Friday, May 30, 2014

Review & Contest: Method's range of Eco-Friendly Hand Washes - made by, and for, people against dirty™

21 May 2014


A few weeks ago, I was asked if my family are keen to try out method's range of eco-friendly hand washes. With little ones at home, there can never be too many hand washes in the house.


Who and What is method?

Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry, proud brain-parents of method and the very first people against dirty.
Ryan and Lowry and its team are the people against dirty and they are here to make products that work, not only for us but for the planet as well.

method's mission is to inspire a happy, healthy home revolution.

Method's trademark term people against dirty™, and by 'dirty', they don't just mean the stuff dust bunnies are made of. method is about more than just cleaning up our home and our body; it's about cleaning up the way we clean. They see business as a powerful agent of change: for people, the environment and our communities.



PACKAGING AND FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I received a heavy parcel by courier, and when I opened it, there were two sturdy boxes inside. The boxes were sturdy and made of hard and thick cardboard, thus protecting the contents inside so that it was not dented or spoiled in any way.
 

And when flipped open the lids of the boxes, I was even more surprised to see another extra layer of packaging protection. There were small pieces of foam to protect the bottles so that they won't be shaken too much. Double thumbs up for packaging. 


Both my kids were as excited as me whenever we open up any packaging. 
I don't know why Khye gave me this expression when I asked them to smile. I find it cute, so his pic is here. lol. And oh, please pardon Shern's tousled hair. He had just came out from the shower. 


This is what we received. First impression, nicest hand wash packaging ever used in this household!

The hand wash bottles also came with a very nice booklet brochure.


TRYING THEM OUT AND FEATURES

First of all, let me show you in more detail how each of the bottles look like.
We received two bottles of their most popular naturally derived Gel Hand Wash - french lavender, and hibiscus flower fragrance.
 

and two bottles of their naturally derived Foaming Hand Wash - green tea + aloe, and sea minerals fragrance.
 

These are the ingredient lists of the bottles (click to view the photo larger). Ok, maybe you really need to squint a bit to be able to read those tiny words. haha. But is difficult to take a picture of the words because the bottles are transparent.
Anyway, method believes in transparency, so they disclosed all of their ingredients

 
 
 

And they also make recyclable PET bottles from 100% recycled plastic, thus resulting in zero waste and a 70% lower carbon footprint. Very environmental-friendly indeed. 


Shern straightaway chose the French Lavender Gel Hand Wash to try on, because purple is his favourite colour. 
 

The gel is transparent with a purple tinge and is rather liquid. It washes really well and a little goes a long way.

The smell is pleasant and floral with a tinge of lavendar scent. It smells like real lavender, and not too strong a smell. I'm glad that it does not smell like those too-sweet-lavender-candy smell.

Shern gave it a thumbs up because hand wash finally comes in his favourite colour, he said! haha


Shern also couldn't wait to try on the other scents because the bottles and colours are too pretty, and it actually appeals to my kids that they wanted to try it.

I let Shern tried the Green Tea + Aloe Foaming Hand Wash.
 

And once he tried the foaming hand wash, there is no turning back. 
He was super surprised and happy to find that it squirts out foamy 'bubbles', that was what he said!
Look at his happy face, showing me the foamy soap on his hands.
 

And Shern called on his 'lil brother to try the soap as well.
And they both together tried out the Sea Minerals and also the Hibiscus Flower hand washes.
And after that, Shern couldn't stop sniffing at his hands, lol.
 
 

Love to see both of them bonding over hand washes. Really great indeed!
 

And my cheeky little man, he is one that loves hand washing time. And he even cries at times when I needed to pry him away after washing his hands. He just wouldn't want to stop washing his hands. He just wants to wash his hands again and again.
So it is really important to find a safe hand wash for kids like him, to take care of their delicate skin.

Look at him, all wet from hand washing!
  
 

Both my kids do quite a lot of outdoor activities, such as Shern cycling and riding his scooter around the neighbourhood, or just running around the porch.
And after that they would be all dirty and you need good 'ol soap/hand wash to wash their hands, and even feet sometimes!
 

