1. Product features

• Are your products toxic?

  Our main goal is providing products that have the least possible impact, both on our health and on the environment. This is why we choose to use only ingredients known for the very low toxicity for humans, for the limited aquatic toxicity and low potential for bioaccumulation.

  If you would like to see firsthand the specific LD₅₀ and aquatic toxicity data of the raw materials used, write to us at info@poolito.com and we will send them to you.

• But why don't you write "non-toxic"?

  Although we are convinced that you will hardly be able to find on the market products with lower toxicity than ours, telling you that our products are "non-toxic" - and therefore leading you to think that they are harmless- would not be correct: our products, as all others, are still chemical compounds that need to be treated with the appropriate caution. That’s why using terms like "non-toxic" in your marketing campaign is unethical, as well as being illegal in the EU, even if it would probably make us sell more.

  This probably wasn't the easy answer you were looking for and we'll understand if you'd rather buy from someone who tells you what you want to hear. However, if we have made you a little curious, you can deepen the topic of toxicity here and the legality of certain claims here.

• Are your products biodegradable?

  Yes, our products are completely biodegradable!

• Do your products contain micro plastics?

  Absolutely not! It would be a bit of a contradiction...

• What kind of surfactants do you use?

  The choice of our surfactants was made favouring low toxicity on humans and the environment, high biodegradability and high cleaning performance. They are of both plant and synthetic origin.

• Are your products vegan?

  Containing no products of animal or enzymatic origin, our products are vegan by definition ;)

• Are your products tested on animals?

  We love animals, so obviously we have never tested our products on them, nor asked others to do it for us. Unfortunately, however, we are aware that all the raw materials available on the market could in the past have been tested on animals, if only to determine the degree of safety for humans.

• Where are your products made?

  Our suppliers are located in Italy and Germany.

2. Use of products

• How do I use your products?

  Our products are water soluble tablets which are sold in doses. Each dose corresponds to the number of tablets needed to obtain 750 ml of finished product at the appropriate concentration.

• Ok, but so what?

  Then, when you receive your doses, you take a clean plastic bottle, fill it with 750 ml of water, drop the tablets corresponding to your dose in it and let the magic happen. After a little bit, your Poolito cleanser is ready. Just remember to wait for the tablets to completely dissolve before screwing the sprayer on.

• How long does it take for the tablets to dissolve?

  This depends on the product, as different tablets have different compositions and dissolution times. In general, they will take between 30 and 90 minutes. Therefore you have two options: you can add the tablets to your bottle and stare hard at it for 90 minutes... or, while they do their job, you can go and enjoy a Netflix episode or two. Just, please don't fall asleep: there is a house to clean!

• Can I keep the tablets that I haven't used yet?

  Of course, that's the beauty of it! You can store them in a little corner, so that you will never run out of your favourite cleaning product. The only precaution is to keep them away from humidity and store them in a cool and dry place.

• Can I prepare less than 750 ml of product?

  If you have bottles of different capacity than 750 ml, you can use a different number of tablets than the usual dose, as long as you respect the proportions indicated on the box. For example, if a product has a dose of 2 tablets in 750 ml of water, you can use 1 in 375 ml or 4 in 1.5 l. Size doesn't matter ;)

• My tablets have changed color over time. Why?

  We only use food dyes for our tablets, which can sometimes be less stable over time than dyes made to last. But don't worry: the products do not lose their effectiveness at all.

3. Payment

• What payment methods do you accept?

  We accept payments with PayPal, Apple Pay, Amazon Pay and all major credit cards.

• What warranties do you give regarding the protection of my payment data?

  To handle our payments, we rely on partners such as Stripe and PayPal, known for having the highest security standards.

4. Shipment

• Where do you ship?

  To most places in Europe, with costs varying depending on the Country. You can find a full table of costs here. If you can't find your country, please email us at info@poolito.com - we will do our best to help you.

• When will my order be shipped?

  Orders have a processing time of 1-2 working days before being entrusted to the courier. When we have shipped the package, you will receive an email with the tracking number to be able to track it.

• How long will it take for my order to arrive?

  Once entrusted to the carrier, the transit time should be 3-5 business days, depending on where you live.

• What should I do when I receive my order?

  Please, always check the integrity of your package and report us immediately if there are any signs of damage or tampering so that we can intervene. You can write to us directly at info@poolito.com.

5. Returns

• Can I return an order?

  If for any reason you are not satisfied with your order (but we hope not!), if it's still intact you can return it within 14 days of receiving it. Write us at info@poolito.com with your order number and the word "Return" in the subject of the e-mail and you will receive all necessary instructions. For more information, read our Terms and Conditions.

• Can I make an exchange?

  Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to exchange products. Simply return the original item to us. You will be refunded immediately and you will be able to proceed with a new order.

