Benefect Botanical Disinfectant
- The First Botanical Disinfectant in North America EPA registered
- Kills Over 99.99% of Bacteria, Fungus, TB and HIV
- No Rinse or Wipe Required
- No Warning Labels or First Aid Statements
- No Mixing
What does Benefect® mean to you?
As a contractor or homeowner you know that Benefect® has been reviewed for safety, efficacy & environmental impact by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) & therefore you can trust what the label says. Naturally, Benefect’s® botanical ingredients give it some distinct advantages:
No Rinse or Wipe Required
You can now use a product that doesn’t require a rinse or wipe. This saves costly labor & time allowing you to do the job faster by saving a whole labor step & lets you move onto the next job faster. This saves you money.
It is also suitable for use around children, pets, the elderly and chemically-sensitive individuals. So you can relax about chemical contamination, overspray & evacuating building occupants.
No Warning Labels or First Aid Statements
You can now use an alternative to chlorine, ammonia & oxidizers which isn’t corrosive, flammable or reactive nor does it pose a public health risk. This means you don’t need any Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as: rubber gloves, boots, aprons, respirators or face shields to protect yourself from the product.
Employers are liable for the health and safety of their employees. Using Benefect® ensures employers are providing their employees with the latest technology & the best choice for the job.
Would you buy 20 year old equipment? Why would you choose 20 year old disinfectant technology?
No Mixing
Ready-To-Use products dispense the correct concentration of disinfectant every time, right out of the bottle. With many concentrates, contractors need to make sure dilution rates, water hardness levels and water temperature are all correct to ensure that the disinfectant is mixed properly: too low & they may not kill effectively, too high & they may be an additional health risk.
What is a Disinfectant?
The term “Disinfectant” is actually a legal, regulated term & cannot be used, or claimed on a product’s label, until the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reviews all the supporting efficacy, chemistry & safety data & approves every word on the label.
Benefect® is classified as a Hospital or Medical Disinfectant by the EPA because of the variety of bacteria that it kills. The EPA has selected 3 representative organisms that a product must have Efficacy against, within 10 minutes, using a specifically approved laboratory method, to be successfully registered in this category.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency mandate is to protect human health & the environment. So, in addition to kill data, EPA scientists reviewed the Toxicity or safety profile of Benefect®, the Directions for Use, Storage, Disposal and Handling, plus a complete review of any Environmental impact. Click here to go to the EPA’s site & learn more.
The EPA then requires any Precautionary Statements or Warnings to be added to the label to ensure that safe & effective use of the product can be achieved when label directions are followed. The product is then “registered” with an EPA number & can now legally be called a “disinfectant” or claim to “kill bacteria.” So the Benefect® label is, in fact, a legal reference point for all health claim & use related questions.
Only products with EPA Registration Numbers can make public health claims such as “disinfection” or “kills germs” (“biocide,” “microbiocide,” “fungicide,” “mildewcide,” “bacteriostat,” & their derivatives are NOT regulated health claims). If a product doesn’t have an EPA number then the government has not reviewed & approved the label claims it should only be relied on for cleaning, not killing germs.
Benefect® Botanical Disinfectant: Efficacy
All hospital disinfectants need to be registered by the EPA to make health claims. They all must submit successful kill data against the following organisms within a standard contact time of 10 minutes. The equivalent to over 99.99% reduction is required for disinfectant registration.
These particular organisms were chosen as representatives of their category or structure of bacteria to simplify the testing process & avoid having to test every organism in a category.
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ORGANISM (TYPE) |
REDUCTION |
CONTACT TIME |
|
Salmonella choleraesuis (Gram -ve) |
99.999+% |
10 minutes |
|
Staphylococcus aureus (Gram +ve) |
99.999+% |
10 minutes |
|
Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Gram +ve Human Pathogen) |
99.999+% |
10 minutes |
|
Trichophyton mentagrophytes (Fungi- spore forming) |
99.999+% |
10 minutes |
|
Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) |
99.999+% |
5 minutes |
|
Human Immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV - 1, the AIDS virus) |
99.999+% |
10 minutes |
NOTE: Benefect® is not required, nor recommended, to be rinsed or wiped off at all due to its botanical ingredients and neutral pH. “Just Spray & Walk Away”™.
