you definitely need a Spirinett! If you need a Norwex independent consultant, contact Laura Tangel! She is great and answered all my annoying and extremely skeptical sounding questions! Here are Laura’s Website and Facebook links. Host a party, and earn yourself some free goodies! Just be sure to invite me!

Side Note

I haven’t actually used my Optic Scarf on my camera yet (I know, I should have before breaking out the big camera for these pictures), but here is a cell phone picture of how fab it looks with my camera bag!! See why I had to have it??

12936657_10102935374348126_2716425738007926534_n