Do you have any antibacterial products?Updated 4 days ago

While we currently don't offer any antibacterial soap or cleaners, our Pure-Castile Magic Soap, Pure-Castile Bar Soap, Organic Sugar Soap, Organic Shaving Soap, and Sal Suds Biodegradable Cleaner all eliminate germs by effectively removing them rather than killing them. Detergents and soaps naturally remove dirt, germs, and grime by attaching to them and rinsing them away, leaving surfaces clean!

Products that are labeled “antibacterial” mean that active antimicrobial ingredients have been added to them. None of our soaps or cleaning products contains these specific ingredients; therefore, we don't label them as “antibacterial.” However, the US Food and Drug Administration published a report indicating that soap and water are just as effective at mechanically removing microbes as antibacterial soap is at killing microbes. Also, keep in mind that antibacterial soap can kill beneficial microbes along with harmful ones, and often contains known toxins such as triclosan! For these reasons, we believe our soap is ultimately safer and just as effective as an antibacterial agent, even though it is not labeled as such. 

While there's no need to increase your cleaner's disinfecting ability in most cases, some have taken to adding 70% alcohol or IPA to our products, though we generally don't recommend it. If more than 5% of your overall disinfecting mixture is alcohol, you'll see a significant reduction in our product's foaming capabilities, though alcohol will only mildly reduce its ability to clean. Also, depending on the level of disinfection you want, using less than 5% alcohol may not be strong enough. Instead, we suggest one of two methods for disinfection:

1. Make an all-purpose cleaner by combining 1 Tbsp. (15 mL) Sal Suds or 2 Tbsp. (30 mL) Pure-Castile Magic Soap (any scent) with 1 qt. (1 L) water, and 20 drops of tea tree essential oil in a spray bottle. Tea tree essential oil has natural antimicrobial properties; however, even with this addition, we still wouldn't consider this mixture to be antibacterial or a disinfectant. Although it can kill some bacteria on surfaces. 
2. The second method would be to clean the surface as you normally would, using either our Magic Soap or Sal Suds. Once the surface is dry, spray a thin layer of alcohol to kill any remaining pathogens or other microorganisms. While this will be the most effective disinfection method, be sure to check if alcohol is safe to use on the surface first, and only follow this step if the room is well-ventilated, as alcohol is flammable. 

For more information on making your all-purpose cleaner and the cleaning effectiveness of our products, check out Lisa Bronner's blog posts  GIY All-Purpose Cleaning Spray and Ditch the Antibacterial: Soap is All You Need.