And even indoor activities, such as playing with their Play Doh, or doing some art and crafts. All these activities need hand washing after
 

And not even to mention the countless times my kids need to wash their hands before and after every meal AND the never-ending snack time throughout the day!
They can get quite dirty like this...LOL.




As for me, I wash my hands like 80 times a day! lol.
Ok, that is a bit far-fetch. But I also wash my hands countless times a day.

After every diaper change of pee and/or poo of Khye and even Shern, I'll have to wash my hands. And because I am a breastfeeding mum, sometimes I do need to express my breastmilk, and thus I need to wash my hands before I express milk, and also after I express milk when I wash my breastpump.

And I also wash my hands after I sweep the floors or do housework. I think you don't want to know the number of times I need to sweep the floors a day! haha. Yes, because I see crumbs everywhere left by my kiddos.

And recently I cook up a storm, so obviously I need to wash my hands before and after every meal preparation. 
These are some of the yummy things I'd dish out for the past few weeks. Please don't drool!
 
 

And I must really declare that method hand wash washes really well.
No matter dirt or oil, it cleans is away and my hands are clean after wash
And the good thing is that my hands don't feel dry (like some hand wash does!). So is good and I like it and don't mind washing my hands more often than I would need to!

And so, my whole family, including my hubby, loves method's hand washes!



METHOD FACEBOOK CONTEST

You readers out there can join the Clean Happy Awards at method Malaysia Facebook page!

- Just submit a photo of your best Kid Mess on www.fb.com/methodmalaysia.
- Use hashtag #cleanhappy and #methodmalaysia on your photo.
- Contest is open from Friday 30 May to midnight Friday 6 June 2014. (that's now!)
- Like the contest post on www.fb.com/methodmalaysia.
- Method will choose three photos of the kid who made the messiest, most adorable mess in the home.





TO PURCHASE

- You can purchase method's range of products at their website at www.wmsmarketing.com, or

- You can also purchase method's range of gel and foaming hand washes at leading supermarkets and grocery stores in Klang Valley.




You can also visit method Malaysia Facebook page for more info.
(You can watch the Facebook page for first notice of new arrivals and discounts!)




* Disclosure: I received method's hand washes  for review purpose, but no monetary incentive was received. All text and opinions are of my own and represents my honest opinion of the product(s).

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Review & Raya Promotion: 3M's Smart Drinking Water System (DWS2500T-CN)


I recently just moved to a new house, and I was looking for a suitable water filter for our new place. It was at the perfect timing that 3M Malaysia contacted me to do a water filter review end of last year.

To tell the truth, I was ecstatic because I am such a big fan of 3M brand. 


Who is 3M?



Who has never heard of the 3M brand? They are famous for their Post-It Notes (at least to me!), and now provides a large varieties of products from different range. 

3M is a Global, Diversified Technology Company.

3M captures the spark of new ideas and transforms them into thousands of ingenious products. Their culture of creative collaboration inspires a never-ending stream of powerful technologies that make life better. 3M is the innovation company that never stops inventing. With USD$30 billion in sales (2013), 3M employs about 88,000 people worldwide and has operations in more than 70 countries. 

3M Purification Inc is a
 Market Leading Filtration Company.
In 2005, 3M acquired CUNO to be 3M Purification Inc. CUNO has over 50 years of experiences in filtration technology.
3M Purification Inc. (3M Purification) is a leader in the design, manufacture and marketing of a comprehensive line of filtration products for the separation, clarification and purification of fluids and gasses. Its proprietary products are used in drinking water, healthcare and industrial markets. 3M Purification
operates manufacturing facilities and sales offices throughout the world.


Who is NSF?


NSF International is an independent lab that ensures all drinking water systems are tested and certified to meet strict public health and safety standards.

The 3M's Smart Drinking Water System DWS2500T-CN  is certified by NSF International, NSF/ANSI Standard 42 and 53.
Standard 42 certified that the water filter is designed to reduce taste and odour, chlorine, nominal particulate and chloramine which increased lead level in bloodstream as well as causing respiratory problem such as asthma.
Standard 53: certified that it reduces specific health-related contaminants such as lead, pesticides and cysts which cause diarrhea, nausea and low grade fever as well as being potentially fatal.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And recently, water is such a hot topic in Malaysia, especially with the low rainfall and water rationing and even flood happening in Malaysia.
And I believe clean water is very important to every family.

