Purosol: a Cleaner Safe Enough to Drink

When was the last time you saw someone spray camera cleaner into their mouths?

We were cruising the exhibit aisles at the DV Expo in the Los Angeles Convention Center and spied hawkers selling the Purosol optical cleaner – a cleaner so safe that you can use it as mouthwash. Ok, so we made up the mouthwash part, but the company reps were so sure of the safety of their product that they sprayed it into their mouths and washed it down with soda.

According to distribution company, International Supplies, Purosol is used by the U.S. military and NASA to clean expensive lenses that “cost more than what some people make in a year.” The cleaner doesn’t contain harsh chemicals like alcohol, ammonia or detergent that can, according to the reps, strip away protective coatings on expensive electronics. Instead, Purosol uses plant extracts that are non-toxic and completely biodegradable.

How non-toxic is Purosol? While talking about the product, Steven D’Antonio, an International Supplies’ employee, spontaneously sprayed the cleaner into his mouth a few times and then chased it with a swig of cold soda. Now that’s some serious salesmanship right there.

“The soda is probably 100 times more toxic than this cleaner,” D’Antonio exclaimed.

Despite the non-toxic nature of the cleaner, it seems to do a pretty good job. We were given a small sample bottle and have successfully cleaned several eyeglasses along with two very expensive Canon “L” lenses costing more than $1300 each.