According to BusinessWeek, microfibre rags can remove both dirt and germs, and clean “surfaces mechanically, not chemically, by scraping them with microscopic precision.” In fact, they completely eliminate the need for harsh chemicals like Tilex, Clorox, Windex, Ajax and all those other nasty cleaners that end in “x.” So why are the cabinets under our kitchen sinks still stuffed with corrosive, explosive poisons, when we could be wiping our way to non-toxic tidiness?
Incredibly, it’s because people think this is too good to be true:
For the most part, though, disbelief has stunted microfiber’s proliferation. The claims of chemical-free cleaning are too vast to trust and too complex to understand for the average consumer, and the products are too expensive to risk taking the chance. Because the term “microfiber” is not regulated, great products share the same labeling with poor ones, exacerbating the problem of trust.
Seems strange to me that suspicious consumers would shun the promise of chemical-free cleaning, and then dial up in droves for “miracle” diet drugs and penis enhancement pills. This reluctance to try microfibres is particularly strange when you consider how neat it would be if we no longer needed to dump harsh cleaners into our water, place them in our children’s play environments, or shell out cash for bottle after bottle of Mr. Clean.
The only catch: microfibre materials don’t actually kill bacteria — they remove them. But so long as you wash out your rag every so often, you can cut your cleanser usage almost down to zero.
More from Barbara Flanagan’s article:
Over the next few months, I experimented on every surface in sight, and paid wary cleaning people to use damp microfiber textiles to wash my car, clean my house, and report back. My fellow cleaners were not happy; robbed of the sensory excitement of cleaning solutions—bright colors, heady fumes, sudsing, foaming, and definitive rinsing—everyone felt ineffective and disarmed. The rituals didn’t feel right. But unquestionably, the stuff worked. Windows disappeared, floors gleamed, the Subaru sparkled.
I also realized that cleaning my house exclusively with microfiber would obliterate the costs and the storage space demanded by a massive array of task-specific chemicals and applicators I no longer needed. Once my cupboards were bare, I multiplied that emptiness times 100 million American households and wondered how the makers of household cleaners, paper towels, and disposable wipes would survive if microfiber ever really caught on. Would they help launch a new era of nearly chemical-free cleaning, or cling to their profits for dear life?
Microfibre also has a host of other uses — it’s what your fancy new sweat-wicking cycling shirt and your super-comfy office chair are made of. It keeps you warm, even when wet, so it’s quickly replacing conventional insulation in sleeping bags. And since it leaves no dust or lint and won’t scratch fragile surfaces, it also goes into that tiny little lens rag that comes with your glasses.
Image via the Global b2b Network.
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
Leave a Comment