Take a read at the most recently print in New Staits Times newspaper on 7 May 2014.
(click for larger view)
 
  



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


I currently use many of their products, such as their Post-It Notes, Scotch Tapes, Scotch-Brite Scouring Pads,  Scotch Scissors and a few others, and I've been super pleased with all of them. I am a very satisfied repeated customers of the 3M products I'm using. It's a brand that I trust in!

So you can sense my excitement when I know that I got to review their water filters. 

And not one, but two water filters, but I am going to talk about their indoor water filter first.
And guess what? DWS2500T-CN is the latest model this year in Malaysia and I will be the first person who owns this 3M's Smart Drinking Water System! 
I am really, really honoured!



3M's Smart Drinking Water System (DWS2500T-CN)

They sent a man to install the water filter. He took quite a long time to do so, spending almost 2 hours in my house installing the whole system in my dry kitchen.

But I must say that the installer did a good job, as his work was neat and very little mess. Just a small hole drilled on the kitchen top to link the pipe from the tap to below the sink.  
After installation, the water filter looks great.


This new Model DWS2500T-CN has below capacities and flow rate.

  • Capacity – 2,839 litres (750 gallons)
  • Flow Rate – 2.84 lpm (0.75 gpm)


DWS2500T-CN Smart Drinking Water System is 3M's latest innovation product, with 3M's patented IMPACT technology. 

The first stage is the pre-filtration process is with premium pleated polypropylene membrane to reduce undesirable dirt, rust, particles and turbidity that may not be visible to the eye.

The IMPACT Technology is in the second stage of fine filtration which is the revolutionary IMPACT media with superior filtration capabilities. 
The “IMPACT” media package combines a patented pharmaceutical-grade two-zone microporous membrane having built-in advance anti bacteria system, that reduces Cryptosporidium and Giardia cysts and more than 99.99% of all water-borne bacteria.
More than 99.99% of E.coli bacteria are reduced by the nylon pharmaceutical grade membrane.

It also has a pre-activated carbon block that removes chemical or chlorine in water.

With finer mesh or particle size, the total surface area is greater and more contact takes place between the water and carbon, providing better contaminant removal efficiency.
Approximately five grams of 3M carbon can achieve the effective surface area of a football field.


I like the fact that it has a dedicated faucet for the filtered drinking water.
And also the faucet looks slim, and shiny and elegant, and make my kitchen top looks elegant.
 

When the faucet is being turned on, the base of the faucet has a LED light indicator, to show that it is in good working condition if the LED light is in blue.
And when the LED light turns red, it means that it is time to change the filter.




You can view a short clip of how the dedicated faucet with the LED light works.


And the part I love most is that the whole bulk of the water filter system (the cartridges) is UNDER the sink. (as you can also see from the short video clip)
Yes, 3M's smart drinking water system is an undersink water filter. It made my kitchen top looks neat, and saves precious kitchen top space!

This was how my old water filter looks like, which was just a very basic filter, but yet on top of sink and took up precious kitchen top space.


Now, this 3M's Water Drinking System is a modern and compact design that looks good yet never take up your kitchen space, as the whole bulk of the cartridges is under the kitchen sink!
 

So with this 3M's Smart Drinking Water System, I have a clean and neat (and elegant) kitchen space!

There is also a Smart Monitoring System to Indicate Cartridge Life.
Equipped with intelligent tracking devices, 3M Smart Drinking Water Systems monitor your usage and provide both visual and audio alarm for cartridge change.
 

The left hand side bar has a total of 12 bars (one bar for each month of usage). Once finished used up 12 bars, it is a reminder to me that I have used it for a year and I would need to reset it back to a full 12 mths by opening up the battery and press F1 to reset.

For the right hand side bar, it also has a total of 12 bars (one bar for 62.5 gallon of water). The total of 12 bars means a total of 750 gallon of water. 

This is the recommended water capacity that consumers can use and still in good quality condition as per NSF requirement.

