All-Purpose Environmental Cleaners Compared
As a result of consumer interest, environmental or “ green “ household multi-purpose cleaners have become increasingly mainstream; however, some of these environmental cleaners do not eliminate the packaging waste and other related environmental costs compared to more traditional cleaners. This has led many to making their own multi-purpose, typically spray style cleaners from common disinfectants such as vinegar and concentrated acids ( lemon for example ). These cleaners can be mixed into generic glass spray bottles, typically tinted to prevent light related aging in vinegar based sprays, and used on a variety of surfaces.
To test the effectiveness of these cleaners when compared to purchasable cleaner, both of the environmental and mainstream type, a composition of tests were conducted.
The cleaning performance tests were conducted on three cleaners representing three different styles of cleaner, two environmental and one stereotypically un-environmental; a homemade vinegar based all purpose disinfectant spray cleaner ( many variances on the same basic ingredients can be found , Seventh Generation Unscented All Purpose spray cleaner, and Clorox Multi Disinfecting Wipes.
The three cleaners were subjected to seven different performance tests:
- Soap scup removal from Corian style countertops
- Ketchup removal from porcelain after one pass
- Mustard removal from porcelain after one pass
- Ketchup removal from ceramic tile after one pass
- Mustard removal from ceramic tile after one pass
- Ketchup removal from Corian style countertops after one pass
- Mustard removal from Corian style countertops after one pass
These tests were modeled after the standardized testing used by Consumer Reports for determining the best cleaners; unfortunately, Consumer Reports does not provide comparisons for different cleaner types and or homemade mixtures. For real world consistency, one piece of Bounty Select-a-Size paper towel was used for all tests.
Soap Scum Test:
The soap scum removal involved one pump of hand soap left standing on Corium style countertops. For the spray cleaners, one piece of Bounty paper towel was sprayed once, and then wiped across the surface evenly; for the Clorox wipes, the wipe was folded once and wiped across the surface evenly. The tests found the both the Seventh Generation, Clorox, and all purpose vinegar cleaners all cleaned the test counter perfectly, though the Clorox wipes left the surface slightly damp; this is common for disinfecting wipes however.
The Clorox wipes ( top three ) cleared most of the ketchup from the porcelain and Corium countertop material, while leaving noticeable amounts on the ceramic ( top middle ). This contrasted with the Seventh Generation spray cleaner ( bottom three ), which left almost no ketchup on the porcelain and ceramic, but struggled more on the Corium.
Ketchup Removal Tests:
The Ketchup removal involved three materials, porcelain, ceramic tile, and Corium style countertops.
For the Clorox wipes, ketchup removal was somewhat easy, with it leaving only trace amounts of ketchup residue on the porcelain and Corium material. However, on the more heavily textured ceramic surface, the wipes left a noticeable smear.
The Seventh Generation all purpose spray cleaner performed differently, cleaning both the porcelain and ceramic almost perfectly while leaving ketchup residue on the Corium.
The all purpose vinegar based spray cleaner cleaned most effectively on the in the ketchup tests, performing as well as the nearly perfect Seventh Generation spray on the ceramic and porcelain while leaving less residue on the Corium.
The homemade vinegar based all-purpose cleaner performed slightly better than the Clorox wipes and Seventh Generation spray cleaner in the ketchup testing, leaving only trace amounts behind.
Mustard Removal Tests:
The Mustard removal used identical surfaces and procedures as the ketchup test, only with bottled mustard instead of ketchup as the test condiment.
The Clorox wipes and all purpose vinegar cleaner performed almost perfectly in these tests leaving behind no noticeable mustard; the Clorox wipes, again did leave the surfaces damp.
The Clorox wipes ( bottom ) and homemade vinegar based spray cleaner ( top ) had nearly identical performance with the mustard tests, with the Clorox wipes characteristic dampness the only differentiation.
The Seventh Generation struggled to cut through the mustard on the ceramic tile however, leaving some of the mustard behind; on the less textured porcelain and Corium, it performed as well as the other two cleaners in this test.
The Seventh Generation spray cleaner performed as well as the other two cleaners in the mustard test on the porcelain and Corian style surfaces, but struggled on the ceramic ( bottom left ).
Overall, these three cleaners, each representative of each owns type and style of all purpose household cleaners, performed well in the testing; if the performances were to be scored, the homemade vinegar based all purpose cleaner would be the best overall choice, despite being the most environmental cleaner in the group. The Seventh Generation All purpose cleaner and Clorox Disinfectant wipes, both thereabouts equals in stain removal performance, show that purchasing environmental cleaners does not necessarily entail losses in effectiveness, but is instead unrelated.