Saving Trees… One Cloth at a Time

Saving Trees… One Cloth at a Time

Norwex Paper Towel Alternative

Once we learn something is important, it is impossible to keep it to ourselves!

Nelson Mandela once said, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world”. 

Teaching and educating is my passion! My desire is to stir a ‘proactive spirit’ in people regarding their choices and the danger of harmful chemicals.  Many people are not aware that what they are currently using is harmful to our environment.

University of Bergen Study

The University of Bergen in Norway recently performed a study of 6000 people over a 20 year period, who had regular exposure to cleaning products. It was found that their lung function had been significantly affected as much as a person who had smoked a pack-a-day for 20 years as well as put them at a 40% higher risk of developing asthma.

The study revealed was that “the small particles from the spray [cleaners] can remain in the air for hours after cleaning. The small particles can travel deep into the lungs and cause infections and ageing of the lungs” Dr. Svanes explains.   Dr. Svanes, the main author of the study, recommends “You [do] not need a lot of chemicals after all, when cleaning. Microfiber cloths may be just as effective.

Norwex performed chamber tests to compare the number of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs or small particles) released by chemical spray cleaners and paper towel vs. Norwex Microfiber cloths and water.  The results were AMAZING!!!  Traditional chemical cleaners released 800 times the VOCs than Norwex products!  There is no need for dusting sprays, room deodorizers, artificial fragrances, floor cleaners, all-purpose cleaning sprays… when you have a Norwex EnviroCloth and water!

Problem: Paper Towel

Let me share some information about the truth about paper towel consumption in North America… and how Norwex provides a solution.

  • On average, a person uses and disposes of 2,400 – 3,000 paper towels every year.
  • Paper towels are used in 90% of households.
  • The average family of 4 uses about 26 rolls of paper towels a year. That’s an annual expense of approximately $91 for a single-use, throwaway item that is clogging our landfills!
  • Paper towel creates 13 billion pounds of waste every year! That works out to a whopping 3,000 tons of waste daily… comparable to the weight of 1650 economy cars!!!
  • Most are made from virgin tree fibre and used only once.
  • One paper towel is often not enough for many jobs, and some brands are even bleached with harmful chlorinated compounds—not good for your family or the environment.
  • Residential dwellings are the largest contributor to pollution, not industrial.
  • Long-term exposure to many of the cleaning products you use in your home every day has cancer-causing potential.
  • What does it take to produce just 1 ton of paper towels? Approximately, 17 trees and 20,000 gallons of water!
  • In North America, we have a huge paper towel habit.  3,000 tons of paper towel waste is produced every day and accounts for the consumption of approximately 51,000 trees and 60 million gallons of water!
  • Paper towels, even when made of recycled materials still produce an environmental impact. The recycling process still uses water, energy and chemicals.
  • If everyone cut back by one sheet of paper towel per day, it would save North America 571,230,000 pounds of paper towel waste, every year.  Now imagine, if, one-by-one, households began to eliminate paper towel waste altogether…what kind of impact would we see then?

Solution: 4 Norwex Cloths

Norwex is a company that provides solutions for problems like paper towel.  Let me highlight a few different eco-friendly Norwex products you could use to replace your paper towel.

EnviroCloth

The EnviroCloth is Norwex’s flagship product!!! The microfiber cloth has the ability to remove 99% of bacteria from a surface when following the proper care and use instructions. It contains Norwex’s exclusive Baclock™ agent – micro silver antibacterial agent – goes to self-purify and inhibits odours from bacteria, mold and mildew growth within the cloth within 24 hours so that it is ready to use again. The microfibers in the EnviroCloth are 1/200th the size of a human hair and if unravelled, have a maximum length of more than 3 million meters (10 million feet).  The splitting process that happens during manufacturing creates open spaces in the fibres and enables the cloth to lift away dust and dirt and absorb serval times its own weight in water. And it only needs water to clean; no cleaner, chemicals or sprays required.

