Microfiber Dusting Mitt vs. Swiffer Duster - Savings Showdown
December 12, 2008
There was a time not so long ago, that it seemed every time I turned around I was headed to Walmart and couldn’t make it out of the store without $200 worth of items.
While many of these items were baby or personal care products, quite a few were for cleaning my home: Swiffer duster refills, Mr. Clean, Vim, Toilet Bowl Cleaner, spray for my shower, and so on. Recently, I’ve noticed that since I have started using Norwex products in my household cleaning that I rarely go to Walmart anymore. This got me wondering whether I am actually saving money using the Norwex products or if I am just spending more upfront.
I must admit, initially I started buying the Norwex products based entirely on seeing their performance and thinking they would save me time. Then, I kinda got hooked on the fact that I was no longer bringing chemicals into my home. Only recently have I begun to wonder whether the Norwex products were costing me more. This triggered an idea for my blog on comparing the costs of the traditional cleaning products I have used in the past versus the Norwex alternative.
The first product I thought I would look at is the Antibac Dusting Mitt versus the Swiffer Duster. Admittedly, a former Swiffer Duster Junkie, I’ve always felt the refills were ridiculously priced. For this totally unscientific study, I have made my own assumptions and asked my friends and family about their dusting habits. I guesstimate that the average person uses about two Swiffer Duster refills a week (dusting once a week and using two dusters). This means 8 refills a month or 96 duster refills for the year.
I priced these items at Walmart and here’s what I found:
Cost of using Swiffer Duster for one year:
1 handle + 5 refills = $4.67
10 refills = $8.77
Which means after you buy the starter kit, these refills will cost you .88 cents a pop. For an additional 91 refills this comes to $80.08. Add this to the initial $4.67, and the average total cost for using the Swiffer Duster for one year is $84.75 or a little over $7.00 a month.
Wow - dusting math is complicated. When you look at it like this, that’s a crazy amount of money to spend on dry dusting.
Compare this to the Norwex Antibac Dusting Mitt, which costs $14.25 and it reusable for many years. I’m not sure exactly how long, but I have heard of Norwex’s microfiber still going strong after 7 years. The mitt is warrantied for 2 years.
Here’s a two-year summary of how much you can save over a two-year period using Norwex’s Antibac Mitt:
Swiffer Duster - Assuming you manage to keep your handle for two years, it’ll cost you a total of $164.56. (Initial kit of $4.67, including 5 refills and 91 refills for year 1 and 96 refills for year 2)
This is a savings of $150.31 over a two year period alone, and I am confident Norwex’s Antibac Mitt will last much longer. Not to mention the fact that I feel good not to throw the disposable refills in the garage and eventually a landfill.
I had no idea dusting could be so costly 
Goo Gone Be Gone - Here’s a Better Way To Remove Stickers
November 11, 2008
I used to love Goo Gone, and then I discovered the Norwex Antibac Enviro Cloth. Honestly, nothing removes stickers from surfaces quicker. My two-year old loves to stick stickers everywhere and anywhere other than a sticker book. No amount of coaxing can convince him it would be fun to put them in a reusable sticker book. Nope - he prefers hardwood floors, coffee tables, patio doors, windows and very occasionally noses or the backs of hands.
Totally by chance some time ago I discovered that the Enviro Cloth is excellent for removing stickers. I was washing something sticky off the coffee table and there were a few sticker remnants as per usual. I tried the wet Enviro Cloth and was amazed how quickly and easily the stickers were removed and with no chemicals.
I was reminded of this tonight. The culprit - gigantic Strawberry Shortcake stickers stuck to the kitchen windows while I was cooking dinner. During clean-up tonight I experimented with the Enviro Cloth on half the stickers and a bottle of Goo Gone which was kicking around in my cupboard forever on the other half. The stickers came off much easier with the wet Enviro Cloth and a little elbow grease, than with the Goo Gone. And after reading the label and warnings that it is harmful or fatal if swallowed, I decided to give it a chuck and prevent any worries of my son ingesting it. I’ll stick with my Enviro Cloth
Day 5: Kitchen & Dining Room Cleaning - 5-Day Green-Cleaning Resolution
October 26, 2008
This is Part V of V in my 5-Day Green-Cleaning Resolution series, with cleaning tips to help you green-clean your house in under 30 minutes a day
I find the kitchen is generally not too bad to clean, as we are cleaning our counter tops and tables continually throughout the week. I have also heard that our kitchen counter tops are one of the cleanest surfaces in our homes since we are constantly cleaning them.
