Household cleaners are a mess of nasty chemicals, but Bean & Lily provides a clean alternative that’s safe for pets.

[AS OF 1/24/2023, BEAN & LILY IS NO LONGER IN BUSINESS. SORRY!)

Bean & Lily is my go-to company for safe and effective cleaning products.

I never used to care about the ingredients in my cleaners. It didn’t matter what was in it; it only mattered if it did the job or not. Giving no thought to the consequences of the chemicals I was using, I went on, blissfully ignorant.

Why You Should Care About Your Cleaning Product’s Ingredients

Household cleaners CLEAN things, right? So how can a cleaning product be unhealthy?

Aside from the obvious “don’t ingest it” pointer, most people think it’s safe to use products like 409, Lysol and Clorox. Unfortunately, these cleaning products contain many poisonous and corrosive ingredients that can harm both people and pets, even if they’re not ingested.

Common Ingredients Found In Household Cleaners

Newsflash: you can absorb harmful ingredients through your skin. You can also inhale them. Over time, this can cause health problems. You’ll want to stay far away from these ingredients commonly found in household cleaning products.

• Ammonia
• Parabens
• Phthalates 
• Fragrance
• Formaldehyde 
• Triclosan
• Chlorine

The list goes on and on. Just about every common household cleaner has something awful in it. These dangerous ingredients can do anything from aggravating allergies and asthma to causing cancer.

Fortunately, Bean & Lily is completely free of these harmful ingredients.

Bean & Lily Is Different

What makes Bean & Lily different? Well, a lot of things. First, though, let’s talk a little about who Bean & Lily are.

Inspired By Dogs, Made For Everyone

Bean and Lily are Katy Minner’s two black labs. Katy is the President and Co-Founder of Bean & Lily. She, along with her business partner and co-founder Richard Barbour, started their company after working together at Floorscape (which they also founded).

Katy and Richard combine their faith in God with the responsibility they feel to be proper stewards of God’s creation. They do this by creating pH-neutral cleaning products that are pet-safe and contain no animal ingredients.

Their motto is “Do The Job. Do No Harm.”, and that’s exactly what they do.

Bean & Lily NEVER Tests On Animals

Isn’t it weird and sad that some companies test their cleaning products on animals? Even household staples like Windex conduct cruel testing procedures.

Bean & Lily NEVER test on animals. Each and every ingredient is added with care. In fact, Bean & Lily lists the exact definition and use of the ingredients in their products on their website. They WANT you to know what’s in their cleaning products because they know they’re safe!

Natural Fragrance Really DOES Mean Natural!

The word ‘fragrance’ strikes fear into the hearts of eco-friendly, in-the-know pet owners. With no legal definition to speak of, ‘fragrance’ can be a combination of chemicals packed into a label with a single word.

Rather than use artificial fragrance, Bean & Lily use essential oils to give their cleaning products a fresh and delightful scent. Seriously, they smell flippin’ amazing.

What Cleaning Products Does Bean & Lily Offer?

Bean & Lily currently offers general cleaning and laundry products, but their website states that “personal care products… are now in development”.

For the actual review portion of this post, I’m going to tell you our experience with each specific product.

Bean & Lily At Home Surface Cleaner

Bean & Lily’s At Home Surface Cleaner can be used on virtually any flat surface, with one exception — glass. Anything else goes! I regularly use the surface cleaner for wiping down counters, cleaning up cat puke on our wood floors, and even cleaning out their Dr. Catsby dishes.

The surface cleaner comes in two scents: Cucumber Basil and Grapefruit Rosemary Lime. Cucumber Basil is my personal favorite because of how simply clean it smells. I still love the slight hint of spice in the Grapefruit Rosemary Lime, though.

I also used the surface cleaner on our glass stovetop. (Cleaning Tip: Wait at least 1 minute after you spray to wipe up the mess. This allows the surfactants in the surface cleaner to do their job.) Burned on messes were easily scrubbed away!

Bean & Lily Bathroom Cleaner

Lawd, the smell of this cleaner is like heaven. Bean & Lily’s Bathroom Cleaner comes in one scent, but after you smell it, you won’t want any other. Eucalyptus Grapefruit is a surprisingly delightful combination. The stronger eucalyptus scent overpowers bathroom odors, while the grapefruit adds a touch of spring and summer to the air.

