Earth Friendly Products Window Kleener

I have a mod-style glass topped dining table. I'm actually not a huge fan of it anymore, but adored it when we bought it back in... 2003? The thing shows fingerprints like MAD, so I need a good glass "kleener", and believe me, vinegar and water don't seem to cut it. Could be some error on my part, but vinegar+H2O left a bit of streakiness on my table, windows, and mirrors. So much for the cheap option.

I like EFP's line, and I like the smell of lavender so I nabbed this version from a cute little local health market that for whatever reason, only had this version in stock. It works great! When my mother-in-law was visiting she cleaned the table after meals for me a few times, and commented that this stuff worked well and smelled nice. I was pleased because she uses fairly traditional 'toxic/caustic' stuff, as does my own mother. I like that this stuff is just clear, and it comes in an unscented version for those who don't love lavender.

Give it a shot if you don't have success making your own!

p.s. I am noticing you can get a 12-pack on Amazon for $36.86 or about $3 a bottle. Weigh that against your local price to decide.

BabyGanics Tub & Tile Cleaner

First- something random that I like. Method's aroma ring comes in bamboo (the actual ring part, not the scent)! I'm convinced bamboo, buckwheat, and soy can save the world, so this is great news. I've reviewed the aroma ring here, and because it didn't really make much scent for me I won't be buying it. Have you had any luck with it?

(I kind of want the Method frosted fir glass candle. If you're not candle-savvy, paraffin wax candles are to be avoided. They make nasty soot, which gets into your air, and they're made from petroleum. This means Yankee Candles' products are pretty seriously not eco-friendly. I am really enjoying wood wicked candles right now, because I don't have a fireplace and I missed the crackle of a good fire. Particularly since it's now snowy and freezing in Chicago.)

But this post is really about BabyGanics' Tub & Tile Cleaner. I've been using it to scrub my glass-doored stall shower for a while now, and a little goes a long way. It's done a good job getting the soap scum off. So much so that I have been able to stop using my daily shower spray. I clean about every other week with it. BabyGanics sent me the unscented version to review, but this stuff also comes in Lavender, and both bottles have a nice cloud picture in the background for me to gaze at and wish I had a window in my bathroom. Anyway, it's effective stuff and if you haven't had much luck with other 'green' shower cleaners, you may want to give this a go.

Trader Joe's Lavender Dryer Bags

I don't like what dryer sheets do to laundry (generally coat it in a layer of film that actually lowers the lifespan of your textiles), but I do enjoy the smell. Trader Joe's has come up another good solution! Their lavender dryer bags are filled with delicious smelling lavender seeds. They can be used for 5-10 dryer cycles each, and I've been erring more towards 10. They very subtly scent my laundry a nice, natural lavender. It seems like the dryer (machine) gets more lasting scent than, say, my towels, but this is mainly because I dry everything on low heat and these really make a better stink on hotter settings. I'm not sure they produce enough scent for my liking (at my preferred drying temp.), but for less scent-obsessed folks they're probably more than sufficient.

When you're done with a bag, the package advises sprinkling them on your carpet and vacuuming them up for a lovely lavender smelling house. I did this, and it was herby and delicious everywhere I vacuumed. Delicious, that is, if you like lavender. I imagine these'd also work well in drawers and closets to keep things fresh.

Each pack contains 4 bags, and although I've forgotten the price it was pretty reasonable. I'll re-buy.

(Theoretically you could make your own! Fill a small cloth bag with dried flowers or herbs, close it securely, and toss it in the dryer.)

BabyGanics

I just finished up a bottle of toxic Windex-like stuff (generic version) that was purchased years ago. I couldn't pour it out, and as it was decanted into a small spray bottle of mine I didn't want to bring it to the household chemical people. Basically, I forced myself to carefully use it up. Much to my glee, BabyGanics' Glass and Surface Cleaner arrived at my house just as I was ready for something new. I just automatically feel better about glass cleaners that aren't dyed blue, and while I was on the verge of just using white vinegar and water, this product was a nice treat (I do wish I had the lavender-scented one though. As regular readers know, I am nothing if not a scent junkie.) I wonder if I could drop some lavender EO into it.

Anyway, this spray worked much better than the generic-Windex. I didn't even know that was possible, but my glass table shined. I stood back from it, looking at it curiously. Huh, I thought. I'd used white vinegar on it and that hadn't created this level of gleam either.

I'm new to Babyganics. Having no kids of my own, there was something about the picture of a baby on the front of the packaging that made me instinctively think "not for me". What they need to do, I think, is Photoshop in a small dog. If the woman were smooching a small dog I'd probably have found them sooner ;) (And if the products came in a bacon-scent perhaps my dogs would help me clean.)

So, you know that I'm a former design professor, right? With that out of the way, prepare for slightly tangential critique. I'm not sure about the photos of people used on packaging at all. I haven't seen studies about whether consumers respond to that- certainly if I did have a child it might catch my eye as I look for cleaning products. On the other hand, I have a sense of products featuring photographs as part of their design as being somewhat less sophisticated. I'm not entirely sold on babyganics' design, and I think I'd add a couple more scents to capture the new aromatherapy cleaning market. Can I pick the scents? Someone needs a "spicy kitchen" cleaning product scent.. something that smells like clove and cinnamon and ginger. Or maybe a "log cabin" scent that's somehow woodsy and smokey and crisp.

So, what do YOU think of the package design?