Microfiber and Miracle Liquids, The Future of Green Cleaning?
I’ve always been a sucker for pretty packaging, believing on some level that you can indeed judge a book (or a bottle of dish soap) by its cover. Most of the time I can resist the urge to buy products just because they’re aesthetically pleasing, but I am totally unable to say no to the allure of green cleaning products. I only have to walk by my favorite store, Spring on Polk Street, and before I know it, I’ve bought two different types of Method floor cleaners.
Although I’d like to say that the primary reason I buy green products is to actually be greener, I also really like the way they look and smell. They’re the sort of products I might leave out on the counter on purpose. I don’t think I’m alone in this – the Prius didn’t really take off until Toyota redesigned it 2003, giving the car a distinctive look and making it something of a fashion statement. And Manhattan is now home to the just recently opened Green Depot, a one-stop destination that is geared to (presumably affluent) consumers, who take pleasure from “being green.” Indeed, some green cleaning lines tout the “elegance” and “luxury” of their laundry detergents.
I recently read about some new technologies in green cleaning that don’t actually require chemical products at all, and I started to really think about buying habits and being green. These two technologies are microfiber and electrolyzed water, and despite being disruptive products, both are going to have to find a marketing strategy that will appeal to a audience that craves essential oils in their ecologically friendly counter spray.
Last year, BusinessWeek ran a terrific article about why microfiber hasn’t really taken off in the U.S., despite the fact that it’s reusable and cleans away dirt and even bacteria “mechanically, not chemically, by scraping them with microscopic precision.” It sounded too good to be true, but being an impulse shopper I went out and bought a microfiber cloth at Spring. Lo and behold it cleaned my bathroom mirror far better than my Method glass cleaner. It also did a fantastic job on window sills, counters, floors, etc. However, I was still left with a nagging feeling that I hadn’t truly cleaned. After all, where was the sudsing action, or the fragrance that signals “clean?” My windows sparkled, but it hadn’t really been “fun” to get them to that state.
Then this week I read about electrolyzed water, which the LA Times has dubbed a “miracle liquid.” It can degrease, kill e. coli and salmonella, soothe a sunburn, and is safe enough to drink.
It turns out that zapping salt water with low-voltage electricity creates a couple of powerful yet nontoxic cleaning agents. Sodium ions are converted into sodium hydroxide, an alkaline liquid that cleans and degreases like detergent, but without the scrubbing bubbles. Chloride ions become hypochlorous acid, a potent disinfectant known as acid water.
Electrolyzed water has a short shelf life, so it’s currently mainly used in hotels or in doctor’s offices to sterilize equipment. However, just as I had a desire for some tactile feedback from my microfiber cloth that said “clean,” the housekeepers interviewed in the article also doubted its effectiveness.
Rebecca Jimenez, director of housekeeping, heard grumbling from the cleaning staff when the hotel brought the machine in last fall. Housekeepers doubted that the flat, virtually odorless liquids were really doing the job. Some poured the guest shampoos into their bottles to work up a lather.
The potential of both these products is clearly huge. Microfiber is cheap, reusable, washable, and you don’t need to buy supplemental cleaning chemicals (or the plastic bottles they come in), adding to the cost and ecological benefits. For institutions, electrolyzed water will also save money and make workplaces cleaner and greener. In Japan, where they use the water to kill bacteria on sushi, companies like Sanyo have also utilized the technology for their soap-less washing machines, so hopefully more consumer-facing applications are forthcoming.
However, for these technologies to become widely adopted, it will take a paradigm shift away from a mindset that has valued consumption for the sake of consuming. This economy will certainly help with that transition, and although cleaning is a duller experience for me without my Caldrea Green Tea Patchouli counter spray, I draw enough satisfacation from saving money and cutting down on my exposure to chemicals to carry on with my microfiber. At least it comes in pretty colors.
UPDATED: Green Depot is not affiliated with Home Depot
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H. Berk