Another good point that I love about this 3M's Smart Drinking Water System is that it has an Easy Change Cartridge System called as Sanitary Quick Change (SQC) 
With an effortless twist, you can easily change cartridges in less than 10 seconds.

Take a look at the short clips on how I did the Sanitary Quick Change all by myself.

Part 1: Unscrewing/Removing the cartridge.



Part 2: Screwing/Installing the new cartridge back into the system.



Even a noob lady like me can change them, no problem.

On how frequent we need to change the cartridges.
Well, there are 2 cartridges in the water system underneath the sink.
The right cartridge (Final Filter cartridge) is recommended to change every one year.
The left cartridge on the other hand, only need to change it whenever the water flow has stopped (which means the dirt has been accumulated and blocked in the filter system).

This is good because I hate having those water filter companies calling us up every 3 months to change the cartridges (this is what happen to our old water filter system). I dislike having strangers into my house, especially when I am alone.
So with this, I can minimize letting strangers into my house so often.
And also it made me feel more independent and I like that feeling that I can do it myself!

Recently, there are many complains about the water quality in Malaysia. There are harmful enemy of human health found in water, such as E-Coli Bacteria and unwanted chemicals. 
For DWS2500T-CN, it foes not remove water minerals and important minerals that our body needs.
However, it does remove chlorine (unlike the outdoor filter, which I will talk more in a separate post) because it is for drinking.





Using the 3M Smart Drinking Water System

At last, I feel safe to drink water directly from the dedicated faucet!
Before this, my family and I would only drink boiled water, and never directly from the tap (although they say Malaysia water is supposedly safe enough for consumption).
Even with our old water filter of another brand, we would still boil it first before drinking!

Here is a short clip on me feeling safe enough to drink directly from the dedicated faucet.


And let me tell you this, it saves me so much time not having to boil drinking water again, except when we need hot drinks!
And I kept away our big old Tupperware, which we used to store our boiled water, and thus saving more kitchen top space! 
Now, we just turn on the dedicated faucet, and out came pouring abundantly our drinking water! Bliss!

And besides drinking directly from the dedicated faucet, I also used the filtered water to wash our fruits and vegetables and such. 


And I also washed baby's utensils and bottles using this filtered water.
I feel that it is much safer as baby's body is more sensitive to dirt.

It is basically such a luxury to be able to use clean, filtered water to wash important stuff.



In Conclusion:

Overall, I love my 3M's Smart Drinking Water System (DWS2500T-CN) with it's modern, compact design that looks good and with great visual and audio indicator.
And most importantly, this Smart Drinking Water System reduces not only unwanted contaminants such as sediment, turbidity, chlorine, taste and odor that may be present in your tap water.
But it can also effectively reduce harmful  contaminants, such as lead, mercury, volatile organic chemicals, protozoan cysts and bacteria that may enter your water stream from piping and other sources.

3M Smart Drinking Water Systems reduce up to 99.99% of undesirable and harmful contaminants, bringing to me and my family cleaner, clearer, better tasting drinking water!




Edit & Updated:
2015 PROMOTION: Cash Voucher Code

Please PRINT THE BELOW VOUCHER (with the Cash Voucher Code SYN01 stated in it) and bring it with you when you purchase 3M Water Filters from their participating distributors to get instant rebate.
It is valid from now until 1st November 2015!




2014 RAYA PROMOTION

Good news!
There will be a Raya Promotion starting 1 June - 31 July 2014, with savings up to RM699!
(Click on the photo below to go to the 3M's website)

There are 3 combo packages for you to choose from; which has Indoor and Outdoor Water Filter (which I will be reviewing soon too!)


For more details, these are the Combo Packages available:

COMBO 1: INDOOR + OUTDOOR WATER FILTER
For new house owners who need both an indoor and outdoor water filtration system.

§ The DWS2500T-CN is an advanced drinking water filtration system with anti-bacterial technology that also removes harmful chemicals. Built-in with Smart Technology. 1st in Malaysia to have LED light indicator on faucet. § The AP902 is a compact outdoor filter that is efficient in removing sediment & sand.


COMBO 2: INDOOR WATER FILTER
For house owners who need a basic drinking water filtration system that comes with an additional cartridge. 