Friday (Day 5): Clean Kitchen & Dining Room
- Wipe cupboard doors and knobs
- Wipe off telephone
- Clean inside and outside of microwave and any other appliances you may have on your counter top
- Wipe down counter tops using a Norwex All Purpose Kitchen Cloth (great for picking up any grease)
- Clean your stove top (use Norwex Cleaning Paste and Spirisponge to make this job a breeze)
- Scrub your sink (Norwex Cleaning Paste and Spirisponge will make it sparkle)
- Wipe the front of any appliances in your kitchen with a wet Norwex Antibac cloth, shining any stainless steel surfaces with an Antibac Window Cloth (Polishing Cloth)
- Wipe kitchen and dining room table and chairs
- Dust any furniture, baseboards and air vents
- Sweep, dry mop and wet mop floor
List of cleaning items you will need:
- Norwex Antibac Enviro Cloth
- Norwex All Purpose Kitchen Cloth
- Norwex Antibac Window Cloth (Polishing Cloth)
- Norwex Cleaning Paste
- Norwex Spirisponge
- Norwex Antibac Dusting Mitt
- Norwex Wet and Dry Mop (Mop Starter Package)
I easily completed this task within 30 minutes. Maybe because I’m sure my kitchen is the cleanest room in my house, since it feels as if I spend the most time there. I’m now looking forward to enjoying a weekend without too much cleaning. My plan is to use 30 minutes each day on the weekend to tackle some task I’ve been neglecting, e.g. cleaning out a closest.
I hope you have found this series helpful. It certainly helped me make my cleaning easier to tackle. It feels good to go into the weekend with a clean house. Best of luck to us in sticking to our 30 minute plan. Now if I could just find the time to throw in a load of laundry every day and make it to the gym …
Stay tuned for a printable green-cleaning checklist to help you plan and stay on track…
Day 4: Floor Cleaning - 5-Day Green-Cleaning Resolution
October 25, 2008
This is Part IV of V in my 5-Day Green-Cleaning Resolution series, with cleaning tips to help you green-clean your house in under 30 minutes a day
The 4th day of my plan consists of cleaning most of the floors in my house. I’ll save the bathroom and kitchen floors for the days I tackle these rooms.
Thursday (Day 4): Clean Floors
- Sweep, dry mop and wet mop any surfaces without carpet (except: bathroom and kitchen)
- Vacuum any carpeted floors
- Vacuum between and under cushions on sofas, couches and chairs
List of cleaning items you will need:
- Norwex Antibac wet and dry mop (Mop Starter Package)
- A vacuum cleaner
- Norwex Antibac Enviro Cloth (for any stubborn marks) and to remove carpet stains
- Norwex Spray Bottle
All my cleaning enthusiasm sparked me to go out and buy a new vacuum cleaner which was desperately needed. That being said, I did spend about 45 minutes between vacuuming and sweeping and cleaning floors. I should point out that these tasks had also been a little neglected in my house as of late. I am confident since I gave everything a very good cleaning tonight, that this can be easily maintained in 30 minutes if I keep up on it every week.
I also got a little carried away with looking for any spots and stains on my carpet. I don’t quite know why it works so well - but the Enviro Cloth is amazing for removing carpet stains. The trick is to spray the spot with water and make sure it it well saturated. Then, just use a wet Enviro Cloth to scrub. Almost every stain I have ever found on my carpet comes out with just the cloth and water. Even stains I had used harsh chemicals to previously remove - without success.
Day 3: Cleaning Bathrooms - 5-Day Green-Cleaning Resolution
October 23, 2008
This is Part III of V in my 5-Day Green-Cleaning Resolution series, with cleaning tips to help you green-clean your house in under 30 minutes a day
This afternoon a saying I had once heard or read came to mind - “cleaning a house while your children are growing is like trying to shovel when it is still snowing”. This of course was not an entirely random thought - my two year old had wiped peanut butter from his snack from one end of my patio doors to the other. These of course were the same patio doors I had cleaned way too late last night. Oh well
Okay people, we knew this day would eventually come - the dreaded bathroom cleaning. I find if you do this job once a week it is not quite as terrible. This will be my most challenging job to finish in 30 minutes as I have three full bathrooms which all get used. Hopefully, you can enlist the help of a spouse or older child to assist if you have more than one bathroom.
This is also the job I hated the most when I used chemicals to clean my home. Especially when I was pregnant. I was so sensitive to smells I would absolutely hate to clean the shower stall and bathtubs. Admittedly, I would sometimes get those awful pink stains on the shower walls from neglecting the shower stall. What exactly is that??? I’m thinking maybe mildew. I’m really not sure - all I know is that it does not come off without a fight. I would spray with “Tilex” and then clean in minute bursts while holding my breath. I literally would get dizzy from the smell and thought this cannot be good for anyone, let alone someone pregnant.