Having moved less than a year ago, we are still cleaning up some of the former owners’ messes. One of those messes was a disgusting grey gummy spot behind the toilet. I had tried scrubbing with other cleaners and nothing happened, so I thought it was a permanent stain of some sort.

After spraying the bathroom cleaner on and letting it sit for a couple of minutes, it completely wiped away. I’m serious. I’m not exaggerating. It wiped the heck away.

You can also use the bathroom cleaner on the toilet itself, shower fixtures, the tub, the sink… pretty much anything in your bathroom except the mirror.

Bean & Lily Laundry Stain Release

I have long hated the scent of lavender, but after trying Bean & Lily’s Laundry Stain Release, I’ve changed my mind. It’s actually quite refreshing! Lavender is the only scent in this product (via essential oils), and it adds so much freshness to laundry.

I spilled coffee all over my white/polka dot pajama pants shortly after getting the stain remover. Worried the stain wouldn’t come out in the wash, I sprayed the stain release formula on it. I used the usual detergent, popped it in the dryer afterwards, and the stain was gone with no traces.

Bean & Lily’s stain remover works just as well as commercial chemical cleaners. Old, set-in stains still remain on clothes and blankets, but they fade a bit if you use this stain remover.

Bean & Lily Glass Cleaner

This product has my favorite scent of all: Lemongrass and Green Tea.

I had a bit of trouble with this product. It was the only one I tried that I didn’t like, but I did end up giving it another shot. The reason I wasn’t as thrilled about this Bean & Lily cleaning product was because it left streaks on the glass, even when using a clean squeegee.

I sprayed more of the product on the second time so that the glass was completely wet, wiped, and squeegeed. Wouldn’t you know it? It worked much better. Very little streaking was left on the glass, and it was only on the edges where the squeegee couldn’t get to.

What Did The Meow Place Think Of Bean & Lily?

The cats were completely unbothered by all of the cleaning products. Although a fresh, clean scent is left behind after using Bean & Lily products, it isn’t harsh on kitties’ noses. None of the cats avoided rooms where we used the products.

I carefully watched the cats after trying the surface cleaner on their dishes. I was worried that trace amounts, however harmless the ingredients were, could give them a stomach upset. So far, none of the cats have experienced symptoms of this.

Products We Didn’t Try

Bean & Lily also offers a floor cleaner and laundry detergent. I make my own laundry detergent, so I have no need to buy any. I do, however, want to try the floor cleaner eventually. This post will be updated in the event that we do!

How Much Do These Products Cost?

I have seen the price on their website change several times, but the average price of each product is currently $5.99 for a 24 fl. oz. bottle. AND THEY LAST FOREVER. It has been at least two months, and we’ve only gone through one bottle of the surface cleaner, which we use multiple times a day.

Bean & Lily’s laundry detergent is only $9.99 for 50 fl. oz. ($11.99 on Amazon), which is pretty darn good compared to other ‘natural’ laundry detergents.

Why Don’t Bean & Lily Products Have Disinfectants In Them?

You would think the bathroom cleaner would at least have a disinfectant in it. This worried me, so I perused the FAQ section on B&L’s website. It turns out that, rather than use harsh disinfectants, they use what are called ‘surfactants’. But do surfactants kill germs?

You guys need to understand that I’m really bad at science, so I had no idea what ‘surfactants’ were. Well, after forcing myself to research them by reading science-y articles, I now know.

Surfactants are a cleaning agent that doesn’t just kill germs… they break the cell structure down entirely. They are effective against bacteria, fungi, and other grossness found in your household. By the time surfactants get done with bacteria, the cell membrane of the bacteria is completely eradicated, and they are unable to hold their structure.

That’s ‘science’ for “they’re dead and gone”.

The Final Verdict

Considering the value you get for the price, as well as the remarkable cleaning ability and fresh scent, we have to give Bean & Lily 5 out of 5 meows. There is virtually nothing I and my family dislike about any of B&L’s cleaning products.

Although retail giants do not currently carry Bean & Lily cleaning products, it’s easy to order from Amazon ($25 or more gets you free shipping) or directly from their site. You do have to spend at least $50 to qualify for free shipping from the website, but their sample pack is included free with every order.

What did you think of this review? Would you buy Bean & Lily products after reading this? What is your favorite pet-safe cleaning product? Let us know in the comments! We love to chat. 🙂

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