Doesn’t that sound better than a disposable paper towel??Norwex Cloth

Window Cloths

Window Cloths are designed to be used with the EnviroCloth. Once you have cleaned a surface with an EnviroCloth, use a Window Cloth to polish it to a streak-free shine. No paper towel or window spray required. If you love clean windows, but hate how long it takes, the EnviroCloth and Window Cloth will take 50% less time to clean and leave you with better results. The Window Cloth or ‘polishing cloth’ is constructed of tightly woven Norwex microfiber with the self-purifying Baclock™ agent, is lint-free, traps dust and grime in the cloth so your surface is cleaner, only needs water so there is no “chemical muck” left behind. This cloth will change your cleaning regime.

Counter Cloths

Norwex Counter ClothNorwex introduced Counter Cloths as a great alternative to paper towel.  They are the same size as a half-sheet paper towel, come in beautiful colours, are made from 50% recycled materials, have a super-absorbent unique new weave for quick spill clean up. These beauties are perfect for your kitchen and bathroom.  They even have Norwex’s self-purifying Baclock™ agent in the cloth. Seriously, with these handy little cloths, you won’t ever grab for a paper towel again!

Napkins

Norwex NapkinsFor anyone who loves to use a half-sized paper towel as their dinner napkin, Norwex has an alternative for you too. On average, a family of 4 uses more than 3000 paper napkins/paper towels a year.  The Napkins are made from 50% recycled materials (5 plastic bottles per set of 4) and are lovely. They come in either charcoal or peacock blue, the microfiber also has Baclock™ agent so you can use them more than once before laundering, they are quick-drying and very absorbent, plus they make your dinner table look pretty. Saving trees and dressing up dinner all at the same time… not bad.

So, what can you do?

Let me give you a challenge! Next time you start a new roll of paper towel, take a pen and write in the date inside of the roll.  First, try if you can go 4 months with one roll, then 6… then try if your family can stretch one roll of paper towel to last an entire year!  You can do it!  Other customers have done it, I know you can do it too.  Imagine with me the impact that would be realized by simply changing the way we use paper towel.

Become an Educator

Since I started my Norwex journey in 2006, thousands of Consultants have been working with me to spread the word about these amazing products.  I believe Nelson Mandela’s statement about the power of education… which means, we have a lot more educating to do!  Every grocery and department store has at least one aisle stocked with toxic cleaning chemicals.  Only 2% of North American homes use Norwex products… we have a lot of people to educate! Join my team, become an educator and help Norwex make a difference.

Are you going to take the paper towel challenge? Leave a comment about how it went.  Was it easier or harder than you thought?

8

Resources:

https://www.uib.no/en/news/115228/household-cleaning-can-be-bad-smoking-lung-function

****************************************

Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.

Share
All You Need to Clean Your House… Norwex Microfiber

All You Need to Clean Your House… Norwex Microfiber

Norwex Microfiber Sale

Did you know? You can clean 90% of your home with a Norwex Microfiber Cloth and water.

A recent study in Norway, from the University of Bergen, studied the effects of long-term exposure (20 years) to household spray cleaners in women. What they found greatly supported Norwex’s mission to make homes safe havens by reducing the use of chemicals, by discovering the staggering effects of long-term exposure to household spray cleaners. Here are a few of the study’s findings:

“Women who work as cleaners or regularly use cleaning sprays or other cleaning products at home appear to experience a greater decline in lung function over time than women who do not clean, according to new research published online in the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.

“That level of lung impairment was surprising at first”, said lead study author Oistein Svanes, a doctoral student also at the Department for Clinical Science. “However, when you think of inhaling small particles from cleaning agents that are meant for cleaning the floor and not your lungs, maybe it is not so surprising after all.”

Professor Cecile Svanes, who led the Bergen team, said: “We feared that such chemicals, by steadily causing a little damage to the airways day after day, year after year, might accelerate the rate of lung function decline that occurs with age.”

Oistein Svanes, who also worked on the study, said: “The take-home message is that in the long run cleaning chemicals very likely cause rather substantial damage to your lungs. These chemicals are usually unnecessary; microfiber cloths and water are more than enough for most purposes.” ~ BBC

Norwex Microfiber Solution

This study almost made me fall out of my chair! Did you know? “Of the 80,000 new chemicals that have been introduced in the last 50 years, approximately 200 have been assessed for their impact on human health.” I am glad that research is happening and that they are finding proof that chemicals harm us and that it is not necessary.  To read some articles about this study… follow the links at the bottom of this post. 

