What Is Probiotic Cleaning? – A Complete Guide

If you are interested in cleaning your home in a more eco-friendly way, then you should look into probiotic cleaning.

Cleaning is a necessary chore if we want to keep our home clean and healthy. But traditional cleaning products aren’t always eco-friendly, as they use harsh chemicals.

So if you want to live a more sustainable life, then swapping to sustainable household cleaners can make a big difference.

During my research I came across the topic of probiotic cleaning, which immediately intrigued me.

So in this article, I will tell you what it’s all about and if it is worth swapping to probiotic household cleaners.

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Probiotic Cleaning – Cleaning With Good Bacteria

You have probably heard about probiotics in relation to food and gut health. The idea behind it is that we consume foods such as yoghurts or kombucha that contain good gut bacteria.

These will then help us to digest food better and contribute to our gut and overall health. The concept of probiotic cleaning is very similar.

How It Works

While I am not a scientist, I will do my best to explain how probiotic cleaners work in plain English.

On all surfaces inside our home and outside of it, there are huge numbers of bacteria. Some of them are good and others are bad.

Probiotic is Latin and means “for life”. Probiotics are living strains of good bacteria, which when used in cleaners, are added to the population of naturally occurring good bacteria.

Both good and bad bacteria eat the same things, like dirt. So by adding more beneficial bacteria, they will outcompete the harmful bacteria and thereby get rid of them.

So the good bacteria are doing two things, they reduce the number of harmful bacteria and they eat dirt.

The second they achieve by producing enzymes, which attach to the dirt and break it down into smaller pieces. The bacteria are then able to eat the smaller pieces. Dirt and odour will so disappear and leave you with clean surfaces.

And because the bacteria are alive, they will continue to “clean” after you have finished, which helps to reduce the build up of dirt. That means you need to clean less.

If this explanation is a bit too scientific for you, then maybe my 5-year-old nephew’s understanding of how it works sounds better for you (it does to me if I’m honest).

I explained probiotic cleaners to him and this is how he explained it to my sister-in-law. He has a very creative imagination.

The cleaning product contains good bacteria, which are little people who have little swords to fight the bad bacteria (not quite accurate but acceptable as artistic licence). They also have very big bellies, because they eat all the dirt.

And as soon as they are let out of the bottle they start fighting and eating until they die, which can take days (not sure about this, but it’s true that they will continue to “clean” even after you have finished).

So there you have it, this is how probiotic cleaning works.

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Cleaning With Probiotic Cleaners

You might wonder if you use probiotic cleaners in the same way as chemical cleaning products. And the answer is, pretty much. 

Most probiotic cleaning products come as concentrates. Which means you add water to dilute it first then use it as normal. 

Spray the cleaner on your sink or kitchen worktops, then wipe with a cloth. As you wipe, the friendly bacteria will be distributed across the surface.

There they will then start to do their thing and eat dirt and reduce the number of bad bacteria.

Even when you have finished cleaning, these little guys will continue, keeping your home cleaner for longer.

Depending on what type of cleaner you have, you might have to leave it for a bit. For example, my probiotic carpet cleaner by microbz is sprayed on and then left. 

After a few minutes, I wipe the stain, and it’s gone. Leaving the cleaner gives the bacteria the chance to produce enzymes and lift the stains out of the carpet.

So swapping to a probiotic cleaner does not mean you have to get used to a new routine. It’s a very simple swap that will help protect the environment. 

Are Probiotic Cleaners Effective?

Now that we know how cleaning with probiotics work, let’s look at the effectiveness of probiotic cleaners.

You might have heard people say that you need harsh chemicals to clean properly. Well, that’s not true. 

Milder cleaners, such as those using good bacteria, can do just as good a job as traditional cleaners with harsh chemicals.

Probiotic cleaners aren’t just milder, they are also safer. And studies in medical settings have shown that they even reduce the occurrence of drug-resistant bacteria and reduce the development of dangerous bacteria.

So not only do they clean your house well, they can actually make your home a healthier place for you and your family.

