(By Angela)
Yet, do you know that common household cleaning products can contain unsafe ingredients that can cause problems in your health? Look out for these ingredients: 2-Butoxphenol, which can cause skin and eye irritations, phthalates (Synthetic fragrances) and synthetic colourant dyes which may cause cancer and other adverse health effects.
Household Cleaning Products Survey 2015 show that 70% of Singaporeans fail to look into green alternatives for household cleaning products.
As a tutor with a home-based business, I tend to cook a lot at home and do household chores myself.
Coming from a family of four, I do most of the dishwashing while my mum washes the clothes mostly.
I came across Biohome, a product range for green household cleaning purposes when I was shopping at Fairprice. These products are made from 100% plant based active ingredients and are therefore vegan by default. I tried the following three products-Dishwashing Detergent, Laundry Detergent and Floor Cleaner.
Dishwashing Detergent
I find that general dishwashing detergent happens to irritate my skin, and leave my hands greasy.
Random fact: Do you know that a hawker works from 5.20am to 11.00pm every day, serving 100 to 120 plates a day. And most hawkers wash the dishes by themselves. I observed that many of them have wrinkly hands and dry skin that get sensitive and red easily. I am actually afraid that I might develop hand wrinkles in the long run, with so much chemicals added to my hands every day.
The detergent is made of derived ingredients from coconut. I like that it removes grease from plates well without leaving any residue or grease. I just need a pump of detergent to clean a load of dishes. It also helps to save water due to its low foam formula. My hands feel soft and smooth,with a slight lemongrass and green tea fragrance, but the fragrance smells slightly chemical.
Laundry Detergent
Due to the rainy season, we sometimes take in clothes that are not completely dry because another round of laundry needs to be hung in the same spot. The clothes tend to smell bad and it is because fillers interact with the bacteria and moisture and cause bad odors.
But my mum found that there was no bad smell after leaving clothes in the open. Perhaps it is because this laundry detergent contains no fillers.
The laundry detergent cleans the clothes well using Plantmoist technology and comes with slight Hyacinth and Nectarine fragrance. The detergent is suitable for indoor drying as well.
The laundry detergent is very concentrated, so my mum just needs to use a little bit each time. My mum found lots of laundry suds with just a little bit of detergent and water.
Floor cleaner
The floor cleaner is also made from natural ingredients. It cleans the greasy floor of my kitchen well.
The floor also doesn’t feel sticky. It does not contain any wax though so don’t expect that your floor will look sparkly shiny. There is a slight lemongrass and green tea fragrance that still reminds me of chemicals. I love to lie on the clean, nice smelling floor and read books!
Summary – Angela’s thoughts:
I am overall satisfied with the green household cleaning products. Though they just contain natural ingredients, their cleaning power is still comparable to conventional cleaning products. The price is also quite affordable. The packaging also looks great. If you want a free trial of Biohome products, just head over to its Facebook page and send through your personal details.
SGVegan’s thoughts:
You can commonly find Bio-Home products in the major supermarkets in Singapore, such as the image below which I took in NTUC:
Do note that for the Delicate Bio-Home laundry detergent, it contains hydrolysed silk protein, which Bio-Home is only able to verify that the silk worms emerge hatched from the weaved silk cocoons (they eat their way out) but not of the hatched adult moth’s well-bring.
SGVegan has chosen not to review/use the delicate version as we know that usually such silk worms emerge with underdeveloped mouth parts and unable to fly (source).
Here is what Bio-Home has replied with regards to the use of this hydrolysed silk protein in their delicate laundry detergent:
With regards to the process of drawing the silk protein, supplier has indicated that it is taken after the silkworm have morph into moth because they only need to extract the protein found in the silk by hydrolysing it unlike fabric manufacturer who needs pure and undamaged silk before silkworm turn into moth.
Therefore we do not harm the silkworm – clearly being a eco green brand, we have taken steps to ensure that does not happen. There are no other plant based compounds that has similar silk protein structure.
Why we use silk protein because it is a natural ingredient that is suitable for people with sensitive skin. With more exposure to chemicals on a daily basis (be it processed food, cleaning agent or simply the haze / air) more and more people are getting skin irritation and skin sensitivity.
Silk protein protects and retain moisture on the skin.
I personally find that when I use the regular laundry detergent, I need to use more and sun dry my clothes. Air drying in an enclosed area will lead to some clothes smelling bad. But otherwise, I really like the scent.
Like Angela mentioned, the floor cleaner also foams up really well. Just a tiny small amount in a large pail does the job when mopping.
With regards to the multi-purpose cleaning spray, I personally find that if I happen to take a whiff of the spray scent while spraying, I end up choking as the smell is really strong. So do be careful when using it.
Giveaway!
I have 2 sample bags from Bio-Home, each containing a small bottle of laundry detergent, floor cleaner, dishwashing liquid and multi-purpose cleaner.
Follow SGVegan with your email address (top right of page) and comment on this post as to why you would like to win the Bio-Home sample bag.
Winners to be drawn on 24 January 2016, 2pm. All winners will be contacted and a meet-up will be arranged. 🙂
SGVegan is Everyday Vegan 