Additional organisms are continually being tested, submitted & registered to broaden the kill spectrum of Benefect®.
The statements of antimicrobial activity are based on independent laboratory testing at world renowned ATS Labs in Minneapolis.
Benefect® Botanical Disinfectant: Safety Profile
Benefect® is an ingenious mixture of plant extracts that surpasses government efficacy requirements for hospital disinfectants but that, unbelievably, are also Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS) or as Direct Food Additives by the FDA.
Benefect’s® botanical active ingredient is classified by the EPA as having no known adverse affects to human health or the environment.
Benefect® is classified under the EPA’s highest safety rating category allowed under law for all routes of exposure which include:
- Inhalation
- Ingestion
- Skin Irritation
- Skin Sensitization
- Eye Irritation
As well, Benefect® contains no ammonia, chlorine, oxidizers or alcohols & even has a neutral pH, which means that it is:
- Non-corrosive
- Non-flammable
- Non-reactive
Environmental Impact
On the environmental front Benefect® really established itself as a leading, viable technology. Of course, being the first disinfectant that is botanical in composition is going to be environmentally-friendly.
Originally, EPA regulations were not set up to allow for botanical disinfectants because none existed and disinfectants were by definition poisonous. So again, Benefect® has blazed the trail.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s mandate is to protect human health & the environment. Therefore, all disinfectants must be thoroughly reviewed by the EPA as a normal component of registration which includes reviewing the impact the product may have on the: Environment
Benefect® Botanical Disinfectant: Applications
Contractors:Benefect® is ideal for Hard Surface Disinfection on:
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...& other similar surfaces where bacteria, mold and mildew or odors are a concern and where a botanical product is sensible.
Benefect® is ideal for Knock Down & Odor Control against odor-causing bacteria & fungi on porous & non-porous surfaces:
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...& other similar surfaces where bacteria, mold and mildew or odors are a concern and where a botanical product is sensible.Benefect® is ideal for use in Residential, Commercial & Medical Applications, including:
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...& other similar application sites where bacteria, mold and mildew or odors are a concern and where a botanical product is sensible.
Homeowners:
Benefect® is ideal for Hard Surface Disinfection on:
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...& other similar surfaces where bacteria, mold and mildew or odors are a concern and where a botanical product is sensible.
Benefect® is ideal for Odor Control against odor-causing bacteria & fungi on porous & non-porous surfaces:
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...& other similar surfaces where bacteria, mold and mildew or odors are a concern and where a botanical product is sensible.
Benefect® is ideal for use in the following Applications:
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...& other similar application sites where bacteria, mold and mildew or odors are a concern and where a botanical product is sensible.The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Antimicrobials Division lists Benefect® Disinfectant as an Antimicrobial Product Registered for Use against Influenza A Virus (including the H1N1 strain) on Hard Surfaces.
Customer Comments:
Love the natural disinfectant. Pleasant, clean scent. I add it to laundry as well as use it to clean the bathroom. You don't need to use much so it lasts a long time. Susan - Kinnelon, NJ
Excellent order process, super fast delivery, really friendly customer service. I love Tropical Traditions products. I order their virgin coconut oil regularly and use their vinegar, coconut flakes and shreds, chocolate, tomato sauce, household cleaners, eggs, fresh meat especially chickens. It's all really fine stuff. I've been using them for years and would encourage anyone to give them a try. Sue - San Rafael, CA
More information on Benefect®:
Material Safety Data Sheet
Broad Spectrum Disinfectant Data Sheet
Product brochure
Frequently Asked Questions
A lot of cleaning products claim to be disinfectants, but as a consumer how do I know that Benefect Disinfectant really kills germs?
"Disinfectant" is actually a legal term that can only be stated on product labels that have been proven to destroy or irreversibly inactivate infectious bacteria and/or fungi of specific microorganisms in accordance with the E.P.A.'s (Environmental Protection Agency) detailed guidelines. The microorganisms tested are predetermined by the E.P.A..
