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Mr. Clean, Meet Mr. Electrolyzed Tap Water

Even as new ads for Mr. Clean play up a value message by showing the product doing the work of three brands combined, as Elaine Wong reports in Brandweek, along comes a potential new rival: electrolyzed tap water, which is simply a mixture of common H2O and table salt whose ions have been scrambled with an electric current.

"It's a kitchen degreaser. It's a window cleaner. It kills athlete's foot. Oh, and you can drink it," writes Ken Hively. It can also be used to destroy harmful bacteria on food. It has been used for years in Japan and the Soviet Union but is just beginning to take hold here.

In Santa Monica, Calif., the once-skeptical Sheraton housekeeping staff is now happy to be done with skin-chapping bleach and pungent ammonia. "I didn't believe in it at first because it didn't have foam or any scent," says housekeeper Flor Corona. "But I can tell you it works."

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The mixture costs less than a penny a gallon, and Sheraton management figures the payback time for the $10,000 electrolysis machine will be less than a year. Of course, that $10,000 price tag is a big barrier for anyone but industrial users right now. Also, electrolyzed water can't be stored long, and the process needs to be monitored frequently for the right strength.

Read the whole story at Los Angeles Times, Brandweek »

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