So, for those who are interested here’s the notes from my nerdy research:
1. Can I get them cheaper or find a similar product somewhere else?
My conclusion is NO.
I tried a few of the cheaper micro fiber cloths and they just simply don’t do the same job. They also are not guaranteed to last as long. Norwex has a two-year guarantee on their products but when I researched out the comments pretty much everybody said they last at least 5 years and some people set up to 10 years as long as you properly care for them. That is an important fact. So there’s a few rules to their care that have to be followed. They’re not too complicated but they do have to be followed.
There are cloths out there that are not authorized by the company, so you don’t know how the people selling them online got them or where they got them from or whether or not they’re legit and even the same cloths.
Can I get them cheaper than what is on the website? My answer for myself came up, “No, not with out being concerned I was purchasing from a less than honest party which I won’t do. And I had no guarantee that the product was actually what it said it was so I’m going to purchase from the company. The company does not sell to Walmart or anything like that like some MLM companies do. They support their consultants who sell for them by only selling through Consultants. Part of the reason is because the products do take a little bit of explaining and demonstrations. You can watch videos but you have to use the products the way they tell you to use them or they’re not as effective and you’re not really saving the time and money.
2. Are they bad for the environment?
The second huge consideration as we are entering the world of microplastics was, what is the loss going down the drain and entering the oceans?
This is a complicated one and each individual has to make their own judgment here.
Our society has learned the danger of plastics to the environment. We are working to reduce plastic, perhaps eventually completely get rid of our plastic use.
But we still live in a world where a lot of times we need to use plastic for various things. I have been able to switch from plastic tubs to glass, but they still use plastic lids.
So as we are working toward the mistakes we’ve made with the environment everybody has to work on their own conscious.
I am not the perfect recycler. I am striving to grow there.
There’s a balance in earth care while caring for humans, but these cloths in testing only lost 0.026 ounces (approx. 737 mg) in *200* washings.
Compare this to washing a load of polyester clothes.
“Washing polyester releases anywhere from 10 mg to over 1,200 mg of microfibers per kilogram of clothing per wash, translating to roughly 700,000 microplastic fibers released into the water supply per cycle. Heavily brushed or fuzzy items, such as polyester fleeces, release up to six times more than tightly woven fabrics.” National Institute of Health
One envirocloth is 0.059 kg so roughly 17 cloths to one kg.
Do the math, 17 envirocloths lose 0.442 mg of microfiber per 1 kg per 200 washings. (You won’t have that many! At the very most you might want 3 cloths, but one will suffice for most homes imo. I use will 4 per employee for my cleaning business.)
Compared to 10 mg minimum for 1 kg polyester clothes per washing x 200 is 2000 mg lost minimum.
At the max of 1200 mg lost per load times 200 is 240,000 mg microfiber lost in 1 kg of polyester clothes washed 200.
So Norwex loses approx 0.442 mg fiber per 1 kg per 200 washes.
Polyester clothing at MININUM is 2000 mg lost or 240,000 mg lost Maxium.
So my conclusion is the Norwex microfiber cloths are much more environmentally conscious in microfiber loss than our typical polyester clothing.
To top that off,
Each Enviro cloth is made up of between 50 and 91% recycled plastic for an average of 70% recycled plastic use.
So Norwex definitely is striving to be environmentally conscious regarding plastic in my opinion, as well as striving to remove harmful chemicals from our homes.
Now the one question I wasn’t sure and that I don’t think there was any way to answer easily was what do they constitute a washing? Every time you use the Norwex cloth you just rinse them out thoroughly and hang them to dry. I don’t think that constitutes a washing like in a washing machine. So typically you are only going to need to wash them usually every 2 to 4 weeks.
You might want to do it more often but in my small apartment with a family of three for the most part I’ve been throwing them in about every 2 to 3 weeks I just go through and wash them all. If I get something sticky or something that’s just not coming out easily on one of them.
I have a separate Norwex basket because you need to keep them separate from your other clothes and wash them separately, so I have a separate Norwex basket that I just toss them in and then again about every 2 to 3 weeks, I just wash all of them and then put them back out again.
But you certainly don’t need to wash them all the time and I doubt you need to wash them every week.
For an individual family, you don’t have to wash them very often, probably every 4 to 8 weeks. You just rinse them out thoroughly each time you use them and then hang them up to dry.
