Going Through Paper, Soap, Trash Can Liners and Cleaning Chemicals Faster Than Ever?

You’re not alone! Manufacturers continue to make products thinner, smaller and cheaper than ever.

Check the Specs on All Newly Packaged Commercial Cleaning Supplies

Many building service contractors and facility managers have noticed an increase in curiously “spec’d”, newly packaged products such as paper products, hand soap, trash bags and cleaning chemicals.

Some Brands of Paper Rolls are Shrinking

Changes made by manufacturers are usually subtle, but it adds up! 800 sheets per roll become 700-750 sheets per roll. Sheet lengths may go from 11″ to 9″ or 10″. Widths of toilet paper (bath tissue) that were once 4.5″ wide are down to 3″ in some instances! Core sizes are increasing, leaving a large cardboard tunnel in the middle. Some ply-thicknesses are getting to the point where they’re almost see-through.

Hand Cleaners Ingredients and Packaging Have Changed as Well

Many “luxury” and “pearlized” hand soaps are now runny and watered down, to the point where they’re dripping from dispensers. Some refills are being packaged in sizes 10-20% smaller. Ingredients such as aloe, lanolin and Vitamin E have been eliminated or reduced in their formulations.

Some Trash Can Liners Have “Equivalent” Ratings

There have been tremendous advancements in polymers and the way they’re blended when manufacturing trash can liners (garbage bags). But, some manufacturers make claims on their packaging of what they feel their bags are equivalent-to in thickness, rather than list the actual thickness of their liners. Rather than state that their bags are really 0.8 mils thick, they may claim it’s equivalent-to 1.2 mils. It’s very subjective and VERY MISLEADING.

Double Check Trash Can Liner Sizes and Case Counts

What were once considered standard trash can liner sizes have also shrunk in recent years. For example, If you order 33 x 40 liners, your distributor may be giving you 32 x 39. As mentioned before, occasionally double check the case count. Some manufacturers may put 470 liners in what is supposed to be a 500 liner case.

Repackaged Products Have Padded Some Pockets While Creating Confusion for Others

Many cleaning contractors and facility managers are facing confusion about the products they’ve purchased from other suppliers.  At Scrub n Shine, we’ve had people tell us that they can no longer find “specs” or codes on products that they’ve purchased elsewhere. When questioned, the other distributors have answered them in vague terms, forcing the customer to play detective in trying to make an accurate product comparison.

If the Manufacturer Doesn’t Fully Disclose Product Specs, the Distributor Should!

In these instances, the manufacturer and/or distributor are usually trying to cut corners to increase their bottom line at YOUR EXPENSE.  If they won’t fully disclose what they’re manufacturing and/or selling, then why continue to do business with them?

While variances in quality will always make it difficult to compare apple-to-apples, you should at least know the amount of active ingredients as well as accurate weights, thicknesses, counts, etc.

Here are Some Things to Look for When Comparing Products

90-120 oz. jugs that are being sold as “gallons”;
20-28 oz. bottles being sold as “quarts”;
Toilet tissue rolls with sheets that are less than 3”x3” and being compared to 4”x4” sheet rolls;
Paper products with cores that are over twice the diameter as other products;
Folded paper products that are so thin, skinny and cheap that they fall out of the dispenser;
Paper products that have 10-40% less but are being marketed the same as others (i.e., 700 sheet TP rolls that are being marketed the same as 1000 sheet rolls. Or, 2400 sheets being marketed as 4000 sheets of multi-fold towels.);
Trash can liners with substantially fewer than what is stated on the package (in one instance, we found 720 in a box that stated it had 1,000);
Trash can liners that are thinner than what is stated. We’ve found numerous instances of competitors selling 6 microns in a box that shows 8 microns – 0.9 mil in a box that showed 1.3 mil, etc.;
Hand soap dispensers that are “tweaked” to shoot out more soap per pump stroke than what is advertised;
Household vacuums being sold as “commercial” vacuums
And our most frustrating item is floor finish. There are many very misleading claims that are being made on poor quality products out there.

And the list goes on and on.

At Scrub n Shine, We Sell Quality Commercial Maintenance Products With Full Disclosure

We stand behind everything we sell and service. Better Products. Better Service.  Better Value.

Contact us. We can help!