Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day is a Racine, Wisconsin-based maker of hand soaps, household cleaners, laundry detergent, and air fresheners. Their products are made with plant-derived ingredients, and essential oils which set them apart from regular soaps and cleaners that are chemically derived.
That might make you wonder – do Mrs. Meyer’s Clean products really work? Do they also kill germs and disinfect like regular cleaners? Let’s have a look.
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Who makes Mrs. Meyer’s?
Monica Nassif of Minneapolis created Mrs. Meyer’s in 1999 making cleaners and soaps with natural ingredients. The company is named after her mother, Thelma. A. Meyer. The company was later integrated into SC Johnson in 2008.
The following are the products that Mrs. Meyer’s makes:
- Household Cleaner (Multi-surface and Glass cleaner, Bathroom cleaner, Kitchen Cleaner)
- Dish Soap
- Hand Care (Hand Soap, Hand Lotion, Hand Sanitizer)
- Body Care (Body Lotion, Body Scrub, Body Wash, Bar Soap)
- Laundry (Laundry Detergent, Fabric Softener, Dryer Sheets, Scent Booster)
- Air Fresheners (Candles, Room Fresheners)
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day products come in about 32 different scents and some products are fragrance-free as well.
What’s so great about Mrs. Meyer’s?
Plant-based ingredients
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day uses plant-based ingredients and natural essential oils in their products. The natural essential oils in soaps, detergents, and cleaners work powerfully against the daily dirt and grime on non-porous surfaces.
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day uses scents like lavender, geranium, lemon verbena, apple cider, basil, and many more meadowy warm scents. They try to source their raw materials from nature and use renewable resources such as olives, coconuts, soy, or corn.
Safe around babies and pets
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day does not contain bleach, ammonia, parabens, chlorine, phosphates, and artificial colors. They are hence safe for use around babies and pets.
Mrs. Meyer’s has products specifically made for baby laundry by using ingredients that are safe for babies. Also, the products are antibacterial since they contain sodium methyl 2-sulfolaurate which blows up cells by breaking the cell walls, so it’s effective against bacteria, viruses, protozoans, and fungi.
Cruelty-free
Mrs. Meyer’s website notes that they do not do animal testing nor use any animal-derived ingredients in their products and are hence cruelty-free.
Mrs. Meyer’s products are pet-safe given they are made with pet-friendly plant-based ingredients and you can safely wash your pet’s dishes with their soaps.
Biodegradable
The soaps and detergents are also biodegradable and do not leave harmful after-use residues. Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day comes in recyclable bottles which are made with at least 25% post-consumer plastic and stamped with Leaping Bunny to show that they meet international cruelty-free standards.
Mrs. Meyer’s products source palm oil from the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), an organization that promotes sustainability throughout Asia, South America, Africa, and the Brazilian Rainforest. The company also supports sustainable practices in the same eco-friendly areas.
Why is Mrs. Meyer’s bad?
Although these products are made with plant-based ingredients, there are a few things to watch.
Their fragrance is made from over 3,000 potentially harmful hidden ingredients. Mrs. Meyer’s fragrance mixtures ingredients have some of such ingredients and there are reports of side effects such as respiratory distress, dermatitis, and allergies.
One of the hidden ingredients in Mrs. Meyer’s is an endocrine disruptor which is also a carcinogen.
There are others that are harmful to the reproductive system. Luckily, Mrs. Meyer’s have released their ingredients which they use in fragrance and now it makes it easy to point out the bad ones.
While Mrs. Meyer’s products now come with a label that warns about fragrance allergens, the jury is still out on carcinogens and other serious ailments.
Mrs. Meyer’s products contain Methylisothiazolinone (or, MI) which is euphemistically called a skin sensitizer. It can cause terrible skin reactions starting with mildly dry skin to eczema, blisters, welts, and peeling skin. It is a good idea to wear gloves when using Mrs. Meyer’s products (or any other cleaner for that matter).
It is proved that MI is a neurotoxin causing neuronal death by tests conducted on mammalian brain cells. MI is also deleterious to aquatic life, and the fact is that the detergent ultimately lands up in our water system through the drains.
Now, let’s finally answer whether Mrs. Meyer’s actually clean.
Does Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day actually clean?
The aromatherapeutic household cleaners were put to the test to check their efficiency to clean.
Yes, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day works just as advertised. While their Dish Soap doesn’t froth much, it easily cuts grease. When we soak utensils with dish soap and hot water for a few minutes, scrubbing is unnecessary.
You can easily remove burns, coffee stains, oil, and dried food on pans with just a drop of the solution with a little scrubbing.
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Countertop Spray works great on stovetops, granite, and formica countertops. It does not leave scratches and residue after use and controls the smell from cooking.
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Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day All-Purpose Cleaner is easy to use as a countertop spray. Simply dilute 4 tablespoons of the cleaner with 1 cup of water and it’s an easy refill of the Countertop spray.
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day All-Purpose Surface Cleaner is a great disinfectant and contains the surfactant, decyl glycoside, and lauryl glycoside (anionic soap) which are gentle and degradable. It also has an ionic soap, sodium methyl 2-sulfolaurate, which blows up cells by breaking through the cell membrane. So it works well against bacteria as well as viruses.
The cleaner has been effective in cleaning stubborn grease and grime from tough wood surfaces as well. Plus, it also works very well even when it is diluted.
The cleaner can be used on walls, floors, sinks, cabinets, shower walls, over interiors, stovetops, and aluminum burner rings, and for some of the stubborn dirt, surface scrub is used. They can get rid of persistent time toughened grime.
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Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day Laundry Detergent is a thick and concentrated soap. While we have not personally tested this product, a customer review notes that it lasts as many as 68 loads on a washing machine.
The reviewer goes on to say that you only need small amounts of the detergent to clean a full load. Mrs. Meyer’s recommends you apply a small amount of the detergent directly on the stain and leave it for a few minutes before washing off as usual. The detergent can revive a white shirt.
Reviews also tell us that Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day works better than most home remedies like baking soda, Borax, and vinegar. They do not leave the surfaces of countertops, walls, floors, sinks, and utensils looking dull and lifeless sans any residue.
You can use Mrs. Meyer’s in combination with other household cleaning agents like vinegar and rubbing alcohol. Mrs. Meyer’s does not recommend mixing their products with chemicals like bleach since the chemical interactions might be harmful.
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Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day is viewed in a positive light for its cleaning ability among its customers and applauded for its aromatherapy.
Is Mrs. Meyer’s worth it?
Yes, Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day is worth it depending on what you are looking for. They cost nearly 20-30% more than other detergent products, but then they last relatively much longer.
These products typically come in concentrated form and need to be diluted. Take adequate precautions like gloves, and you can minimize the shortcomings of Mrs. Meyer’s while enjoying the positives.
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