Force of Nature
Quick verdict: Most “non-toxic” cleaners quietly skip the hard part, which is killing germs. Force of Nature doesn’t. You put salt, water and a little vinegar in a small plug-in activator, and it comes out as hypochlorous acid, which is registered with the EPA as a disinfectant. It holds a Green Seal certificate, it’s Leaping Bunny approved, and once the activator’s paid for, a bottle costs you about the price of a coffee. It does streak on glass. Our rating: 3.8 out of 5.
Who they are
Force of Nature is the trading name of HCI Cleaning Products, LLC, a Delaware company that lists Westford, Massachusetts as its address on both its EPA registration and its SEC filings.
It’s independent, and it’s taken outside money to stay that way. The company has filed a string of Form D notices since 2019, and the latest, from February 2026, offers $2 million with $85,000 sold so far. There’s no parent company and no acquisition we could find. Two things older coverage gets wrong: it isn’t founder-led anymore, since the CEO today isn’t one of the founders, and nobody publishes how much of it the investors hold.
We couldn’t pin down the founding year from a source we’d stand behind, so we’ve left it blank rather than guess.
What they get right
It’s a registered disinfectant, not a “cleaner that fights germs.” That wording gap is where a lot of green cleaning brands live. Force of Nature’s product sits in the EPA’s pesticide registry as Reg. No. 93040-1, active since April 2018, with the label last updated in May 2025. You can look it up yourself. The active ingredient the EPA lists is plain sodium chloride, aka table salt, which the device converts into hypochlorous acid, the same thing your white blood cells make to fight infection.
The certifications are the brand’s own. The Multi-Purpose Cleaner & Disinfectant is certified by Green Seal, which audits against a published standard, and it’s listed under its own name in Leaping Bunny’s US register. No supplier’s certificate doing the work here.
There’s nothing to hide in the ingredient list. Salt, water, vinegar. No fragrance, no quats, no bleach, nothing to rinse off a cutting board or a kid’s high chair.
Where they fall short
It’s not a grab-and-go bottle. You buy an activator, you make a batch, and the solution doesn’t keep forever, so you make another. If you want a spray you can pick up at the grocery store, this isn’t it.
It streaks. When Wirecutter tested it, they found it disinfects fine but doesn’t deliver the streak-free shine the marketing promises. On mirrors and glass you’ll want a cloth and some patience, or a separate glass cleaner.
Some claims only come from the brand. The carbon-neutral claim through ClimatePartner is Force of Nature’s own, and so is its List N listing for viruses. We didn’t find either one confirmed by an outside source. And the company says where its ingredients come from, but not where anything gets made.
EWG hasn’t rated it. The brand says EWG declined to score it, which is less a knock than a sign that the database isn’t built for a product like this. Worth knowing if you shop by EWG, though.
What they sell and what it costs
The Starter Kit lists at $81 and goes on sale often (we saw it at $72.90). It includes the activator, a bottle and a starter set of capsules. The newer Gen2 kit is $72. Capsule refills run from about $19 to $93 depending on how many you buy, and the brand works that out to roughly $1.39 for a 12 oz bottle, or $1.15 on subscription.
So it’s $$ up front and pretty cheap after that. If you’re replacing a disinfecting spray you buy every few weeks, the kit pays for itself inside a year.
Who it’s actually for
Buy Force of Nature if you actually need to disinfect (a kitchen with raw chicken in it, a stomach bug going round, pets) and you’re done with bleach and quat sprays. It’s the rare green cleaner that can back up the word “disinfectant” with a registration number.
If you mostly wipe down counters and want something off the shelf, a plain plant-based spray will do that job with less fuss. And if streak-free glass is the priority, keep a dedicated glass cleaner around anyway. Our roundup of the best non-toxic cleaning products has both.
Deals and discounts
No affiliate relationship on our side. The Starter Kit is marked down a good chunk of the time, and subscribing to capsules takes the per-bottle cost down further.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Is Force of Nature actually a disinfectant?
Yes. It’s registered with the EPA as a disinfectant under Reg. No. 93040-1, active since 2018. The device turns salt, water and vinegar into hypochlorous acid, and that solution is what carries the registration.
Is Force of Nature non-toxic?
The ingredients going in are salt, water and vinegar, and the product holds a Green Seal certification and Leaping Bunny approval. There’s no fragrance, bleach or quats. Like any disinfectant, follow the label, but there’s nothing you need to rinse off food surfaces.
Is Force of Nature an independent company?
It’s independent. The company, HCI Cleaning Products, LLC, has outside investors listed on its SEC filings and raised again in 2026, but no parent company or acquisition shows up anywhere.
How much does Force of Nature cost per bottle?
The Starter Kit lists at $81. After that, capsule refills work out to about $1.39 per 12 oz bottle by the brand’s math, or $1.15 on subscription.
Does Force of Nature leave streaks?
It can. Wirecutter found it disinfects well but doesn’t give the streak-free finish on glass that the marketing suggests.