The Future of Cleaning: Activeion Pro

You're not even going to believe this when I tell you: there's a product out there that allows you to clean AND sanitize your house with nothing but ordinary tap water! As in harmless, drinkable, next-to-free, plain old tap water. Get it from the kitchen, the bathroom, hey, even the hose (that might be a little messy), fill up your Activeion Pro, and get to cleanin'. It's that simple!

I am no scientist, so I won't get into any big technical explanation of how it works. Basically, the short version is that you fill it with tap water, and right as you spray it, the water is given a slight electrical charge. That charge changes the properties of the water just enough to turn it into your new favorite cleaning product - voila! For a better explanation and to see it in action, take a few minutes and check out this video (anyone remember Bill Nye the Science Guy? That's him in the video!) - This take a little over 9 minutes, but it's well worth it!

At our house, I'm a big fan of green cleaners. As much as I love how clean the foamy bathroom cleaner gets our tub, I have to open all the windows and have my husband use it, lest I be rendered unable to breathe. Those cleaners have wicked bad fumes! And you just know that can't be healthy. Even gentler cleaners can have some pretty strong scents, so I'm not a fan. However, my husband...well, let's just say that the more it stinks, the better he thinks it will work. He loves his bleach, his scrubby cleaners, the kablewy kitchen cleaner...all of those.

I've got what I like to call a relaxed standard of housekeeping (read: I don't clean. Like...at all. It's bad.) So, hubs ends up on the business end of most of the household chores here (I despise cleaning more than mostly anything, ever, including childbirth!). As you can imagine, that leads to some tension when it comes to the cleaners. I dictate what we use to clean, but he's the one who has to actually use the stuff. Needless to say, the first "safer" cleaning product I provided him with went over like a sinking ship. Not cool.

So, when I showed him the super-cool Activeion Pro, his first reaction was "What is that thing?!"...because, well, yeah, it does look like some space-age squirt bottle (and hey, it pretty much is!). When I explained that not only could he clean with it, but also sanitize, he was more interested. And when I filled it up with tap water and squeezed the trigger, unleashing the buzz-hum and green light...well, he was sold. It's a very cool toy! I mean cleaning product. NOT a toy. But kind of. Because it actually is pretty fun to use! I mean, it even had ME cleaning!

I was skeptical, but not nearly as skeptical as hubs. You know, because he's the "elbow" in "elbow grease." I can happily say that after a month and a half of using the Activeion Pro exclusively for all our cleaning needs that we would've used traditional products for, that it WORKS. It really does. Photo evidence, and not just for dramatic effect. Our stove really gets this filthy on a regular basis! On the left, pre-spray; on the right, post-spray & wipe:

As you can see, it took 3 rounds of spraying & wiping to get it spotless & sparkling clean...not bad, considering how nasty it was! It does get a little heavy if you've got spaghetti arms like I do, but I doubt that would be an issue for most people (and it certainly hasn't stopped me from using mine!). It did have a little trouble getting the pool of grease up from around the left front burner, but other than that, it was just as easy as using a regular cleaner. Oh, except it was WAY more friendly on my hands! (I really hate products that dry my hands out when I use them...one more reason not to clean. At least it was, until Activeion came along!)

Like the box says, it's also handy for glass (worked better than glass cleaner, as far as streaks go). I used it on mirrors and windows. It will also work to loosen dirt and stains from carpet, though I can't personally vouch for that (we have no carpets). You can pretty much use it on any hard surface. I used it to do our whole bathroom, too, except the inside of the toilet (I'm not sure how effective it would be there, since it's full of water already). I wiped down and sanitized the shower and sinks, plus did all the fixtures. Ours are chrome, and the sparkled like new when I was done. I LOVE my Activeion!

A few of my favorite uses for the Activeion? The highchair tray. That's my favorite, by far. I can spray it, wipe it, and put the baby in it, or even do it while she's sitting there - no problems. It's just water, so she can get it on her skin, there aren't any fumes...heck, she could play in it if she wanted to, and that would be fine. I love how kid-friendly this is! I also use it on her toys and cups daily. Just a spritz and I'm done, easy-peasy. I use it on the dog dishes, too. Other daily uses? The kitchen counters, definitely. Hubs uses it every night when he cleans the kitchen before bed. I've even used it to sanitize FOOD before....fresh fruit? Skip rinsing them and not getting the bacteria off - just spray them with the Activeion and know that it's all safe to eat (another major relief with kids).

Our Activeion Pro hasn't rested since it came out of the box, we LOVE it! Even the hubs, skeptical as he was, is a convert. It's rechargeable and the battery lasts quite some time (we've used it for a marathon of cleaning over a few hours and it didn't run down). The green light tells you it's working, so there's no wondering. And of course, since it's just water, it's safe anywhere water is safe...which is pretty much everywhere. I can't recommend this highly enough, especially to parents....the Activeion Pro is going to change the game when it comes to cleaning!

So you're wondering what the catch is, right? Well , it's almost $300 ($299.00 + shipping), BUT....think of how much you spend in a year on household cleaning products that this could replace. Kitchen counter cleaner. Glass cleaner. Sink cleaner. Bathroom scrubber. Bathroom sanitizer. Kitchen sanitizer. The list goes on...you all know how expensive buying those products month after month gets. Use this baby for a couple years, and it will have paid for itself. Use it longer, and it's actively saving you money. Pretty cool!

What's more important, though...think of what you're saving your FAMILY from. You can sanitize to your heart's delight and it's completely safe. I love, love, love the Activeion Pro! And get this...one of you lucky readers is going to get your own Activeion Pro to love! Here's how to win: (one entry each, please leave a separate comment for each way you enter.)

MANDATORY to WIN - you must do BOTH of these:

• Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect (under 'follow' in the sidebar - you don't need a google account to do this, just email me if you need help.) Leave the ID you follow under in the comments (I actually do verify every entry.)
• Go to the Activeion Pro site and look at the surfaces it's recommended for, then come back here and tell me which you'd use it on most in the comments.

Bonus entries!

• Follow us (@HappyMomAmy) and Activeion Pro (@Active_ion) on Twitter - you must follow BOTH of us - then leave your Twitter name in a comment.
• Become a fan of BOTH Activeion and Makes Mom Happy on Facebook (leave your Facebook name or link in the comments)
• Put my blog button on your site (it's in the sidebar, just leave me a link!)
• Tweet about the giveaway! You can tweet up to TEN times about the giveaway, for TEN bonus entries! (leave a link to your status update - not just your main page - each time you tweet)...This link must be in your tweet: http://bitly.com/2IFBWD

Giveaway runs from Monday, 6/29 - Friday, 7/31/09, 11:59 EST. Good luck!