• Are there any costs for the return?

  Processing a return does not involve any additional costs but the shipping costs will remain on you. You can arrange to send us your return with a courier of your choice or request a prepaid shipping label with our courier and have its cost be deducted from your refund. In any case, remember that the shipment must take place within 14 days from the communication of the return.

• How soon will I receive the refund?

  Once we have received your return, we will send you an email to confirm its approval. After that, the refund will be automatically processed to the original payment method within 14 days. In the event that some damage to the product is found, an amount equal to the damage will be withheld. Returns that are unauthorized or rejected but still sent back to our warehouse will remain available to the customer for 10 working days, after which they will be destroyed.

6. Geeky stuff

• How do surfactants work?

  Surfactants are a class of substances, generally composed of a hydrophilic "head" and a hydrophobic "tail", which have the ability to lower the surface tension of a liquid, increasing its miscibility.
  There are many kinds of surfactant molecules which, depending on their structure, differ in characteristics, behaviour, properties and interaction with the surrounding environment. They are used in the most diverse fields as emulsifiers, foaming agents or detergents.
  When used as detergents, these molecules will place at the interface between two liquids, for example water and oil, with the hydrophobic tail towards the fat and the hydrophilic head towards the water: this way, they will increase the solubility of the oil, thus facilitating its removal.

• Why does foam form?

  Foam is formed when the surface tension of water (the "force" with which the surface molecules of water attract each other) is lowered enough that the air can be "mixed" with the water. Because surfactants facilitate this mechanism and surfactants can be used as detergents, cleaning power has always been linked to foaming power.
  In reality the connection is not so direct: in fact, there are surfactants with great cleaning power and low foaming power that are ideal, for example, where having a lot of foam would be a problem, such as for dishwashers.

• Are your products toxic? Aka, what does it mean to say that our products are less toxic than chocolate.

  Any substance, if taken in large enough quantities, is toxic. Including chocolate. Including the water we drink.
  One of the quantities used to measure toxicity is called LD₅₀: the higher this value, the lower the toxicity of a substance. Water, for example, has an oral toxicity of LD₅₀ = 90,000 mg/kg, while chocolate (technically theobromine, a substance contained in chocolate) has an oral toxicity of LD₅₀ = 1,000 mg/kg.
  Our products have an estimated acute toxicity greater than LD50 = 15,000 mg/kg.

  (For further information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Median_lethal_dose)

• Do your claim comply with the Regulations? Aka, when you cheat to sell more.

  Any chemical mixture that has the hazard pictogram on the back (the exclamation point, the mildest in order of severity of risk) cannot by European Union Regulation 1272/2008 be described using "indications such as «non-toxic», «harmless», «non-polluting», «ecological» or any other indication that the substance or mixture is not dangerous".
  The idea behind this Regulation is protecting the consumer: chemical mixtures always require to be used with caution and awareness and using the wrong language could lead to underestimate their risks.

  This means that only products that do not have any hazard pictograms can legitimately use this type of language: others are abusing it to sell it to you.

  (Source: article 25.4 of EC Regulation 1272/2008)

• How did you calculate the CO₂ saved?

  Given the number of variables involved, the calculation was based on some hypotheses and some simplifications. In particular:

  • we took the distance that separates our supplier in Germany from our headquarters in Milan: 1200 km;
  • e imagined to fill two trucks, one with products in 750 ml ready-to-use bottles (RTU, Ready To Use) and one with our tablets, and have them travel to Milan at full capacity;
  • in both cases, we considered the weight of the product together with that of its packaging;
  • we calculated the CO₂ emitted in the journey, assuming that a generic truck emits 140 g/tkm of CO₂;
  • we have not taken into account the emissions generated by the transport of the product to your home, as they are related to information not in our possession (eg. your address).

  Having done the calculation, it turns out that the percentage of CO₂ saved when transporting tablets rather then RTU products is approximately 98%, a value independent of the actual journey.

  But if we want to be precise, the absolute value you see on the product pages is only the CO₂ saved on the Germany-Milan journey.

• What is bagasse? Aka, what is our packaging made of.

  Bagasse is the left-over from sugar cane processing and it consists in the fibrous part of the cane, which would usually be thrown away.
  Instead, it can be recovered and processed in order to obtain a cellulose-based material similar to paper. It is free of chemical whiteners and not a single tree has been cut down to make it. It remains recyclable and compostable.

• What does WGK stand for?

  WGK stands for Wassergefährdungsklasse, which is not a dirty word but means "water hazard class" in the German classification. This quantity describes how much a mixture can be considered harmful to water and aquatic organisms and is divided into 4 bands: not dangerous, class 1 (not very dangerous), class 2 (dangerous), class 3 (very dangerous).

  (Source: ChemSafetyPRO )