E-Cloth (Cleaning without Chemicals, or even Green Cleaners-- just water!)

I must admit I was a bit skeptical when I received my samples from E-Cloth. I mean, a cloth to clean my scrungy shower? Maybe these were for people who clean regularly, which I do not.

So it happens that they sat in my house untouched, for a few weeks. I opened one E-Cloth specifically designed for the kitchen, and left it for my husband to discover (he cleans the kitchen after I cook).

He actually said, "That new cloth rocks!"

This sort of exuberance I didn't expect. But it helped him clean up the kitchen fast and easy, with just water. No joke.

It only got better when we were having a little get together this past weekend. Usually, that is my only motivation to clean: someone else seeing the place. So, I busted out my new bathroom E-Cloths-- and I headed for the shower. Now I am loathe to admit this, but there was a orange sort of scum on the shower floor. I was skeptical that it would come off with NO CLEANER of any sort. Heck, I had my green cleaners beside me, ready. But I just wet the cloth, and wiped the shower basin down. All of the soap scum and orange stuff was gone. I rinsed the cloth and tackled the rest of the bathroom. Also in the bathroom pack came a polishing cloth for the faucets and nobs that made them shine like new in a few swipes. I'm not kidding when I say I really have never seen anything like it.

One thing to point out, in case you are new to this blog. I am never paid to write a review, and I certainly don't own stock in the company. I am sent items to review on this blog, and I happily use them to report to my dear readers my experience and thoughts.

What is great about the E-Cloth is it is so simple. Just the cloth and water, no need for a cleaner. No worries about if your green cleaner is truly green.

I cleaned the glass in my new frame with the glass cloth, and scrubbed the range-top (easy breezy-- quick) with the range and stovetop cloth. Lest you worry as I did that you will forever mix up the clothes, they are labeled.

The different kinds of E-Cloths are built for each purpose:

Range and Stovetop Pack
Window Cleaning Pack
Bathroom Pack
Kitchen Pack
Furniture Pack (this I have yet to try)
Dusting Cloths (I bet these are good!)
and ones specific for cars, showers (although the bathroom one worked great for me to clean the shower), TVs, computer screens, digital cameras, lens cleaning cloths, and more

How do they work? They are made of millions of tiny fibers that pick up dirt that normal cloths just leave behind. Each fiber, the information from E-Cloth says, is 1/100th the width of human hair.

You can simply rinse them with warm water until they are too dirty, then wash them at a high temperature (or boil them). Use a small amount of detergent and rinse well. Don't use any bleach or fabric softener (this is foul chemical stuff anyway!) because the cloth won't work. You can tumble or hang them to dry.

It's no wonder that these cloths have caught on in the UK, and that they won a Good Housekeeping Consumer Award in 2008 for being a Household Timesaver, and the Green Living Award for 2009.

You'll save money, time, and it's healthier for your family and the earth to clean with these.

I'm hoping to order cloths for my computer, phone and digital camera. Those places could use some serious help!

These cloths will completely green your cleaning routine, and meet the standards of reluctant cleaners (myself) and neat freaks alike (my mom).

The Big Bottle Swap at the Soft Landing (send them your old BPA filled Siggs for 30 percent off New Stainless Steel bottles)

What a great idea from Alicia at the Soft Landing along with the ladies of Cool Mom Picks! They've started The Big Bottle Swap.

Here is the great offer (from their website):

"Here's the deal:

*You return your BPA-lined SIGG bottle(s) to us at The Soft Landing (please use the form below before shipping)

*Once we get your bottle(s), we'll send you a unique discount code for 30% off your choice stainless steel bottle from participating manufacturers at www.thesoftlanding.com (CamelBak, Crocodile Creek, Green Sprouts, Kid Basix, Klean Kanteen, Nathan, Thermos and Thinksport)

*You can return as many bottles as you like and you can purchase the same number of bottles for 30% off (you only need to fill out the form once, because one discount code will be assigned for all bottle purchases)

*All return packages must be postmarked by September 14, 2009 to qualify
The Soft Landing will ensure all returned SIGG bottles are properly recycled
Offer open to customers worldwide"

Fantastic! This is a great idea for folks switching to stainless steel bottles. Also, if you've already sent your bottles back to Sigg, they are offering a 20 percent discount if you fill out a form. All the details are at the site linked above.

Thanks to the ladies of The Soft Landing and Cool Mom Picks for this offer to former Sigg users. We can certainly use the good news!

Finally, an Apology from Sigg CEO Steve Wasik

The mainstream media caught on to all the buzz about BPA in Sigg water bottles. I was interviewed yesterday by an Associated Press reporter, and a few hours ago this story hit the web, which was picked up by ABC News, Yahoo News, many newspapers. I'm glad to see this story getting some attention.

The reporter also alerted me to the fact that Sigg CEO issued an apology letter on the Sigg site. After much digging around, I found it.

Here it is, in its entirety (linked here):

"Dear SIGG Customer,

(STAMFORD CT) – Last month, I wrote a letter to try and provide you with as much factual and historical information as I could in regards to the evolution of the SIGG bottle liner. I also suggested that people could email me if they had any questions and comments.

After reading and responding to hundreds of emails and viewing nearly as many blog & Twitter posts, I realize that my first letter may have missed the mark. What I should have said simply and loudly to all of our loyal SIGG fans is: I am sorry that we did not make our communications on the original SIGG liner more clear from the very beginning.

I have learned much over the past 2 weeks. I learned that many of you purchased SIGG bottles - not just because they were free from leaching and safe - but because you believed that SIGGs contained no BPA. I learned that, although SIGG never marketed the former liner as “BPA Free” we should have done a better job of both clearly communicating about our liner as well as policing others who may have misunderstood the SIGG message.

For over 100 years, SIGG has earned a reputation for quality products and service – and we do not take that for granted. From the day we made our announcement last month, we made a commitment consistent with SIGG values that we would offer anyone who is concerned about BPA an opportunity to swap their old SIGGs for new SIGGs with the new EcoCare liner. Today, I am announcing that this voluntary Exchange Program will be in place until October 31, 2009 to ensure that our customers have ample time to send their former liner bottles back to us should they choose to do so.

Once again, I truly apologize for the lack of clarity in our previous communications. All of us at SIGG hope that we will have an opportunity to regain your confidence and trust.


Sincerely,

Steve Wasik
CEO, SIGG Switzerland"

I am happy to see Mr. Wasik apologize for not being straightforward with customers in both the recent confessional (that sounded very political and guilt averting), and for not disclosing their product contains BPA.

This doesn't mean the company will ever win back my trust. But it does mean that there is some acknowledgment of wrong doing, and that is step in the right direction.

What do you think, readers? Will you ever buy a Sigg water bottle again?