There are now ways to "de-plasticize" nearly every aspect of your life, including the laborious chore of cleaning your home.
New startup Blueland gives you both a cleaner home and less mess for landfills. Its clever and cost-efficient system involves dissolvable cleaning tablets, reusable bottles, and your sink.
During an appearance on "Shark Tank," its creators convinced investors that their non-toxic tablets and sustainable packaging would change the way people clean. After trying it ourselves, we're converts, too.
How Blueland works
Blueland's starter kit is called The Clean Essentials and costs $39. Blueland provides three sturdy bottles made from acrylic, and all labeled for different uses: multi-surface, glass and mirror, and bathroom. It also includes a soap dispenser constructed with the same acrylic material.
Then you have three cleaning tablets, one for each purpose. The tablets make 20 ounces of solution each while the soap tablet makes 9 ounces of solution.
To make the cleaning solution, you fill the bottle with warm water, then drop the corresponding tablet in the bottle. Within seconds, it's ready to use; no shaking or stirring necessary.
Review of Blueland
You can visit The Clean Essentials product page for a detailed ingredient list for each cleaner. All the products are free from volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which are harmful to children and pregnant or nursing people. They also don't contain anything on the Environmental Working Group's restricted list.
They're also free from traditional disinfecting ingredients such as chlorine bleach. All the ingredients are natural or naturally derived, so the cleaners are hypoallergenic, and they're pet-safe and cruelty-free. However, that does mean that they won't disinfect surfaces by getting rid of viruses and bacteria.
Shoppers are demanding natural alternatives to many products, and cofounder Sarah Paiji Yoo had her own similar experience. As a new mother, she worried about microplastics in the water supply and air pollutants like VOCs. Blueland is the carefully formulated result of such concerns.
I tested the cleaners in my own home and found them to be effective and easy to use. Each one is scented, except for the glass and mirror cleaner. The fragrances aren't the overpowering or harsh scents I've come to expect from household cleaners.
My bathroom, in particular, is prone to dust and grime buildup. But the Blueland Bathroom Cleaner ($16) quickly and effectively removed what I thought were stubborn stains in my tub and sink. Meanwhile, the Hand Soap ($16) foamed up well and made my hands feel soft with each wash. The Glass and Mirror Cleaner ($16) is probably the weakest of the four products — it left my mirror slightly streaky.
If you prefer to try a single product first before committing to the whole set, you can get a Starter Set. It contains one tablet and one bottle for your chosen cleaner (bathroom, soap, or glass and mirror).
The most obvious way Blueland is more environmentally friendly is the design of its cleaning products. Instead of throwing out a plastic bottle every time it's empty, you refill your Blueland bottles over and over again. This system also takes advantage of the water you're already using in your home. In addition, every part of its packaging is recyclable, and the tablet wrappers are compostable and biodegradable.
Ultimately, cleaning with Blueland saves more than the planet, making it a superior product all around. The tablet refills take up a fraction of the space in your cabinets of traditional cleaning products, and they're more affordable. Each refill costs only $2, while traditional competitors cost $3 to $5 for the same amount of cleaner.
The bottom line
Blueland's cleaning products are innovative, sustainable, effective, and affordable. You may still want a disinfectant to clean some areas of your home, especially during a pandemic. Still, all these benefits make us question why all household cleaners — and many other types of consumer products — aren't made this way.