This post gives an honest, unbiased review for Norwex cleaning supplies from a naturally-minded mom. (Not a Norwex rep!)
I have spent at least eleventy billion hours cleaning my house thus far.
Okay, that’s a total lie. If that were true it would be a heck of a lot more sparkling clean around here. Half that number, then half it again, then – oh never mind.
Let’s just say that while I love a clean and sparkling house, the actual scrub-a-dub-dub doesn’t set my heart a-flutter. You feel me?
That’s why the cleaning tools that I use (when I use them, ahem) need to be top-notch. No messing around with sub-par stuff that takes longer and doesn’t work as well, thus requiring me to clean *more* often. Ain’t nobody got time for that amirite?!
Messy house whining aside, when it comes down to it – we all have to clean sooner or later. Some sooner, some later, but that’s beside the point. And you probably want to do it with as few toxic chemicals as possible. (Read more about the ingredients in conventional cleaning supplies here.)
Detoxing your cleaning supplies is one of the easiest baby steps to take toward a more natural, toxin-free lifestyle, and may I just say: Norwex is my ultimate favorite non-toxic cleaning product. I have happily used several Norwex products for nine years now, so writing this post was a total no-brainer.
Note: I’m not a Norwex rep, and have never been one. I’m just a satisfied customer and a naturally-minded mom who wants natural products that actually work. This was originally a review post that was sponsored by a Norwex rep friend, but she has since closed up shop, so I’ve added some amazon affiliate links for Norwex products below, as well as a few to a well-reviewed competitor so that you can check out both.
Why is Norwex Better?
After hours of research and many years of personal experience in using Norwex products – I believe Norwex is the best quality natural cleaning product on the market right now (with one possible competitor – see below).
Here are some key reasons I love my Norwex cleaning supplies with the fiery passion of a thousand lovers (or something along those lines…)
1. Norwex Products are Anti-Bacterial
The basic premise is that the incredible quality of the microfiber picks up even the tiniest particles and organisms when it’s wet, including germs, which are then rinsed down the drain when you rinse the cloth out. The cloth then disinfects itself naturally while it dries and awaits your next use.
There are two factors here that relate to the anti-bacterial claims.
A) Significantly Higher-Quality Microfibre
Average store-bought microfibre cloths are probably an average of around 1/16th the width of a human hair, whereas Norwex microfibre is 1/200th. This effectively means that Norwex cloths are far superior at grabbing up dirt and germs that you can’t even see – leaving the surface cleaner than the alternative.
B) Embedded Silver (aka “BacLock”)
Many Norwex products are also labeled “BacLock”, which means that they contain a silver-based agent embedded into the tiny microfibres of the cloth.
Silver is a naturally anti-bacterial agent. According to this study: “the antibacterial activity of silver has long been known and has found a variety of applications because its toxicity to human cells is considerably lower than to bacteria.”
Side note: I use colloidal silver on occasion for medicinal purposes, and have been very successful with it. I especially like the spray for sore throats. This study found that silver has antiviral properties.
The silver in the cloth is not meant to disinfect the surface (a common misconception) but rather it’s designed to inhibit bacterial growth, mold, and mildew in the cloth itself as it dries over a 24-hour period.
Note: It’s still recommended to launder it after especially heavy-duty uses, like raw meat juices on the counter, or cleaning the toilet, but for regular everyday use you can simply rinse it well and hang to dry. I love not having to throw my kitchen cloth in the wash every time I use it.
With regular cloths I only let them go about half a day before throwing them in the laundry. With my Norwex kitchen cloth, I wait more like 3-5 days.
2. Norwex Actually Cleans Better Than the Alternatives – Natural or Not!
This is perhaps the best part of all. Once I started using a norwex window cloth, I refused to use anything else on all of my stainless steel and glass. It’s absolutely incredible. I honestly wouldn’t have imagined the difference it would make, but it really, really does.
I clean my stainless steel faucet with a regular ol’ cloth + homemade cleaning spray… and it’s clean (with more scrubbing), but full of streaks and smudgy spots. The Norwex window cloth makes it as flawlessly shiny as when it was brand new. No kidding.
And since shiny things are my favorite, the window cloth is my BFF. It does the same for mirrors and other glass. It impresses the heck right outta me. Dare I say: it *almost* makes cleaning legitimately fun.
Check out this photo I posted on Instagram a while ago to show my glass shower, cleaned with my Norwex window cloth.
On the left = gross soap scum, and on the right = the CLOSED shower door that I had just cleaned with just my wet Norwex window cloth. Amazing, right?!
3. Norwex is Actually Cheaper in the Long Run
With Norwex, I would advise to prepare for sticker shock, but also – in my normally-very-frugal opinion, the Norwex cloths are actually worth the money because they last so long and are total workhorses in their efficiency.
You should also know that Norwex is no cheap dollar store microfiber. Cheaply made microfiber cannot compare – I’ve used them, and thrown it in the back of my closet never to see the light of day again. They’re a clearly superior product to anyone who tries them.
My enviro cloths and window cloth that I bought nine years ago (a 4-pack of the travel sized cloths in order to save money back then!) are still going strong, and I still favor them over all other cleaning supplies. I figure they’ve probably saved me a ton of time and money by now simply by being so much more efficient than other options, and lasting this long without wearing out. (I’ve since added a couple more cloths to my collection so that I can keep them in different spots in the house.)
Plus – think of all of the disposable cloths, towels, and sprays that people buy… I haven’t bought that stuff in years other than some toilet bowl cleaner!
4. Norwex Makes Cleaning Simple and Easy
Norwex products are completely free of harmful chemicals, yet you can use them with only water for maximum efficacy! In fact, soap can clog the fibers, so it’s recommended to stick with water.
