Product Review: Bon Ami Liquid Cleanser and Dish Soap

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This is a sponsored post; I was sent these products to test and review on this blog. I was really excited when Bon Amicontacted me to review Bon Ami dish soap and Bon Ami liquid cleanser. Bon Amicalls this their canning special since canning can make a huge mess in your kitchen.The Bon Ami products came at a perfect time for me because I was in the middleof canning 100 lbs of tomatoes. This year I have been teaching Little BBQ how tocan, so he has been helping me ladle hot tomato sauce into jars and spilling afew (or a lot) of drops here and there all over the stove. My stove has neverlooked as messy as it has after canning tomato sauce with Little BBQ.

The messy stove before

This mess was the perfect mess to test out Bon Ami’s liquid cleanser that contains limestone, feldspar, alkyl polyglucoside, xanthan gum,methyl isothiazolinone and methyl chloroisothiazolinone. The first two ingredients are rocksnaturally found in the earth in large quantities. They make the liquid cleansergritty which helps to pull up small chunks of food via a mechanical actionwithout scratching most surfaces. Alkyl polyglucoside is derived from corn andcoconut oils making this a renewable cleaning agent. Xanthan gum is popular in vegancooking and is generally used a thickening agent.  Methyl isothiazolinone and methylchloroisothiazolinone are preservatives to prevent the growth of molds, yeasts,and microbes while in storage. Both preservatives are in concentrations of lessthan 100 parts per million. There is a small health concern with methyl isothiazolinone and methyl chloroisothiazolinone because they cause inflammation of the skin. In 1989 two researchers AntonCDe Groot and Andrew Herxheimer called for a ban on methyl isothiazolinone andmethyl chloroisothiazolinone as preservatives due to problems associated withskin inflammation (1). Additionally, German researchers in 1998 found that thatsensitization rate or the rate at which exposure to an allergen causeshypersensitivity (in this case skin inflammation) for methyl isothiazolinoneand methyl chloroisothiazolinone was about 2% (2). Due the small amount of preservativesused in the liquid cleanser this should not a concern for most people, but ifyou have sensitive skin use gloves when working with this product.

The stove after using Bon Ami Liquid Cleanser

As for performance, the Bon Ami liquid cleanser performed well against mymessy stove. The mixture is a bit gritty. The grittiness helped to pull up someof the small chunks of food left on my stove without scratching the surface. Iused a clean damp wash cloth and a few drops of liquid cleanser to clean myentire filthy stove without a lot of elbow grease. The liquid cleanser workedquickly; I was able to clean my entire store in about 3 minutes. Due to thegrittiness of the cleanser, I would not use this product on a glass stove topwithout testing it on a small nonvisible section first.
The liquid cleanser is made from alkyl polyglucoside andpotassium alkanoate, Epson salt, citric acid, sodium metasilicate pentahydrate,methyl isothiazolinone, and methyl chloroisothiazolinone. The alkylpolyglucoside is the same as used in the liquid cleanser. The potatssiumalkanoate is made from renewable corn and coconut. When doing a material safetydata sheet search for potassium alkanoate I found out that this chemical shouldbe stored away from strong oxidizing agents, so keep this away from productslike OxyClean®(3). This dish soap contains Epson salt because it gentle onthe skin. Citric acid helps to remove hard water stains by binding with metals therebysoftening the water. Sodium metasillicate pentahydrate is a pH adjuster thatshifts the pH of the dish soap to a slightly basic nature to easily removegrease. The last two ingredients, methyl isothiazolinone, and methylchloroisothiazolinone, are the same two preservatives that I discussed above.Again if you have sensitive skin, then use gloves when using this product.However, when diluted in water most people will not have any trouble using thisproduct.

The dirty glass before

This dish soap performed really well in my kitchen. I washeda canning jar that was coated with hard water stains. I forgot to add a smallamount of vinegar to my hot water bath when I canned with this jar leaving itcloudy all over. I really liked that the Bon Ami easily removed the hard waterstains on my jar leaving the glass shiny and new looking again. The tangerine thyme scent was spectacular. The dish soap really smelled like tangerine and thyme and not like a synthetic chemical because the dish soap and liquid cleanser used essential oils.

The glass after using Bon Ami Dish Soap

This product review took a lot longer than originally anticipated because the first box of dish soaped leaked while in transport. However, Marta from Bon Ami was fantastic about quickly resolving the issue. After changing the way the dish soap was packaged for transport and changing shipping companies my dish soap came to me in perfect condition the second time around. I really appreciated the wonderful customer service that Bon Ami has provided. Marta has always been quick to answer any questions that I have about any of the products. Working with this company has been a real pleasure.
I would recommend both cleaning products to someone lookingfor a cleaning product that focuses on renewable resources and natural products.Both products smell great, work quickly, and effectively. My only area of concern is forpeople with highly sensitive skin. I recommend that these people use gloveswhen working with these products. Lastly, the customer service that Bon Ami provides is fantastic.
References
1 Groot, AD, Herxheimer, A. “Isothiazolinone Preservative:Cause of a Continuing Epidemic of Cosmetic Dermatitis,” The Lancet, 333(8633)314-316. 1989.
2 Schnuch, A, Geier, J, Uter, W, Frosch, PJ. “Patch Testingwith Preservatives, Antimicrobials and Industrial Biocides. Results from aMulticenter Study,” British Journal of Dermatology, 138(3) 467-76. 1998.
3 Stafford, J. Material Safety Data Sheet. 7/24/2006