This study supports that Norwex is a healthy and effective solution to our cleaning needs. Think of all the spray cleaners you use (or could use) to clean your home… dusting spray, all-purpose cleaners, floor cleaners, wood cleaners, window spray… the list goes on.  But according to the study from Norway, it reveals that really there is no need for all purpose spray cleaners, artificial fragrances, dusting canisters, etc… just a Norwex microfiber cloth and water. Yeah Norwex!

I love that Norwex offers a real solution to this problem. Check out Norwex’s September Customer Specials… You will be able to remove traditional cleaners in your home by simply replacing them with the featured Norwex products!
Norwex Customer Specials

Norwex Customer Specials – PDF

Norwex Specials

All you Need to Clean (link)

Graphite & Mango EnviroCloth with Baclock™ – These are the Microfiber Cloths that were mentioned above.  What makes Norwex microfiber cloths be able to clean up to 99% of bacteria from a surface when following the proper use and care instructions is how they are made.  The microfibers are 1/200th the width of a human hair versus a dollar store microfiber cloths that only need to be 1/6th the width to be considered “microfiber”.  The microfibers in one cloth can reach 3 million meters (from Winnipeg Canada to the Gulf of Mexico)…. that is a lot of absorbing material.  They contain Baclock™ agent, Norwex’s micro silver antibacterial agent, that goes to work to self purify and inhibit odours from bacteria, mould and mildew in the cloth within 24 hours so that it is ready to use again. They make cleaning surfaces clean quick and easy … flat fold the the cloth and you will have 8 clean sides to clean with. Best all-natural cleaning cloth around.

Spray Bottle – An essential tool to use with your Norwex microfiber cloths.  Make your EnviroCloth damp, start cleaning and when you feel you need a little moisture, use a quick spray and keep on cleaning.  (If your EnviroCloth is too wet, it will leave streaks behind.)  I also love adding a drop of essential oils to my spray bottle to add a beautiful scent in the air when I am cleaning.  Try using the spray bottle when you mop your floor… it makes it so easy to add a little moisture to the floor and makes mopping quick!

Spirisponge (pack of 2) – These sponges are pure eco-friendly scrubbing power that are safe for pots, pans, non-stick surfaces and glass-top stoves.  I love that these sponges are safe in the kitchen for pots and pans and the like, but they are also designed to remove sticky substances like food or glue, they can remove rust and lime stains when coupled with Cleaning Paste, are awesome to clean your kitchen sink, and can even scrub your carrots and potatoes.

Kitchen Basics with a FREE Cloth (link)

Green Veggie and Fruit Scrub Cloth – The produce we buy in the stores have been subjected to a toxic treatment to protect it from pests and fungal attack. It often has a waxy or oily substance to prevent decay as well as preserve quality and appearance as it gets transported.  Norwex’s cloth is two-sided; the scrubby side is designed to remove dirt, waxes and debris while the smooth side is for drying and polishing your produce. It is a great tool for harvest time… it quickly removes all the dirty from garden carrots and potatoes. Yum!

Norwex Veggie Scrub

Blue Kitchen Scrub Cloth – This cloth has a special blend of nylon and Norwex Microfiber that will tackle tough jobs without scratching the surface or require chemicals to get the job done. It is even more effective when used with Norwex Cleaning Paste.  Does your glass stove top get rings from your pans?  Try a dap of cleaning paste on a damp Kitchen Scrub Cloth, give the ring a scrub and it will be gone. Or get creative and try cleaning your fresh farm eggs with a damp Kitchen Scrub Cloth…

The Kitchen Scrub Cloth works great to get the stubborn chicken poop off the eggs! That cloth is THE designated egg-cleaning cloth!” ~ Katherine VanWeerthuizen

Norwex Kitchen Scrub Cloth

Pack of 2 Netted Blue Dish Cloth – This nylon-netted dish cloth is made for those who hand wash their pots and pans (or maybe all your dishes).  What makes it better than a traditional sponge is that it DOESN”T habour bacteria.  Instead of absorbing bacteria and taking a long time to dry, the nylon dries quickly and the food particles and bacteria get rinsed through the holes in the cloth. It is scrubby enough to get your pots and pans clean, can be used with Dishsoap (unlike Norwex’s microfiber cloths), removes flour and other sticky food from the counter and washes out perfectly!  Its a nice addition for your kitchen sink.