§ The AP Easy Complete is a drinking water filtration system that removes parasites, cysts and harmful chemicals such as mercury & chlorine.
 

COMBO 3: INDOOR WATER FILTER
For house owners who need an advanced drinking water filtration system plus a set of additional cartridges. 

§ The DWS2500T-CN is an advanced drinking water filtration system with anti-bacterial technology that also removes harmful chemicals. Built-in with Smart Technology. 1st in Malaysia to have LED light indicator on faucet. 
 



TO PURCHASE PROMO PACKAGES

Promo packages are available at participating outlets as listed below:

Central Region 
Kitchentech (Kota Damansara)
No. 41, Jln PJU 5/20, The Strand @ Kota Damansara, 47810 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: +603 6142 9880 
Website: http://www.kitchentech.my/
Sincere Zone Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd
No. 60G, Jalan Wawasan 2/3, Bandar Baru Ampang, 68000 Ampang, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: +603 4293 2698 
Xam-Max Enterprise Sdn Bhd
No. 15-G &17-G, Jalan SS21/60, Damansara Utama, 47400 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: +603 7710 1677
Website: www.xammax.com.my
Sincere Zone Electronics (M) Sdn Bhd
No. 13 & 15, Jalan Temenggung 23/9, Mahkota Square, Bandar Mahkota Cheras 43200. Cheras, Selangor
Tel: 1700-81-9880


Northern Region 
Ban Hin Bee (Anson Road Branch)
No. 111 Jalan Anson, 10400 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604 228 9880 
Website: http://www.bhb.com.my/
Kitchentech (Anson Road Branch)
No. 117, Anson Road, 10400 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604 228 0180 
Website: http://www.kitchentech.my/
Ban Hin Bee (Bukit Jambul Branch)
No. 1-1-25, Ideal Avenue, Medan Kampung Relau 1, (Off Jalan Tun Dr Awang) Bayan Baru, 11900 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604 641 0280 
Website: http://www.bhb.com.my/
Kitchentech (Seberang Jaya Branch)
No. 27-G & 27-1, Jalan Todak 6, Pusat Komesial Sunway Perdana , Seberang Jaya, 13700 Perai, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604 383 8880 
Website: http://www.kitchentech.my/
Ban Hin Bee (Jelutong Branch)
No. 23, 25 & 27, Vantage Point, Jalan Lenggong, 11600 Jelutong, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604 282 2880 
Website: http://www.bhb.com.my/
Kitchentech (Gurney Plaza Branch)
No. 170-04-45 (4th Floor), Plaza Gurney 10250 Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604 227 7880
Website: http://www.kitchentech.my/
Ban Hin Bee (Farlim Branch)
No. 288B-1-8 Fortune Court, Jalan Thean Teik, Bandar Baru, Farlim, Air Itam, 11500, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +604 827 2880 
Website: http://www.bhb.com.my/


Eastern Region 
Ricmas Borneo Sdn. Bhd.
Unit No.E3-8, 3rd Floor, Block E, Plaza Tanjung Aru, Jalan Mat Salleh, Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia.
Tel: +6088 456 100
Website: http://www.ricmas.com.my
Cascata Sdn Bhd
IR9, Block D, Lot C, Pertama Industrial Estate, Off Jalan Arsat, 87008 Labuan FT.
Tel: +6087 431 788
Ricmas Sarawak Sdn Bhd
3rd Floor, lot 2762, Block 10 Bormill Estate, Jalan Tun Ahmad Zaidi Adruce, 93150 Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
Tel: +6082 239 764
Website: http://www.ricmas.com.my


Southern Region 
Lycorp Global Venture 49, Jalan Zamrud, Taman Soga, 83000. Batu Pahat. Johor
Tel: 
+6012 7739349
Website: 
http://www.3mbp.com.my



So wait no more. Hurry up and get yours now! 




For more info, you can also visit 3M Malaysia Website




* Disclosure: I received 3M's Smart Drinking Water System (DWS2500T-CN) for review purpose, but no monetary incentive was received. All text and opinions are of my own and represents my honest opinion of the product(s).

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