Since I’ve discovered Norwex, I find I can clean most of the bathroom using several Antibac Enviro Cloths. These will even take most of the soap scum and mildew off the shower door. If not, the Norwex Cleaning Paste is amazing. I just use the Antibac Enviro Cloth or toothbrush and a little elbow grease and it works better than the bathroom sprays I previously used. I also like to use the cleaning paste to clean out my sink and tub, although the Enviro cloths also do the job. I really like the cleaning paste. As one of my colleagues often states, “the Cleaning Paste only has four ingredients and I can pronounce them all.”
Wednesday (Day 3): Clean Bathrooms
- Clean counter tops and wipe out sinks using wet Antibac Enviro Cloth and Cleaning Paste (if a little elbow grease is needed)
- Wipe off any items such as toothbrush and soap holders using Enviro cloth
- Clean tub using a wet Antibac Enviro Cloth and Cleaning Paste if necessary
- Scrub shower stall, wall, floor and door, again using Cleaning Paste if necessary. (Norwex Micropads also work very well on shower floors.)
- Scrub inside of toilet (using Sanira Toilet Brush System)
- Wipe outside of toilet with a wet Antibac Enviro Cloth
- Empty garbage
- Dust baseboards and/or wipe with wet Enviro Cloth
- Sweep or dry mop and wet mop floors
List of cleaning items you will need:
- Several Antibac Enviro Cloths
- Antibac Window Cloth (Polishing Cloth)
- Sanira Toilet Brush System
- Norwex Cleaning Paste
- Norwex Micropad
- Norwex Wet and Dry Mop (Mop Starter Package)
- Rubber Gloves
- Old Toothbrush
As I expected, it did have a little difficulty completing this task in the 30 minutes. I did finish two of my three full bathrooms in under 30 minutes. My third bathroom in the master bedroom was another story as I must admit, the shower stall has been a little neglected lately. As I said above, bathroom cleaning would definitely be a good task to enlist a little help in order to accomplish the chore in 30 minutes. Although, I feel like if I can manage to stay on top of this task every week, it will take much less time.
Why I Became a Norwex Sales Consultant
September 2, 2008
I’m very excited to welcome you to my site, Casa Naturals. This site features natural household cleaning natural/organic personal care items of the company Norwex for which I am an Independent Sales Consultant.
I was introduced to Norwex several months ago, by one of my friends. I have to admit when I was initially invited to my friend’s home for a Norwex presentation, I was a little skeptical. I thought, “I already have everything I possibly need for cleaning my home, what could I possibly learn from going to this presentation.”
Within moments of the consultant’s presentation I was totally impressed by several of the products, namely the Antibacterial Enviro Micofiber Cloth and Window Microfiber Cloth. The consultant demonstrated these cloths by smearing a bathroom window with butter, cleaning it off with a damp Enviro cloth and then polishing it with the Window Cloth. She effortlessly cleaned the mirror to a shine, and then proceeded to demonstrate how you could clean your entire bathroom using an Enviro Cloth and simply water. I imagined myself wiping my own mirrors with Windex and my roll of paper towels and trying to get all the streaks off and finally just giving up and thinking I guess that’s as good as it’s going to get. I purchased these two cloths that night and couldn’t wait to try them out in my home cleaning.
I’ll admit initially I did not give much thought to the fact I was cleaning without chemicals, but instead was totally impressed by the performance and the ease and speed with which I felt my new cloths would help me with my cleaning.
Once I started using the microfiber cloths in my own cleaning, I became even more impressed. I found myself wishing I had one in each room. I kept finding more and more uses for the Enviro Cloth, e.g. taking stains out of carpet, cleaning mirrors, windows, floors, my kid’s toys, etc. And within a few weeks I began to notice, I was making fewer and fewer trips to the grocery store for cleaning supplies and I was beginning to get used to the fact that a clean house, didn’t smell like anything.
I was beginning to reflect more and more upon the fact that I was enjoying the fact that I was bringing less chemicals into the house that would come into contact with my two kids and my husband. I especially was struck by the fact that I could clean my shower, using just a cloth. No more holding my breath while spraying my shower cleaner and getting in to clean the walls of the shower - a job I especially hated during my pregnancies. Meanwhile I started raving about these cloths to anyone who would listen. Someone commented to me that you should start selling them.
After a little reflection, I thought why not. I could share these products with my friends and family and learn more myself about how to reduce chemicals in my cleaning. No more lugging buckets of water and endless trips to the grocery store.
A now converted chemical-free house cleaner, I once could do away with a bottle of Mr. Clean in a single house cleaning Since becoming involved with Norwex, I’ve also become very interested in the personal care items and my family and I have all started using them. It makes me very happy to have significantly reduced the number of chemicals I am bringing into my family’s home without any compromising on performance. I hope you enjoy these products as much as I do.
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