FREE All-Purpose Kitchen Cloth – This is a great Kitchen Cloth that is versatile enough to be used with or without dish soap. The waffle-weave pattern creates an extra absorbent, extra durable, extra fast-drying cloth that is designed to be able to remove grease, caked-on dirt or anything your kitchen throws at you. Don’t you love how Norwex has a variety of cloths…enough variety that you can choose the perfect cloth for you. Plus, it comes FREE to try with the Kitchen Basics Special!

Do it with Accessories (link)

How do your clean your floor? Is it really clean? What kind of cleaning residue is left behind on your floor?
The Norwex Mop system only uses water to clean and has the ability to remove up to 99% of bacteria from a surface when following the proper care and use instructions.  How can we protect what we love?… those beautiful bare toes, inquizitive sticky fingers and precious paws… by avoiding traditional floor chemical cleaners and using the Norwex Mop System.  The only thing that is better than this mop system, is that it is on SALE this month!!!
Norwex Mop SaleHere’s how it works:
  • No toxic chemicals required
  • No heavy bucket of water
  • Ergonomically-friendly telescopic pole
  • Aluminum-light weight
  • Only requires water
  • Employs static electricity to attract dust and debris
  • Wet Mop Pad has Baclock™ agent
  • Floor dries quickly
  • Saves you time & money
  • Use to dust your walls & baseboards.

 

Spend and Get Special

Norwex Microfiber Cleans it All

Norwex is a real solution to the problem that traditional cleaners cause.  Most of us grew up with the smell of a clean home… caused by lemon-scented chemical cleaners… but these cleaners, as researched, compromise our health and our environment.  Try out one of Norwex’s Customer Specials… see how you like cleaning with Norwex microfiber cloths and water. See how many cleaners you can do without!

Norwex Specials

Resources

**********************

Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.

Share
How “Micro” is the fiber?

How “Micro” is the fiber?

Getting all of the surfaces in your home as clean as possible, as quickly as possible, can be challenging.  In addition, many of today’s popular cleaners contain harsh chemicals.  One would assume that since they are sold in our local stores that they were tested and are safe to use.

I was shocked to learn that; “About 80,000 new chemicals have been introduced into the environment in the last 50 years.  Sadly, only about 200 of these have ever been assessed for their impact on human health.”   Bjorn Nicolaisen (co-founder of Norwex)

When first introduced to Norwex, I was intrigued and excited, but my husband was the skeptic.   Hearing that Norwex EnviroCloths could clean the surfaces in my home without the need for additional chemical cleaning products was foreign to me. On top of that, the claim that I could clean my home in a quarter of the time seemed too good to be true.  But, I loved a clean home and was more than willing to remove the chemical cleaning products from where I was raising my young family.

My first thoughts included, What’s the difference between Norwex EnviroCloths and the cloths sold at the dollar store?

What differentiates the two is how “micro” the fibers in the Norwex cloth are.  The cloths available at your local store generally have a fiber size of approximately 1/6 the size of a human hair while the EnviroCloth fibers are 1/200th the diameter of a human hair.  It is how “micro” the fibers are that determines the cleaning ability of your cloth.  If we were to completely unravel an EnviroCloth, the 2.9 million meters of microfiber would reach all the way from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada right down to the Gulf of Mexico!

As incredible as that is, there is still more cleaning ability contained within the cloth!  The Envirocloth has BacLock™ in the cloth – micro silver antibacterial agent – that goes to work to self-purify and inhibit odors from bacteria, mold and mildew growth within the cloth.  This self-purification process ensures the cloth is ready to use again within 24 hours.

The Norwex Microfiber has the ability to remove up to 99% of bacteria from a surface when following the proper care and use instructions.  The super-absorbent cloths pick up and trap everything that was on the surface until you rinse it out.

Our family was totally sold on the Norwex product collection when we learned the cloths were already being used to clean hospitals.  It was this simple; if these cloths cleaned to a level high enough to pass the stringent testing required to be used at the hospital, they certainly were good enough for our home!

Key Benefits:

  • Cuts cleaning time by up to 75% by using only water.
  • No need for harmful chemicals.
  • Saves money by using only water.
  • Eliminates the need for paper towels, creating less waste.
  • Used them dry for dusting, it creates static electricity that lifts the smallest particles of dust and dirt up into the cloth and prevents them from resettling on the surfaces.

