There are a lot of cleaning products out there… If you’ve taken a walk down a cleaning aisle recently, you’re familiar with just how many are to choose from. That’s also not including the ones promoted on social media, commercials, and ads! They all have different purposes, ingredients, smells, and more, and each is better than the next. That begs the question, which product is something you absolutely need and will actually improve your home’s health? One product you might be considering is Benefect Decon 30. And if you are, that would be a great choice!
This cleaning product has grown in popularity due to its natural botanical properties. This is a key factor to consider when choosing something to clean with. Disinfecting is, of course, important, but you always want to make sure that you’re not using something that is negatively impacting your indoor air quality. That would be counterintuitive!
You also want to ensure the product eliminates particles from the surface. Otherwise, you’ll spend time and elbow grease cleaning but not actually getting rid of particles like mycotoxins and bacteria, which can lead to harmful and unwanted exposure. That’s absolutely not what we want! If these particles remain behind, they’ll continue to build up inside, leading to an increasingly harmful environment for you and your family.
With that in mind, here are the ins and outs of Benefect Decon 30 and why those of us at HomeCleanse are such strong advocates of adding it to a cleaning arsenal.
What Is Benefect Decon 30?
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Benefect Decon 30 is a cleaning product that can be used for disinfecting, cleaning, deodorizing, decontaminating, and preventing cross-contamination. It is also a botanical cleaning solution, meaning that the key ingredients are made from plants. This is a key reason this product is such a great tool for creating a healthy home, but we’ll get into that moment.
They use a particular active ingredient in their products called thymol, a derivative of thyme oil. Thymol is an essential oil-based extract derived from thyme plants. It has a long history of being used as a traditional medicine source with numerous pharmacological properties, including antioxidant, free radical scavenging, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, antispasmodic, antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic, and antitumor properties. Basically, it’s a powerhouse for eliminating things like bacteria and fungi.
Benefect Decon 30 cleans and sanitizes in just 30 seconds, hence the name and one of the reasons why it’s so great to use. Other cleaning products can require as long as 10 minutes to sit on a surface to get the same or less powerful results. This will help you speed through your cleaning process and ensure that the job is actually getting done.
Benefect Decon 30 Ingredients
As mentioned above, Benefect Decon 30 uses an active ingredient called Thymol for its cleaning power. They’ve also added a unique Optimized Dynamic Chemistry (ODC) surfactant system that boosts cleaning performance by helping eliminate particles from a surface. This is a key part of cleansing because if the particles remain on the surface, they’ll continue to build up and cause unwanted exposure.
Why is Benefect Decon Recommended?
Benefect offers 99.99%+ effectiveness as a disinfectant without the downsides of traditional chemical disinfectants. Benefect uses only authentically botanical ingredients, no synthetic derivatives, petrochemicals, or solvents.
The natural antimicrobial, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiseptic properties of thymol make Benefect just as effective as other chemical disinfectants on the market. However, Benefect provides the added benefit of being ultra-low VOC, meaning that immunocompromised and chemically sensitive people do not need to be concerned about exposure to It. Why? because it uses natural ingredients instead of harmful chemicals.
A Practical Comparison
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Let’s compare this to bleach, a common cleaning product you may have in your cabinets. Sodium hypochlorite is the main component that gives bleach its cleaning oomph, but it also makes this product fall into the unhealthy category.
Many bleach-containing products have chlorine-containing compounds, such as hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and chlorine gas (Cl2). These fumes can negatively affect indoor air quality, irritate the eyes, skin, and respiratory system, and cause coughing, headaches, and watery eyes. Additionally, when mixed with other household cleaning products, bleach can create toxic chlorine gas, which can be harmful if inhaled.
Taken as a whole, this reduced indoor air quality and exposure aren’t healthy for you, your family, or your pets. That’s not exactly the ideal situation when trying to clean your indoor environment and make it a safer space.
As mentioned above, Benefect Decon 30 uses Thymol, which Health Canada has identified as having no known adverse effects on human health or the environment and is generally recognized as safe by the EPA. Additionally, thymol does not lead to antimicrobial resistance like other chemical cleaners. This is especially important in hospitals, where resistant bacteria are becoming increasingly problematic.
Going Further...
Another consideration is the environment. When chlorine is released into the outdoor environment, it can form dioxins, known carcinogens that harm aquatic life and wildlife. The major culprits for this contamination are the manufacturing of bleach itself and the large-scale use of the product. Thymol, on the other hand, poses little risk to the environment when used.
As an added benefit, Benefect also achieved the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s BioPreferred status for Decon 30. This means that the product is 100% biobased. Other products marketing themselves as “botanical” can contain as little as 25% biobased content, meaning that while 25% of their organic carbon is new, the other 75% can be old organic carbon.
What does that mean? New organic carbon refers to carbon generated from new plant life, making it a fully-renewable source. Many disinfectants claim to be biobased but only have a small percentage of new organic carbon. The remaining organic carbon in those disinfectants comes from old sources, meaning decayed organic matter subjected to millions of years of heat and pressure. Examples of old organic carbon sources include coal and petroleum. Not only can old organic carbon sources provide issues for those with chemical sensitivities, but they are also not renewable sources of organic carbon. Benefect doesn’t have these drawbacks.
