Reduce & Reuse In Your Cleaning Routine with Skoy Cloths

Disclosure: I got this product as part of an advertorial.

Thanks to Skoy I received complimentary product for the purposes of review.

If you watch the news, read the newspaper, or have any access to the world outside your front door you are well aware that humans are having a measurable and unfortunately negative impact on our environment.  Sometimes I believe we take for granted that the things we do – good or bad – have an impact on the entire world.  I’m not trying to be overly dramatic; it’s just a matter of numbers.  If only one person never gave any thought to their carbon footprint – the chemicals they use, the fossil fuels they burn, the CFCs they put into the environment – then we wouldn’t have much to worry about.  The issue is there are 7 billion (7,198,464,541 to be more exact as of today) people on this planet, almost 317 Million of which live in the United States – and all of them are polluting simultaneously.  Even though our population is only 4.4% of  the total world population the US accounts for 30% of the world’s waste and uses 25% of it’s natural resources.  Brings whole new meaning to the word “consumer”.

After the World Wars of the 20th century the US went through a mega growth in industry and innovation.  At the time it seemed there was no stopping the economic and manufacturing powerhouse which was the United States of America.  We realized though that for all the innovation and convenience that came with it there is a cost involved.  Maybe not out of pocket right away BUT since everything on this Earth is connected what costs one creature, plant, or ecosystem will eventually trickle down and cost all of us in one way or another.  So individuals and companies started thinking of ways to reign in our massive consumption but still use the innovations we’ve developed.

One such company is Skoy Enterprises LLC.  Skoy is a woman owned company in Encinitas, CA.   Owners Michelle & Karen sought to find a cloth that better met the needs of kitchen cleaning without the ineffectiveness of a sponge and the excessive waste of paper towels.  After much research they developed the Skoy Cloth.

The Skoy Cloth is made of cotton and cellulose fibers which makes it durable and reusable.  It can be used to clean counters, assist in food preparation, wash dishes or any other messy task in the kitchen, dining room or really any where else you need some cleaning power.  Skoy Cloth is said to absorb 15X it’s own weight and using one in your home replaces 15 rolls of paper towels.

My worry when starting to use these for cleaning in the house was the bacteria and mildew factor.  You probably know as well as I do that wet wash cloths and sponges are breeding grounds for these microorganisms that become disgustingly stinky.  After my first use of the Skoy cloth I realized that even though it must be used wet it dries quickly.  The quicker something dries the less time there is for bacteria or mildew to take hold.  Cleaning the cloth is made easy as well with being able to nuke it in the microwave for 1 – 2 minutes, placing it in the dishwasher or even just washing it in the washing machine and drying the the dryer (safe up to 190 degrees F).  My preferred method of drying was hanging over the faucet or the side of the sink.  In the dryer they tended to get all scrunched up.  I did discover that Skoy also produces a magnetic steel bar that can attach to the side of any metal sink to hang the cloth to dry.

I used the Skoy Cloths to clean my counters, the fronts of cabinets, the stove, the table, the inside of my sink, the back splashes, my appliances and even to wash my dishes.  I liked the way the wet cloth felt in my hand – it was substantial and I didn’t feel like I would tear it when I used it to scrub.  On one side there were ridges and on the other a diamond pattern.  The ridged side did an awesome job of picking up spills, grime and dust.  The diamond patterned side was good for scrubbing.  The cloth would get washed, by hand, and wrung out and hung to dry after use.  They dried quickly and were never stinky.

My favorite fact about the Skoy Cloth, other than the cost savings, is that it is compostable.  If you check the Skoy website you’ll find this – “The Skoy Cloth is a chlorine-free, unbleached, and non-GMO product using water-based colors and inks. After an independent composting test, Skoy Cloth broke down completely within 5 weeks.”  So, when you’ve used it to exhaustion just throw it in the compost heap! How cool is that!

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<A HREF=”http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?rt=ss_ssw&ServiceVersion=20070822&MarketPlace=US&ID=V20070822%2FUS%2Fearthformed-20%2F8003%2Fba1f41a2-c109-4fa9-9618-65d5e850f4a0&Operation=NoScript”>Amazon.com Widgets</A>So for those of you who make an effort to reduce your consumption and reuse what you have as much as possible you should definitely check out Skoy Cloth.  You can find it on Amazon  along with the Skoy Rail and the Skoy Scrub.

Sources:

http://www.geohive.com/earth/population_now.aspx

http://www.census.gov/popclock/

http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-pollution

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.