The other day during lunch, as I flipped through my streaming channels, I stopped on the QVC Channel to find a 10-minute program segment where their hosts were pitching “Bio Cleaner”, a cleaning product which “tackles stovetops, stainless steel sinks, appliances, granite, copper, and bathroom tiles with the power of clay.” And for just $26.98 + $5.50 S&H ($32.48 total) you get: • Two 10.5-oz containers of “Bio Cleaner”   (21 ounces total) • Two application sponges • One 11″L x 11″W microfiber cloth • And, it’s Imported from France! Must be a pretty good product, it’s a “Best Seller”! Hold on a second… The “power of clay”? That reminded me of a product I saw at my local Dollar Tree called “Multi Purpose Cleaning Paste” (shown at the left). And I thought “Obviously, the more expensive product is better: You get more product, along with cleaning cloths and sponges.” But perhaps it’s not that “obvious” after all: What if I bought similar items at Dollar Tree? Let’s see: • Three (3) 7-oz containers of “Multi Purpose Cleaning Paste“   (to get 21 ounces total) • Three application sponges   (w/ nail guard and non-scratch scrubber, Bonus 3-Pack) • Two 11″L x 11″W microfiber cloths • And, it’s Imported from China! And the Dollar Tree price? Each of them cost $1.25, so 5 x $1.25 = $7.25 total (plus tax)

$7.25 compared to $32.48? That’s a $25.23 price difference!
Now I’m curious about the ingredients of each product:

Bio Cleaner is advertised as a 100% Natural product, and its’ ingredients all look natural to me. However, the “Multi Purpose Cleaning Paste” is definitely NOT “100% Natural”: It contains DMDM Hydantoin (which releases trace amounts of formaldehyde as a preservative), Red 40 & Yellow 5 (colors made from bugs or petroleum, but I suspect petroleum as it’s paste, not food), and Hydroxyethyl Cellulose (made using ethylene oxide, a petroleum product). So, those preferring an all-natural product might want to spend the extra $25.23.

Disclaimer: Now there are lots of clay cleaners on the market, and I only used QVC’s product as the example because their sales pitch prompted me to write this comparison. I could have selected another product such as “The Pink Stuff“, a popular clay-based cleaning product that runs about $6 for 17.5 ounces, is 100% Natural and Vegan, and is highly rated by its’ users. Or, any one of a number of clay cleaning products available on online shopping sites.

Finally, and most importantly, I’ve not tested the cleaning ability of any product mentioned, and don’t wish to imply or suggest one is better than another simply based on ingredients or price. But, unless you prefer a Natural / Vegan product you might consider the Dollar Tree solution first: At most you’re out $1.25 (plus tax) for buying one container of the paste.

Thanks for Reading!