Bo Nightingale
– Saving the Planet one Potato Peeling at a Time
13 March 2022
Social Media is a powerful Market Place and in 2021 the Smol brand makers successfully stood out on my Facebook feed. Though it was not until Claudia gave me a box of Smol dishwasher tablets and a box of washing capsules, both delivered to her letterbox, did I actually try the Smol alternatives.
£10.00 seemed a reasonable price to pay for a starter kit and so in January 2022 I signed up to Smol.
For a housework averse human , opening the box was actually quite a thrill!
Neatly packaged were three recycled plastic bottles, bands and a sample of their Multipurpose, Bathroom and Glass cleaning tablets.
You will find that there is a high level of colour co-ordination on the horizon ……. and I love it!
You are already reading this article so by the end you will know what to do when your starter kit box arrives – and enjoy the benefit of my experience.
Instantly it is crystal clear that bands fit into the groove at the top of the bottle.
BUT WAIT! Subtleties abound in this product. Look closely at each band and you will see that they have a great strap line “Smol things make a big difference” contemporarily embossed into the band. STOP, take time to look and you will see that each colour co-ordinated band also has the product type; Multipurpose, Bathroom and Glass embossed. This is worth noting because it is a lot easier to put the band on neatly the first time if, like me, you like things to be neat, tidy and well aligned.
Clever packaging
Child proofing potentially toxic items has been cleverly managed using carefully designed packaging made of recycled and recyclable packaging. To be frank, it took a while before I could get into the standard pack of 30 dishwasher tablets. The smaller, sample pack was easier to access for adult hands. However, there is no real safe solution other than to put any toxic items out of sight and out of reach of children.
Next to the innovative part of the product, the solid tablet refills. Packaged in biodegradable individual sachets are measured tablets of cleaning ingredients.
Fooled, do not be. All Smol products are manufactured with no animal testing. However, these are chemicals made for sparkling up your home. Treat with caustic care!
So, pop the green colour co-ordinated bathroom tablet into the bottle with the green band BUT WAIT! I didn’t and in my joyful haste filled the bottle up to the neck with tap water. The instructions clearly state to fill it to below the band and there is a good reason for this. The tablets effervesce in the liquid and bubbles quickly form a foam as the product dissolves. If you fill the bottle to the top the foam will overspill. ONLY top up the bottle to the neck once the tablet has fully dissipated.
If you love colour co-ordination, your joy will reach a new zenith when you discover that the purple glass cleaner, green bathroom cleaner and orange multi-purpose cleaner tablets each contain a subtle dye so the liquid matches the product type band.
Test Driving Smol
Environmentally friendly products will only save the planet if they work, so do the Smol offerings clean up?
There are some humans who clean their bathrooms every day. Like many busy Mums, I really do not have time to do that. So the Smol bathroom cleaner faced a tough challenge to get this sink sparkly clean!
As is my usual practice I sprayed the entire sink, plug, taps and overflow with a liberal amount of cleaning spray, in this case Green Smol. BUT WAIT! No choking and acrid smell of petrochemical nasties. Is it possible to clean a bathroom without reaching for a blue inhaler?
Yes is the answer. I sprayed, left the room for 10 or so minutes, returned and with a soft cloth the sink etc scrubbed up beautifully.
So, what are the key innovative P(ositive) reasons to change:-
- Plastic (recycled) bottle to use again, and again, and again………
- Practically odour free tablets.
- Packaging which is fully compostable – even the individual tablet wrappers
- Postal delivery to your door – no more lugging heavy cleaning stuff from the supermarket.
- Plain domestic tap water is added to product at home. This saves national transportation costs and associated air pollution from HGV’s.
- Product line growing as humans embrace the concept that we can clean up differently.
- Pound Power – making a change is an economic vote in favour of sustainability
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Now the only problem is what do I do with the 5 Kilos of Bicarbonate of Soda and a Gallon of White Vinegar I purchased to make my own home made cleaning products?
Bo Nightingale
Saving the Planet, One Potato Peeling at a Time.
Claudia Bow 