Have you tried Koh (Ecoworx) or Enjo cleaning products?

We have a Sabco static mop (similiar to this one) purchased about 15 years ago…it was recommended by our floor sander/polyurethane coater. It is still going strong and only needs a wash every 6 or so months when it is dirty (it gets a good shake after every use). We use it 1-2 times per week on about 200m2 of timber, tiled and terrazzo floors. It is also about a quarter of the price of the enjo one and would be interesting to know if a enjo one would have the same longevity (or 4x longevity) to justify a premium price.

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Our Sabco static mop is also still going great after 20+ years, and we would wonder how any similar product could be that much better to justify a premium price?

Perhaps the difference is in consumer market knowledge with Sabco not promoting their product, leaving others to take up the gap with their premium pricing?

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I did recently think how they made money…products lasting so long, but, this does bring brand loyalty and free recommendations by users which swear by their mops.

I have used Koh products for a couple of years. One bottle, two cloths and use it on so much around the house without fear of chemicals. Love it for showers, tiles, kitchen sinks, glass splash back, jewelry, windows (not tinted!!!) and so, so much more. Great that you only need to spray and wipe over without wet wiping then using another cloth to dry. Very economical. I also have the mop which is so easy to use and dries on the floor really quickly. I shan’t be wasting money having 12 or more different cleaning products that cost a heap more. Highly recommended.

Been using Koh for about 2 years now, you use differently than other products. just a light spray is all that’s needed. mopping floors is just 2 squirts and when mop pad is dry squirt again. the grout brush is fantastic, specially designed for the width of grout. shower screens should be cleaned when dry and not wet. the spray bottles that you use are just atomisers designed just for a light spray. started buying 4 litre containers but now I use the 20lt for $99.00 which will last for 2 years, this is a big saving buying in bulk.
You have to purchase on line and you are given a discount code for a friend for $10.00 off which they can use and you also get $10.00 off when they purchase. totally recommend Koh.

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I’ve used Koh products for over a year, I’m impressed with its cleaning abilities and that one product does everything. My mum was even impressed and got her housecleaner to use it too.
The trick is not to use too much and use a dry or just damp cloth.
I put essential oils in mine (peppermint in the kitchen to deter cockies, clove to reduce mould in the bathroom and bergamot for a nice smelling clean floor).
I have purchased their mop and love how easy it is, their tile grout cleaner brush and of course their cleaning cloths.
I probably wouldn’t go and mix my own to save money, I’m happy to pay Koh for that luxury and getting the 20L drum is better value.

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KOH solution is 99.75% water and 0.25% potassium hydroxide (KOH). Customers are paying $29.95 for 4 litres of water and 2 teaspoons of KOH. The microfibre sponges and the scouring pad are doing the work. The “bundles” are always on special at 50% off.

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Then I am not sure what you mean by “chemical”. If you are using their universal cleaner its active ingredient is potassium hydroxide which is a strong base which is very caustic when concentrated. It is good that it works when dilute so the bottle is fairly safe but that doesn’t make it natural or green, it is still synthetic, industrial and a chemical.

Their blurb says “without any harsh toxic chemicals”. That is just wrong. The active ingredient is very harsh and very toxic at high concentration, it will rip your skin off and poison you if ingested.

If they want to be truthful they should say “with harsh toxic chemicals diluted to a safe level”. If their formulation didn’t have any it would be water.

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The KOH may have had a natural origin from wood ash, but you are right it was likely created industrially in bulk. If created from naturally produced wood ash it could probably be called ‘green’. At 0.5% it is still irritating to skin and above about 2% it is corrosive. Because it has potassium rather than sodium when disposed of it will likely be happily taken up by plants and not cause significant salinity problems that NaOH (sodium hydroxide) would.

Still a chemical and still an alkali base and toxic as you correctly stated.

Green seems a word so frequently splashed around to somehow evoke happy happy thoughts in the people who purchase the goods.

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Is it OK to assume most Choice members are aware of the Choice article on ‘essential’ oils and the risks associated with their safe use and storage.