Another of the benefits of probiotic cleaners is that they can get into all the nooks and crannies that you won’t get into.

With traditional cleaners, you are reliant on getting the product everywhere for it to work. Unless it makes contact with the bacteria and dirt, it won’t work.

Probiotic cleaning works differently. The good bacteria will forage for food all around your worktops and sinks. This means they will get into every hard-to-reach area.

That way they will remove dirt, stains and grease from everywhere. And they will do this after you have finished cleaning and enjoy yourself. Isn’t that great!

And by removing the dirt that might be stuck in cracks and crevices, the bacteria also rid your home of odours. Because smells can become embedded in dirt.

As we have already said, probiotic cleaners also reduce the amount of bad or harmful bacteria from surfaces and the air, making your home a healthier place.

Probiotic cleaners also contain essential oils to make your home smell good too. These oils are plant-based, so are not harmful like synthetic fragrances, used in regular cleaners.

Where Probiotics Aren’t As Effective

While probiotic cleaners are great for most things, there are areas where they aren’t as effective.

These cleaning products aren’t as good at removing limescale. This is because to descale surfaces you need acid, which breaks down the limescale.

But acid also kills bacteria, so it won’t be any good to add acid to a probiotic cleaning product.

However, there are many ways to remove limescale without harsh chemicals, such as using vinegar. We have also tried ketchup on our taps, which worked well.

Just cover the taps with the tomato sauce and leave for a while. The worse the limescale, the longer you need to leave it.

Then use an old toothbrush to dislodge the limescale and rinse off. We were amazed at how well it worked. 

You can also use a mix of lemon juice and baking soda. I use this for our kettle, because I don’t like the idea of vinegary tea or coffee.

I half a lemon, put some baking soda on it and then pick up the mix with a toothbrush and clean the kettle with it. Works wonders for the kettle spout.

Probiotic cleaners are also no sanitisers. Because these contain substances that kill bacteria and viruses, which you wouldn’t want because it would also kill the friendly bacteria.

However, studies have shown that probiotic cleaners don’t just get rid of bad or harmful bacteria, but also viruses.

So if you use probiotics to clean with, you don’t need any sanitising cleaners. Problem solved!

How Eco-Friendly Are Probiotic Cleaners?

Now that we know that probiotic cleaning is effective, let’s see if it’s also good for the environment.

One of the worst things about chemical cleaners is that the chemicals they use are harmful for our environment. Substances such as ammonia, parabens, triclosan and bleach are all known to impact on our planet.

You can find out more about these and other harmful chemicals used in cleaners in our guide about whether cleaning products are bad for the environment.

Although any water that goes down our drains is processed in a water treatment plant, small amounts of chemicals from cleaning products can still get through. 

And once they are in our waterways, such as rivers, ponds, lakes and oceans, they can cause real harm.

Several of the substances are known to kill marine life. Some will stunt growth or cause infertility in animals.

With probiotic cleaning you won’t have any of this. Because the friendly bacteria used in those cleaners are 100% natural. 

So they won’t cause any harm. Also, producing these synthetic chemicals requires a lot of energy. And it releases a lot of carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming.

Many chemicals are made from fossil fuels, which means they are not renewable. 

In contrast, using beneficial bacteria is very sustainable, because they are live organisms. This means they keep growing.

Growing these probiotics is very similar to making a sourdough starter, as it also uses fermentation. This process needs much less energy and doesn’t produce much carbon dioxide at all.

Most companies who produce these probiotic cleaners do so because they care about our environment. So they also use eco-friendly packaging, this includes reusable bottles and refill options.  

Conclusion

As you can see, probiotic cleaning is a wonderful thing. It works, is good for our health and the environment.

Easy to use, it will continue to clean once you have finished. Thanks to the brilliant good bacteria that it contains. The beneficial bacteria will also be able to get into places you can’t, such as little nooks and crannies.

I love the fact that you are working with nature, rather than against it when using probiotics. For me, this is the best way to ensure that we protect our environment.

So if you are looking for a more eco-friendly way to clean your house, I can wholeheartedly recommend probiotic cleaning.

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