To\nbe honest, Glass surfaces are frequently overlooked in my house because they\nget dirty again in a matter of minutes. I was excited to have an excuse to\nclean some windows and mirrors!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But\nbefore we dive into our review, let\u2019s take a look at how this great company\nbegan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Who is Better Life?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Better Life started when friends Tim Barklage and Kevin Tibbs\nbecame parents and realized the cleaning products they used on their children\u2019s\ntoys were actually not that clean. Tibbs, a chemist, realized even the trendy\neco-friendly and claimed safe-ingredient brands like Method and Biokleen<\/a> were hiding what they call toxins. So the friends set out\nto begin a company that provided purely-safe cleaning products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After securing a successful deal on the TV show Shark Tank<\/em>, Better Life has been steadily climbing the ranks in the natural cleaning market, and for good reason. Their innovative products are plant-derived, eco-friendly, and actually work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve used Better Life products in the past and have loved them<\/a>, so I was excited to try this product!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\n32-ounce bottle is relatively plain and unassuming, but a few witty phrases\nlike \u201cNaturally Smudge-Smacking\u201d and \u201cI can see clearly, wow!\u201d jazz up the\nsimple label.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The glass cleaner is scent-free<\/a>, which is always a checked box\nfor me. Although I\u2019m not generally sensitive to scents, it\u2019s always easier to\nnot worry about scented ingredients. I was also pleasantly surprised to see\nonly four ingredients on the label, which left extra room to promote Better\nLife\u2019s non-toxic cleaning vision. More on that later!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s\nget cleaning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nlabel says to spray and wipe clean almost any glass surface including\nplexiglass, tinted windows, and auto glass. Chrome, acrylic, and mirrors are\nother recommended surfaces. I was happy to see so many options; versatility is\nalways a win in my book!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\ntried the cleaner on my bay window first. My children like to smudge fingers\nand noses on the window panes as they coo at the cars and dogs on the street\nbelow. Lots and lots of handprints were present, but unfortunately, my camera\nonly wanted to document our neighborhood\u2019s first snowfall instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While\nI couldn\u2019t capture the before and after of my windows, the good news is Better\nLife\u2019s cleaner worked immediately to remove all the fingerprints! Streak-free,\nno smudges, and no second application needed. Success!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\nlove my glass table when it\u2019s clean! Unfortunately, that\u2019s not very often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I recently reviewed a different glass cleaner<\/a> that did not remove the everyday\nfood build-up on our table; I had to scrub away most of the mess before even\nspraying the glass cleaner. I decided to give Better Life\u2019s glass cleaner the\nsame challenge: an un-wiped table with dried yogurt smudges, oily chicken\nnugget smears, and sticky clementine splotches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To my great joy, Better Life\u2019s glass cleaner won the battle of the yucky messes! The cleaner wiped away all the smudges and stickiness, leaving behind a sparkling surface on the first try. I wish my pictures did it justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our\nbathroom mirrors get routinely neglected. There\u2019s usually not enough time to\nclean every surface, so I prioritize the \u201cdirty\u201d ones. With Better Life\u2019s glass\ncleaner in hand, it was time to give our mirrors a little treat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Water\nstains, toothpaste flecks, and fingerprints were very obvious (although\ndifficult to properly document). But the sparkling clean was even more\nimpressive! Leaving behind a beautiful streak-free surface with no extra\nscrubbing, Better Life\u2019s glass cleaner will become an easy addition to my\nregular cleaning routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s\nalways nice to see a natural cleaner work like the conventional brands, but how\nsafe are the ingredients?<\/p>\n\n\n\n As\npreviously mentioned, I was happy to see only four ingredients listed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Decyl and lauryl glucoside are non-ionic surfactants<\/a> derived from corn, coconut, and palm kernel. They are mild and gentle cleansers that are friendly to those with skin irritations and allergies<\/a>. Because they are plant-derived, they\u2019re also very biodegradable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So\nfar, so good, so simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But\nthe final ingredient listed is Methylisothiazolinone (MI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n MI is a synthetic preservative that I\u2019ve encountered a lot over\nthe years. None of them particularly impressive. It was once almost\nubiquitous in products as it was so effective at preserving personal care and\ncleaning products. Then gradually, dermatologists started to notice what\nthey called an epidemic of contact dermatitis\ncases<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Dr. Jennifer Cahill<\/a>, MI is the leading cause of allergic contact dermatitis in Australia, where reactions were so widespread in 2013 it was considered an epidemic. Despite the growing awareness<\/a> of MI\u2019s hazardous nature, it remains a common preservative in American products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s more heavily controlled in the EU where public awareness is\nhigher. It\u2019s banned completely for use\nin leave-on cosmetic products<\/a> and heavily controlled in how much can be used in other\nproducts (0.01 percent).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The issue I have with the inclusion of this ingredient is, while it\u2019s not a leave on product, MI is a volatile compound<\/a>. Meaning it is airborne after use, and exposure to airborne allergies is not a pleasant experience for allergy sufferers. And the reactions of this chemical can be particularly harsh as any of the Facebook support groups for allergy sufferers can testify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s\na shame that an all-around great product is polluted (literally) with even a\nsmall amount of MI.<\/p>\n\n\n\n (Bonus\nnote: MI appears to be the preservative of choice for Better Life products,\nespecially for products in spray bottles. Be sure to check your labels!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Performance wise I heartily recommend this product. It\ncontains no phosphates<\/a>, no ingredients likely to\ncause cancer<\/a>, no 1,4 dioxanes<\/a>, its fragrance<\/a> and cruelty-free. \nThere\u2019s a lot to like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m\nalso impressed that this cleaner contains only four ingredients.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nfact that one of those ingredients is MI still baffles me. For a company\nso adverse to \u201ctoxins\u201d, the inclusion of this ingredient beggars belief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hopefully, \nas awareness grows and more studies are conducted, MI will be phased out of\ntheir products.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHow does it look?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lindymwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/blossom-839594_1920-e1565723921337-768x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nHow well does it work?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Windows<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Glass Kitchen Table<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lindymwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/table_before-2-e1565723974278-768x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lindymwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/table_after-2-e1565723962974-768x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nBathroom Mirror<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lindymwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/mirror_before-e1565723948574-768x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li>![\"\"](\"https:\/\/lindymwrites.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/mirror_after-e1565723936692-768x1024.jpg\")
<\/figure><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\nWhat\u2019s in it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Would you recommend it?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n