In addition to bacterial kill data, E.P.A. scientists review the product for other characteristics such as; how toxic the product is to our environment, directions for safe and effective application, storage, disposal and handling plus a complete review of the health and safety profile of the product. When the E.P.A. is satisfied with all the scientific data, the product is registered by the E.P.A., an E.P.A. registration number is issued and the product can now be called a disinfectant. The E.P.A. number for Benefect® Disinfectant is 74771-1.
What is the difference between cleaners and disinfectants?
Cleaners aren’t registered with the E.P.A. and do not require an E.P.A. number to be sold into the marketplace. Cleaning products cannot make any public health claims on their labels that they kill bacteria. Watch out for “antimicrobial” cleaners or other marketing terms that allude to killing germs.
A good rule of thumb to distinguish between cleaners and disinfectant is to make sure the product has an E.P.A. number on the label. If there isn’t an E.P.A. number on the label then be safe and just use the product to clean up dirt and other organic matter, not to kill bacteria.
Can I clean and disinfect in one step?
Yes, but only if the surface to be disinfected is not excessively dirty. It is to be understood that visible, impermeable particulates would be removed prior to disinfection. Some disinfectants are tested by the E.P.A. with a 5% organic load on the surface to simulate real life use. But if the surface is covered with enough "dirt" to be a barrier, then that is excessively dirty and needs to be cleaned prior to disinfection.
If the disinfectant was applied in these conditions, without pre-cleaning, there is a possibility that 1) the disinfectant will be inactivated by the dirt, or 2) the dirt will pose a physical barrier so the disinfectant simply can't get to the bacteria. It is best to use some of the Benefect Multi Purpose Cleaner to first clean up the visible dirt so the disinfectant can get to work.Be wary of some one-step or combination cleaner/disinfectant products, some have different directions and contact times required for cleaning than for disinfecting. Make sure you follow the E.P.A. registered label.
Does the product come in different scents?
Only the lemon and spice scent is available at this time. The scent is a direct result of the natural oils that kill the bacteria. Many fragrances that consumers are used to are actually synthetic and do not contribute to the killing ability of the product. If we started to add synthetic fragrances to Benefect Disinfectant this would alter the safety profile and we wouldn’t have been able to produce a product with no warning labels.
Why are there no warning labels?
All of the natural oils that are inBenefect Disinfectant are either F.D.A (Food and Drug Administration) approved as Food Additives or on the United States G.R.A.S. (Generally Recognized as Safe) list. When the E.P.A. reviewed the health and safety profile they determined that these food grade ingredients posed no negative health effects and that theBenefectDisinfectant label did not require any warnings.
Lots of cleaning products say “Natural” or “Botanical” but snake venom and arsenic are natural, so how do I know that Benefect Disinfectant isn’t actually hurting me and my family?
The main directive of the E.P.A. is to maintain and protect public health. If Benefect Disinfectant was a potential public health threat then the E.P.A. registered label would need to reflect any potential health hazards. The E.P.A. lets the public know that the products are hazardous by putting warning labels or precautionary statements on the labels.
The label says Benefect Disinfectant is for hard surfaces, what happens if I use it on my carpet or other porous surfaces?
If you use Benefect Disinfectant on porous surfaces then you cannot be sure that it will be killing 99.99% of bacteria. It will be killing the organisms that it comes into contact with, but we don’t know just how many. If Benefect Disinfectant is sprayed on porous surfaces then it can only be said to deodorize, not disinfect.
What does the Environmental Choice maple leaf and bird logo mean?
This maple leaf and bird logo is the official logo of the Environmental Choice Program (ECP). The ECP is similar to the Green Seal program that recognizes superior products that surpass certain environmental standards and reflect environmental responsibility and stewardship. Green Seal does not have a category for Hospital Disinfectants such as Benefect at this time but does have a reciprocal recognition agreement with ECP certified products. Benefect is the only disinfectant to be recognized by this program.
Benefect Botanical Disinfectant - 1 gallon
Benefect Botanical Disinfectant Wipes