Did You Know?

  • Norwex Microfiber products are created in state-of-the-art factories with optimal working conditions.  Check out my posts about China.
  • Most paper towels are bleached and then patterned with dyes.  Drying your hands with them can leave your skin rough and cracked.

Warranty:

  • Two Year Warranty
  • 60-Day Money Back Guarantee

As a leader, I was very selective in naming our Team.  My group of consultants are located throughout North America are called:  “The Solution Team.”  Norwex is the solution!  You’ll clean safely, quickly and thoroughly, using super-absorbent EnviroCloths.  You’ll save time, money and the environment by using only water to clean your home.  You will reduce landfill waste, prevent chemicals from getting into our waterways and protect your family’s health as you minimize dust, allergens and chemicals in your home!

****************************************

Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.

Share
HELP:  Sweat Stinks!

HELP: Sweat Stinks!

The smell of sweat is not attractive! Do stinky, smelly sports gear and clothing intrude on your senses?  What about smelly shoes that have been on sweaty feet all day?   Norwex has an amazing enzyme-based product, Sportzyme, which eliminates organic odor from shoes, high heels, work boots, equipment bags, shoulder pads, knee pads, skates, cleats, helmets, air casts and more.

The special bio-active formula in Sportzyme contains dormant, non-pathogenic, fast-acting microbes and enzymes that break down and eliminate the organic residues which cause odours.

When sprayed on a surface, these microbes feed off food sources such as sweat, urine and other organic matter present on sports or work equipment, clothes, footwear, or other gear.

These microbes release enzymes that break down the organic matter into smaller particles, which allows the microbes to digest the organics and convert them into water and carbon dioxide.

Key Features:

  • Destroy organic odours completely.
  • Based on natural enzymes.
  • Formulated with enzymes that target organic odours.
  • No animal testing.
  • Non-aerosol pump.
  • Container is recyclable, HDPE #2.

TO USE:

  1. Shake well before using.
  2. Spray over the entire surface where the odor is present.
  3. Apply heavily for the first application.
  4. Allow time to work.
  5. Reapply after 48 hours if needed.

Sportzyme is regularly used at our home! From hockey equipment, the girls’ basketball shoes, winter boots… everything gets a good spray to eliminate the odour!

I once did a presentation for a lady who jokingly told me that the Norwex Sportzyme saved her marriage.  Her husband had played hockey for years.  He had a routine after each practice or game which involved placing his hockey gear, including the gloves, on all the heat registers around the house.  YES, it REALLY STANK!!  The whole house was rancid.  She purchased a bottle of Sportzyme which her husband now uses faithfully after each game and, to their delight … his gear is odourless!

Do you have a stinky shoe closet?  Leave the Sportzyme bottle on the top shelf of your closet for easy access.  Give your footwear a quick spray and in the morning your closet will be scentless.

Many are skeptical about this product, until they try it.  At my parties, I state that I’d stick my head into my husband’s hockey bag… without hesitation!  There is NO odour!

Did You Know?

Enzymes are biological molecules (proteins) that act as catalysts, capable of speeding up chemical reactions, which help complex reactions occur everywhere in life.  They bind to the reactants in a chemical reaction and assist in the reaction without being changed at all themselves.

Science has been able to identify approximately 3,000 enzymes in the body, and each one of them carries out a very specific task. Most enzymes are used for the body’s normal metabolic processes (digestion, breathing).  Certain enzymes ensure that, in the case of injury, the blood coagulates and the wound heals, while other enzymes control the production of important hormones in the body. Enzymes also destroy environmental toxins and disease-causing free radicals and can kill intruding pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and fungi.

Resource: http://www.mucos.com/en/home/enzyme-therapy/how-do-enzymes-work/

****************************************

Delores VandenBoogaard is an Independent Norwex Sales Consultant from Edmonton, Alberta Canada with customers and consultants throughout Canada and the United States including; New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Prince Edward Island, North West Territories and Ontario. She also has customers and team members in; Michigan, Texas, California, Massachusetts, Florida, Arizona, Missouri, Colorado, North Carolina, South Carolina, Idaho, Washington, New Hampshire, Iowa and Maine.

Share
Share