It’s probably too late for the world to change the popular name for these products to something more correct. Volatile Chemical Plant Extracts or similar. These complex chemical compounds are part of the internal factory of a plant and often highly toxic irritants. The complexity and potential potency of plant based compounds is evident from the range of chemical compounds (drugs) derived from plants. Many are highly dangerous.

Labelling the aromatic, typically distilled extracts of plants as ‘essential’ appears to have little to do with how they relate to human needs. Although extracts such as those used to produce rose water probably served an essential purpose in the 17th 18th and other centuries when bathing and washing of clothing was less regular?

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Yes, unless the product says it is made from wood ash (which is a highly costly and inefficient way of making potassium hydroxide, it is made two ways industrially, This website gives a overview of its production methods:

https://www.worldofchemicals.com/552/chemistry-articles/how-to-make-caustic-potash.html

Potassium hydroxide is as much as a chemical as other cleaning chemicals used around the house. The only difference is in its final solution it may not contain perfumes or other agents to assist with cleaning.

If one uses things like oven cleaners, drain de-blockers, brew ones own beer and use cautic soda/ sodium metabisulfite powder, bleaches/sodium hypochlorite cleaning products etc, these products are likely to be equally or more dangerous to handle and use than the process of mixing a teaspoon of potassium hydroxide with a litre of water. Making it at home, one doesn’t need to be a chemist and providing some simple safety measures are adopted (which should apply to any cleaning product), it is significantly cheaper as outlined in a number of earlier posts…

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Didn’t think ingesting Koh was the way you use it!!!
So your article deals with ingesting essential oils. There is no ingesting going on if you add oils to your Koh, in fact Koh sell a selection of essential oils to add to their product.

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Essential oils can still result in health complications if inhaled in sufficient concentrations, or with contact with the skin/eyes. Inhalation can occur from breathing in the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) with using products containing essential oils or through the direct inhalation of spray particles. The WA Department of Health has indicated such in warning about using essential oils…

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Hi there, I’ve been using Enjo for the last 18 years (i actually still have the original floor fibres since way back then, are a different colour from wha tthey have now). Originally swtiched to them because of skin allergy issues and my mum had cancer, we were attempting to reduce chemical usage and there wasn’t any alternatives at the time. there are now cheaper alternative but i have to say the Enjo products have way outlasted them. I haven’t had to replace much over the years, only really the bathroom ones and the kitchen ones once because they are used a lot (and i have a number in rotation anyhow). We find they are great with the dishes, glass and surfaces. Tile grout if you leave it too long between cleans then it’s back to using something else but that’s our fault not the product due to the heavy build up.

Enjo does use recycled plastic to make their products but perhaps they could maybe have a better return recycle program once the product isn’t great to use anymore.

My mother in law and sister in law have used Koh and swear by it, but i’m yet to use it.

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I’m a domestic cleaner, and I used ecoworx/koh, for a while, I found it good on everything except shower glass, it was a bit streaky, it is a bit expensive but you get a 5 litre carton, so it last’s a few month’s, the only reason I stopped using it was, that it’s quicker to just use a wet microfibre cloth, and wipe it dry with a cloth. I wasn’t impressed with the diamond sponge, as it doesn’t last long.

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Hopefully that is understood. The linked article points out there are hazards arising from ingestion, breathing the vapours, and skin irritation of the products you noted are available as additives. As they are potentially harmful chemicals, the risks arise from how they are stored at home and how they are handled.

And like the chemical Potassium Hydroxide, once the chemical plant extracts (describes as essential oils) are significantly diluted in a solution, the hazard level is also reduced.

P.s.
Perhaps the ‘essential oil’ labelled products marketed by Koh are like their name sake cleaner also heavily diluted, reducing the hazard of handling the concentrated chemicals.

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Hi, I have been using Koh for about 2 years and have recommended to many, all of whom are converts. I also love the enjo window washer but I use Koh now.

Is Choice going to do a review on KOH? That would be very interesting.

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Stay tuned @ericab :+1:

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It might be useful to compare performance of the dilute potassium hydroxide solution marketed by Koh when used with their micro cloths, vs regular cloths and paper towel.

One common perception is that the cloths provide most of the benefit and may be equally effective when used with other diluted cleaning chemicals.

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