Using Benefect for Mold
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In addition to disinfecting a surface, it’s also a standout tool for eliminating mold in a home. The key to handling mold is using cleaning products that will actually eliminate the contamination from surfaces so that they’re no longer in the environment, leading to exposure. Not all cleaning products are up to the task.
To effectively stop exposure, you must deal with all the contamination present, including the living colony, dead particles, spores, mycotoxins, and bacteria. That means the popular "just use bleach" suggestion won’t solve your moldy problem. Sure, the chemicals may kill the living mold, but you’ll just be left with a bleach-bomb odor, worsening indoor air quality.
Speaking of, bleach is a great example of why many cleaning products are not up to snuff. While bleach may kill the colonized mold (and that’s not even a guarantee), it won’t eliminate the dead particles present. Dead mold particles have to go so that exposure does not continue. Even the EPA says so. Dead mold isn’t the only thing bleach will leave behind. It can also allow other contaminants, like mycotoxins and bacteria, to continue existing on a surface and contribute to prolonged exposure.
Not only does Benefect avoid the negative health impact, but it is also equipped to avoid the issues listed above. Thanks to its surfactant system, it not only cleanses the area and kills the mold but also lifts particles to the surface so they can be wiped away. This stops exposure and ensures that spores don’t remain behind, allowing colonies to pop right back up.
How To Use Benefect Decon 30
The great thing about Benefect Decon 30 is how easy it is to use. You simply spray it on a surface, allow it to sit for 30 seconds, and wipe it away with a microfiber cloth. It doesn’t get easier than that!
This product is incredibly versatile, so you can use it on most surfaces throughout the home. Some of the surfaces Benefect recommends include metals, glass, fiberglass, plastic, vinyl, tiles, painted or sealed surfaces, finished woodwork, laminated surfaces, marble, and similar stones.
Benefect Decon 30 for Remediation
That being said, dealing with mold involves a slightly more intensive process to ensure that particles like mycotoxins are removed.
For non-porous surfaces like sealed countertops, spray your Benefect from 12-24 inches away, misting the surface being treated without saturating it. Allow this to sit for 30 seconds, then wipe with a microfiber towel. The Benefect should be wiped off before being allowed to dry. Repeat the process at least three times to ensure all contaminants are removed. Use a clean surface of the towel between each application and wipe in a different direction.
It’s more difficult for semi-porous surfaces because the mold roots will have grown into the item itself and will be difficult to remove completely. When possible, abrasive methods should be used to remove the roots. Then, use the abovementioned technique and seal the surface, if possible, afterward.
Keep a close eye on the surface, though, to see if the mold comes back. If it returns quickly, the colony could have permeated deep beneath the surface, or there could be a larger problem elsewhere in the home. Either way, you can attempt to remediate it again, but it may be time to call a professional or entirely replace the surface or item.
For porous surfaces like drywall, remove and replace the material. The contamination can exist deep within the surface and be nearly impossible to remove completely.
For all projects, use engineering controls, personal protective equipment (PPE), and proper remediation protocols to avoid inhaling aerosolized particles and prevent cross-contamination. Additionally, deep clean the surrounding area to remove any particles released during the process. It is best to contact a professional if unsure about handling the situation.
Tips for Use
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Use Benefect Decon 30 with microfiber towels. The cleaning cloths are made from polyester and polyamide fibers, which are split into thin threads and then woven together. This tightly intertwined fabric is what gives them their cleaning juju. They’re able to produce static electricity, allowing them to pick up more particles like mold spores and bacteria.
A few additional perks of microfiber cloths include:
- Studies show that microfiber can remove 99% of bacteria, compared to the 30% that conventional supplies can expel. While these super-cloths won’t kill the microorganisms they pick up, they do help remove them from the environment, which is a plus-plus for home health.
- Thanks to the tightly woven threads, microfiber can get into tiny cracks and crevices where small particles like mold spores and mycotoxins can get trapped.
- Microfiber cloths are incredibly absorbent and can hold seven times their own weight in fluid. A huge part of preventing mold is reducing moisture in an indoor environment, so this is another checkmark in their cleaning box.
In a nutshell, these cloths are a must for any home, whether working on prevention or mold removal.
Where to Buy Benefect Decon 30
We offer Benefect Decon 30 on our website! We have specific cleaning kits as well as DIY remediation kits filled with everything you’ll need to create and maintain a healthy indoor environment.
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HomeCleanse DIY
All the equipment and materials we use to remediate your home, plus consultation and support...
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$5,995.00 – $9,995.00 SHOP NOW -
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Mold & Bacteria Contents Cleaning
Remove harmful pollutants that accumulate in the dust of your home. (Options available for renters...
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$89.00 – $349.00 SHOP NOW -
HomeCleanse Cleaning
Take your cleaning to the next level buying all the tools we use to keep...
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$299.00 – $549.00 SHOP NOW