April showers bring May flowers… or so that’s what they say. For the past couple of weeks, the Midwest Spring of Deception has been a roller-coaster of temperatures and weather leaving my backyard flooded and a mess! No problem, Mother Nature can stay outside where it belongs. Oh, wait. I have a dog.
The picture might be a bit exaggerated, but I promise you she tracks in her fair share of muddy footprints and dirt. Either way, this mess gives me the excuse to test out the differences between Bona and Naturally It’s Clean when it comes to cleaning my vinyl flooring.
What’s Inside?
With everyone from yourself to the pets running around, you need a floor cleaner that’s safe and doesn’t use caustic chemicals. The first two ingredients you can find in Naturally It’s Clean Floors Concentrate are water and a plant-based enzyme blend. These earth-based ingredients safely and naturally clean floors while keeping the user safe!
Then there’s Bona, where I recognized the words “water” and “citric acid” and that’s about it. After some quick research, the other ingredients listed were harsh chemicals. Methylisothiazolinone (say that three times fast) is a preservative used by Bona that has come under scrutiny in recent years due to its toxicity. The chemical was named allergen of the year in 2013 by the American Contact Dermatitis Society, and its use in leave-on cosmetics was banned in the EU in 2017.
Effectiveness
Next, there is the effectiveness component of the concentrates. The left side was cleaned by the Bona concentrate and the right by Naturally It’s Clean.
At a glance, the results are fairly similar. So, let’s break it down.
| BONA | NATURALLY IT’S CLEAN |
Application | Easy application and quick clean | Easy application and quick clean |
Finish | Some slight smudging and streaking | Little to no smudging or streaking |
Scent | No noticeable scent | Naturally scented orange citrus zest |
Both did a great job getting the mud off the floor. However, by comparing application, finish, and scent; Naturally It’s Clean pulls away with the effectiveness win. Since my flooring color is light and has a reflective finish, the Naturally It’s Clean concentrate left a complementary shine! If you prefer a matte, dull look, then Bona’s cleaner would serve you better.
Cost
After crunching the numbers, the math speaks for itself:
Not only is Bona almost twice the price, but it doesn’t make nearly as much concentrate. Choose the cost-effective floor solution to get the job done.
Environmental Commitment
Everything that Bona does to make strides and dedicate itself to sustainability, Naturally It’s Clean has already done and gone above and beyond. Currently, Bona produces reusable materials, such as refillable bottles. That’s great! But so does Naturally It’s Clean… and they do so with earth-safe ingredients
To take it a step further, by making their bottles and sprayers eligible for recycling, the chances of their bottles ending up in landfills is less. From the bigger picture here, it is nice to see each company being environmentally conscious and doing its part to become responsibly green.
If you’ve kept track of this concern, Naturally It’s Clean leads in every category. The floor concentrate uses naturally sourced ingredients from the earth, it’s cost-effective, and the company goes beyond their commitment to keep the world green.
**Full Disclosure: The viewpoints in this post are that of the author, a third-party paid contributor to the 'Keeping It Clean' blog.**
