Results - Can Green Clean?

When looking at environmental impact it is clear to see that more products performed well on toxicity than biodegradability. When determining the overall environmental impact the two factors are not weighted equally. The time it takes a product to degrade is more important than its initial toxicity. The longer the products lasts in the water, the more time it has to impact aquatic organisms. We asked our university partners, "Is it better to have a highly toxic product that biodegrades rapidly, or a less toxic product that does not biodegrade?"  They told us that the more toxic product that degrades rapidly would likely have less overall environmental impact.  For this reason we weighted biodegradability higher than toxicity in our evaluation. 

Both Thetford Marine Boat Wash and Meguiar’s Gel wash were nearly 100% biodegraded in 4 weeks. ConcrobiumXT Ecowash Gel was the hands down winner in biodegradability with nearly 100% degradation in only 2 weeks. Weighing all the factors: cleaning performance, toxicity, biodegradability and cost, our Staff Pick is Thetford Boat Wash. This cleaner comes in a concentrated, cost-effective formula, cleaned the boats relatively easily, with low toxicity and high biodegradability. It is also readily available at major boating supply stores nationwide.

For the full breakdown of how each cleaner performed, see the chart in the print article.

The Thetford Marine Boat Washwas chosen as the staff favorite for great cleaning, low toxicity and high biodegradability.

The ConcrobiumXT Eco-Wash was the winner in biodegradability.