Seventh Generation Disinfecting Multi Surface Wipes Review

by Taylor

I bought and used an entire container of Seventh Generation disinfecting multi-surface wipes in my home, just to provide this review for you guys.

Normally my family is pretty on-board with the testing, and I just tell them when we're starting a new brand for testing to remember to tell me what they think of it if they happen to use it too, so I can report not only what I think but also what they think.

Well, thank goodness we only had to use 35 of these wipes, because I heard the same complaint every single time someone needed to use one in the kitchen or bathroom -- they would say, "do I have to?" And frankly, I thought the same thing.

We used the lemongrass and thyme scent, which is the only scent available, and it STINKS.

These wipes are advertised as a botanical way to kill 99.99% of germs, including the Influenza A virus.

The active ingredient on the package is listed as "Thymol," which is a disinfecting agent made from "botanically pure plant extracts."

I'm all for finding a natural disinfecting cleaner to replace my homemade disinfectant recipe which uses chlorine bleach, and like eco-friendly cleaners in general.

In addition, I typically have liked the Seventh Generation cleaning products I've tried. However, one of the things about the brand I like is that they have so many "free and clear" products, and these disinfecting wipes do not qualify as that!

Basically, these eco-friendly disinfecting wipes use the power of specific essential oils to disinfect naturally, and you just can't take the smell away from a product like that.

The problem is the scent is powerful, not in my personal opinion pleasant, and lingers for a long time both on the surface I wiped and on my hands.

I stopped letting my son use them to clean up messes because I was afraid he'd break out from the strong scent, since he tends to get allergic reactions, and I admit I would get a bit of a tickle in the back of my throat when I used them too.

On the bright side, if you can get past the smell (which I don't think my family can) they worked really well, similar other disinfecting wipes I've tried. They were moist, and held up well to scrubbing.

To actually disinfect with them the instructions on the package state that you must wipe the surface and let it sit for 10 minutes, letting it air-dry, since it doesn't kill the germs immediately on contact but must have time to work (this is normal for all disinfectants, not just natural ones).

The touted advantage to using this natural version is that you don't have to rinse surfaces after using them, like you do with some other disinfecting wipes brands. However, the instructions do caution a rinse is still required for direct food contact surfaces, so really it isn't as rinse-free as some people claim, I guess.

There is also a spray version of this disinfecting product, if you don't want to use wipes. You can read reviews of Seventh Generation disinfectant spray here.



Overall, I know my family will not be using these wipes again since we just can't get past the smell. However, if you don't mind the scent they may be a good eco-friendly alternative you may like to try.

As with most Seventh Generation and other green cleaning products, these disinfecting wipes cost more than the non-green varieties, so be prepared to pay a premium for natural.

Has anyone else used this brand, or any other brand of disinfectant wipes and wish to share their opinions and experiences with it? If so, you can share your disinfecting wipes review here, or read other reviews that have already been shared.

Plus, if you only want to use natural products, then check out my natural disinfectants reviews page.

***Update: I compared these wipes to the Scotch Brite botanical disinfecting wipes in a review, to see if they were better, but unfortunately they were about the same, at least in the lemongrass scent. You can click the link to read my entire review.***

In addition, you can share your Seventh Generation cleaning products reviews here, or read others that have already been submitted.

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