How to multitask with natural cleaners

We enjoy lots of feedback about our products and more often than not it is complimentary, which is pleasing and rewarding. Every now and again our customers tell us about other uses for our products which we hadn’t thought of. Sometimes the ‘other’ uses are quite unique to the customer needs and sometimes also quite surprising.

Below are some of the more interesting ‘other’ uses for our products we thought we would share with you.

The Two Oceans Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront is a fantastic place to take the family. My wife and I have been there a few times with our daughter, who absolutely loves sharks. No matter how often we show her the beautifully coloured coral fish, she keeps going back to the sharks, which she finds far more “pretty”.

Better Earth supplies Two Oceans with our cleaning products and noticed they were using a lot of dishwashing liquid. My sister and I were both curious as to how many dishes the aquarium had that needed cleaning. Eventually we found out why they were going through so much of it.

As gentle on the ocean as it is on your hands

It turns out they use our dishwashing liquid to clean their boats. They say it cleans better than other cleaning products and they feel better about using a product that is environmentally friendly. Apparently it is particularly good at removing the awful smell of red bait. So the next time you have a particularly smelly fishing boat or fishy area that needs cleaning, keep that in mind.

I recently received a request from an unexpected source. An ex-gardener of ours approached me in the parking lot to ask if he “could get a good deal on our dishwashing liquid”. I initially said I could give him a free one but he said he needed more than one and insisted on paying.

Turns out he has started a small business washing cars. I had given him a bottle before. Now he insists on using Better Earth Dishwashing Liquid and says it cleans cars as well as any other cleaning product and doesn’t leave his hands dry afterwards. He tells all of his customers that he uses environmentally friendly products and they are all impressed. I have since started using it on my own car too.

Our company supplies quite a few lodges and guest houses and we have a great relationship with the owners and managers. The other day one particular owner said she was so happy to have finally found a product that cleaned stains on her bedding. She is an elderly ‘prim and proper’ Afrikaans lady, with very high standards and an impeccable house.

Great for ‘honeymoon stains’

We naturally assumed she was referring to the laundry gel, but we were wrong. It turns out she was referring to the dishwashing liquid. She hosts many newlywed guests and has struggled for years to effectively clean the sheets of specifically the Honeymoon Suite bed. Turns out our dishwashing liquid does the trick every time for those pesky er…honeymoon stains, or to quote her directly “Ja honestly it’s great to finally have something that can clean the sperm stains.”

Of course the best use for the Better Earth Dishwashing Liquid is washing dishes. So while we are on the subject, let’s discuss which is ‘greener’ - using an automatic dishwashing machine or hand washing dishes?

I recently read that it is far more efficient to use a dishwasher, according to one study at the University of Bonn in Germany; a typical dishwasher uses half the energy, around one-sixth of the water and less soap.

Like all things in life though, it turns out the answer is not so black and white. There are various factors to consider. Do you only run your dishwasher when completely full? How old is your dishwasher? Does your dishwasher have an energy saving option?

How do you heat the water in your home when you hand wash? How often do you do the dishes and how soiled are your dishes?

It is actually possible to be as efficient washing your dishes by hand, but you would need to use luke warm water and not much of it, so would the dishes be as clean?

My advice is to feel good about using a dishwasher by using an environmentally friendly cleaning product like the Better Earth Dishwashing Gel for Automatic Machines, which does not require additional rinse aids/salts to keep your dishwasher clean.

Be sure to check out our website www.betterearth.co.za for more information on these and all of our products.

[Ed: Purchasing in bulk and refilling your dispensers is a great eco thing to do. We don’t want to be discarding all that plastic. In our home the dishwasher always doubles up as car and window cleaners - in fact you could most probably clean most things with it.]