Because they’re free of the toxic chemicals found in conventional (and some so-called “natural” or “organic”) cleaners (check out this article at the EWG for info on the lack of transparency in labeling on cleaning and personal care products), they are totally perfect for anyone that has allergies or chemical sensitivities. Or, you know, lungs.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t especially want to breathe in more toxic chemicals that what’s already around me in items I can’t avoid – like furniture, product packaging, and more. Also, in case you haven’t already – you can check out the safety rating on your favorite cleaning products at the Environmental Working Group’s database here.
I also LOVE that I can just wet it and go. No hauling out an assortment of cleaning scrubs and sprays – just wetting it provides enough ‘oomph’ to the cloth to clean almost any mess. (I do have one small jar of their cleaning paste that I use and love for tough jobs.)
And of course, the fact that I can clean pretty well my whole house with just a few cloths or scub mitts is pretty amazing. I love the simplicity of this system!
Which Norwex Products are Best?
In case I haven’t made myself clear yet: I honestly love Norwex.
- Enviro Cloth (I have several, and keep them in different rooms for quick usage!)
- Kitchen Cloth (I adore the thickness of this cloth, and the deep grooves that easily scrub away tough kitchen messes. I use it every day.)
- Dusting Mitt (absolutely perfect for my kids to use – they think it’s great fun, and it actually picks up dust amazingly well with ease.)
- Bathroom Scrub Mitt (cleaning the tub is so easy with this mitt. This thing has serious scrubbing power.
- Cleaning Paste (I use this stuff only when my regular Norwex cloths fail me… so, rarely. And it only takes a small bit. But it’s great to get the tough spots that you figure were a lost cause – like toddler art on your walls.)
Is Norwex an MLM?
Yes, Norwex’s business structure is that of a multi-level marketing company. This is not the same as a pyramid scheme – those are illegal. An MLM is a company like Tupperware or Pampered Chef (or hundreds of others) where the sales reps sell to you directly and get a commission (some MLM companies also allow you to buy directly from the website or amazon, but many do not), but they have the most earning potential by recruiting others under them to join as sales reps. Each rep tries to recruit more people, hence the “multi-level” marketing.
Lots of people have criticisms of the MLM model, and honestly – I agree with some of them. I think that the prices of most MLM products are inflated, and that’s usually because there are a lot of people needing to get paid in the pipeline. With non-MLM companies, you’re not paying a sales rep, so prices can be lower. MLMs will claim that their product is superior, but that’s not always true. Many MLMs offer an excellent product – like Norwex – but they’re not necessarily the only ones doing so. Which leads me to…
Are There Comparable Alternatives to Norwex?
Personally, I’m a huge fan of my Norwex products that I’ve been happily been using for years. I’ve raved about them to family and friends, and because they’re so well-made and durable, I haven’t had the opportunity/need to try any other brands (other than the dollar-store cloths, which were a mistake).
However – I did some research on alternatives to Norwex, and one brand was mentioned by numerous different sources as being comparable in quality, but lower in price, and it’s called eCloth.
I have not actually used any of their products, but based on their excellent reviews and comparable claims, I wanted to let you know about them. They’re a lower-priced option you might want to try if Norwex is out of your budget. If I ever try them myself (if my Norwex cloths ever wear out!) then I’ll be sure to come back here and update with my opinion.
Whatever you use to clean your home, consider investing in some good-quality tools to do it. You don’t need to spend extra time and frustration on cleaning. Clean less, enjoy life more!
Sources
1. Lansdown, Alan B G. “A pharmacological and toxicological profile of silver as an antimicrobial agent in medical devices.” Advances in pharmacological sciences vol. 2010 (2010): 910686. doi:10.1155/2010/910686
2. Chang, Te-Wen, Weinstein, Louis. “In Vitro Activity of Silver Sulfadiazine against Herpesvirus hominis.” The Journal of Infectious Diseases, vol. 132, Issue 1 (1975) doi.org/10.1093/infdis/132.1.79
Jenine Rassman
This was actually such a helpful post!! x
Connie Ehlers
Norwex products sold via Amazon are NOT sold by authorized Norwex Independent Sales Consultants! You should encourage those who read this article to go to Norwex.com to find an authorized Norwex Independent Sales Consultant.
Shawn Rutledge
It seems a bit ironic that the Norwex site tries to make some sort of point about microplastic pollution, when actually synthetic fibers are a big source of that pollution.
Of course there is a good point that plastic packaging, plastic bottles and so on are bad for the environment, and recycling is not perfect solution. Still, when plastic is recycled, I think that means (at least ideally, in the best cases) it’s taken to a place where it can be melted down and made into some sort of secondary product (like microfiber cloth in their case), hopefully without releasing pollution into the environment. Whereas every time you wash a microfiber cloth, or wash your synthetic-fiber clothes in the washing machine, little bits of microplastic break off and go down the drain with the water. And all water ends up in waterways, and in the ocean eventually. Your own drinking water is probably polluted with microplastic; you drink little bits of everyone’s clothing and microfiber cloths every day. If Norwex is making the fibers even smaller, then they are making this problem worse: smaller fibers sound to me like they will more readily break off with every movement, every scrubbing, every washing.
Until they know how to make microfiber from something biodegradeable, I prefer to stick with natural fibers like cotton and wool, for clothing and for cleaning too. Worn-out cotton clothes and bed sheets make wonderful rags for washing windows and such.
They probably have a point that the finer the microfiber, the cleaner you can get a surface when you wipe it. But still, why use PET for that? Someone has to be working on finding an alternative, I hope.
Beth
Interesting thoughts, Shawn. Thanks for sharing. Do you have any links on that idea that microplastics break off of synthetic fibers when you wash them? I’m curious to read more.