I use them for my business and so I do wash them more frequently.
3. Will they last or will I have to replace them every three months or even every year? (If that were the case the financial end would not be worth it to me.)
The research that I did online, number one, Norwex guarantees their things for 2 years.
Now here there is a condition, not for their guarantee, but for them to last more than 2 years you have to wash them according to the directions. Very simply get a small laundry basket and Mark it Norwex cloths, and wash your Norwex cloths separately even if it’s a small load. But they don’t have to be washed very often, usually I would assume every 3 to 4 weeks.
When I did the math with the paper towels, one year would be break even on the cost for me just with paper towels not counting the Windex and other supplies so if they last more than one year I’ve gotten my money’s worth.
Now that was for me with the amount of paper towels we go through.
Each individual would have to do their own reconciliation on how much paper towels or other supplies such as rags or the Swedish dishcloths they use.
These cloths do not take the place of sponges that you used to wash your dishes. You can purchase the Norwex sponge, if you’re interested in that product.
We go through one to two paper towel rolls a week and I was amazed at how much that came up to per year. I don’t typically use Costco right now so I’m usually paying grocery store prices.
But this was the thing that amazed me regarding cost analysis: almost everybody said that they last for at least 5 years and quite a few people said they had theirs that lasted for 10 years. I didn’t research as carefully the counter cloths but I would assume they would be similar.
So I am definitely saving not just a little bit of money but hundreds of dollars if my cloths will last for 5 years as long as I don’t misplace the money that I’m saving.
Now hear me carefully: every store, every MLM has things that you are saving money on, but if you’re not careful, you’ll get caught up in purchasing things that you don’t need at that location that are not saving money and then it could end up being a loss.
So for example if you go to the Dollar Tree, it might look like you’re saving money but depending on what you’re buying and if you get carried away and overspend, then you’re not. If I’m paying $1 for a roll of toilet paper that doesn’t have that many sheets I’m actually losing money.
With Norwex, 🙃 as with any shopping, the Temptation is to get caught up and buy all the cute little things that I don’t need – which if you have the resources and the money to do that, that’s fine, you can do that, but we are on a pretty tight budget and so if I’m not careful this will become a loss and not save money.
So I only buy what I actually need not just what looks cute but isn’t actually saving me time or money.
I’m not saying the other products aren’t good, I just don’t need a new bathroom hand towel right now or new skin care. That’s not something I personally need, I’m content with the bath hand towel and skin care products that I have.
So if you’re on a tight budget, just be aware, just get the things that you actually need that are actually going to save you time and money.
Some of the items are for the benefit of removing chemicals from the home and I think those are rational goals but on my tight income I’m not going to transition to that all at once, because the cost is higher than the cheaper products I buy and I simply can’t afford it now, even if I do think it’s a good idea.
Just like for a number of years we could not afford to pay for recycling which was not free in our area. I believe in it but I couldn’t afford it and I didn’t have the time or energy to recycle but eventually we grew into that and now I am Recycling and growing in that area.
But these cloths to me are a win hands down. I spent $100 and as long as I take care of the cloths properly and wash them according to the directions, I will gain through the save hundreds of dollars over 5 or more years. And I don’t even need a lottery ticket!😝
These have been a money saver and the hugest Time Saver for me. It’s basically a “wax on wax off.” That is for cleaning the windows.
I absolutely love the countercloth kit. I just started using them 2 months ago and I have already saved probably four or five rolls of paper towels if not more cuz we went through anywhere from one to two rolls a week. Yes our family is messy.
Now I personally won’t use them on meat blood or something gross I’ll still use a sanitizing wipe on that. But pretty much anything else even like when I’m cleaning grease off the stove all you need is water it’s crazy it really works.
Sometimes it takes a little bit of elbow grease – which is not included😝 but they also have a cleaning paste that I have tried that I think works pretty well. I haven’t personally made a decision whether I think it’s worth the money for me personally because I’m not somebody that’s going to spend hours scrubbing the countertops with comet, but it is chemical free from the strong chemicals like bleach or ammonia and that is a plus to me so I do like that product and I went ahead and tried that and there’s just a few products that I use that I think are benefit to my home as well as to my cleaning business. I really like the cleaning paste for the cleaning business that’s where I use it the most.
