SDA study finds wipes usage up.

According to The Soap and Detergent Association's (SDA) 2008 National Cleaning Survey, conducted by Echo Research (ER), people most commonly use wipes to clean, disinfect or sanitize kitchen countertops and appliances, bathroom fixtures, their hands, face and skin, furniture, children, floors, windows and clothing. The results were released at the 2008 World of Wipes International Conference in Chicago.

Of those who use wipes (693 of the 1008 originally surveyed), 77% reported keeping a container of wipes in at least two locations throughout their house, with 17% claiming four or more locations.

SDA's research shows that 71% of 1008 Americans surveyed have used a cleaning, disinfecting or antibacterial wipe, which is up from 66% in 2004, when SDA conducted its previous wipes survey. More than a third (35%) report using wipes once per day or more, with 16% plucking a wipe more than twice per day. According to the study, consumers choose their wipes based on cleaning effectiveness (45%), value (22%) and durability (13%). Other factors include brand name (10%) and package size (8%). The qualities that provide the most utility for American adults include their portability (28%), ease of disposal (20%), certain wipes' germ-killing ability (17%), multi-purpose functionality (13%) and their fast-acting nature (11%). Others (6%) appreciate the fact that there are specialty wipes for certain household jobs, ranging from stain removal to facial cleansing.

More information: www.cleaning101.com.

U.S. Wipes Demand
(millions of dollars)

Item                  2001   2006   2011   2001-2006   2006-2011

Wipes                 1146   1645   2210      7.5         6.1
Baby                   384    445    500      3.0         2.4
General Purpose/       220    277    345      4.7         4.5
  Industrial
Disinfectant           114    182    275      9.8         8.6
Medicated               93    134    185      7.6         6.7
Moist Towelettes        64     81     95      4.8         3.2
Electrostatic Wipes     26     46     60     12.1         5.5
All Other              245    480    750     14.4         9.3