Here's some information about the testing done on Norwex cloths.

Norwex Cloth Testing

2007 Norwex Antibacterial Microfiber is a microfiber that contains an environmentally friendly antibacterial agent that has passed both FDA and EPA approval. Because the new microfiber and silver agent are both environmentally friendly, one can still clean without chemicals by simply using water and the new antibacterial microfiber. Silver ions play an important role for the bactericidal action of this microfiber. The reasons the new Microfiber cloths are cleaner and safe to handle are: 1. The germs picked up by the microfiber cloths are eliminated within the cloth thus preventing germ transfer to hands and other surfaces. 2. The silver agent itself cannot be transferred from the cloth to the hands or other surfaces. Test Certificates completed by Japan Spinners Inspecting Foundation are also available. Two separate studies were completed, one in May 2003 and one in September 2003. The study tested for the presence of Staphylococcus Aureus and Escheria coli; or simply, the eradication of Staph and E-coli microorganisms. Both studies concluded that both organisms were eliminated by a percentage of 99.9% or more. The three ACT microfiber cloth and mop studies are also available. The studies stated that the microfiber with only water removed 99.94% of all microorganisms. Only conventional cloths in conjunction with a full concentrate disinfectant, which remained wet on the surface for 30 seconds, performed better. The cloths were tested for their ability to remove Staph, E-coli microorganisms and dust as well as for cloth saturation, cross contamination, and the best way to clean the dirty/contaminated microfiber cloths. The tests proved that cross contamination was not an issue – the debris was held inside the fiber of the cloth and was not transferred to another surface. The effectiveness of the cloth’s ability to clean was not reduced even after 10 surfaces were cleaned in succession. In other words, 10 surfaces were cleaned without cleaning the microfiber between each surface. The testing proved that on both smooth and textured surfaces the microfiber was 99.95% and 99.97% effective at removing germs with just water. This outperforms a bleach/water solution, which is recognized as a standard for cleanliness. The smooth surface cleaned with bleach had 20 times more contamination than the surface cleaned with microfiber and water. The textured surface and bleach had 46 times more contamination than the surface cleaned with the microfiber and water. Washing the dirty microfiber cloths in a standard washing machine on the hottest cycle was as effective in removing bacteria from the cloth as was boiling. One study was specific in testing the importance of a disinfectant compound for cleaning efficiency. The results - “It is obvious that the reduction of the number of bacteria is the same in all ‘moist’ methods of cleaning. Thus, the use of a disinfectant doesn’t seem to produce greater bacteria reduction than the ‘moist’ cleaning with water only.” The cleaning method without a disinfectant is preferred because disinfection includes the risk for the development of resistance in bacteria that is a serious issue especially in health care. No disinfectant means no exposure to the person using it to clean and no residues for later exposure. Finally the test concluded that microfiber “with only water, or in certain circumstances with water and detergent, can in many instances be an alternative to disinfection.” The STORE bought microfiber does not have testing proving its effectiveness. Our microfiber comes with a guarantee for performance for 2 full years because of our hospital and independent testing. By: Sheri Gauthier, Norwex Technical Advisor