Cleaning products can be expensive and vary quite a bit in price. But do the more expensive brands mean they work better? Fortunately I found this great article in ShopSmart April 2013 (from Consumer Reports), that features 12 bargain priced cleaners they tested and found to work as well or even better as the more expensive brands. Here’s what the “experts” found…..
DISHWASHER DETERGENT=
Great Value Powder Pacs (Wal-Mart $4.47; 17 cents per load)…tests showed it cleaned dishes just as well as the pricier Cascade. When loading your dishwasher, face the dirty side of dishes toward the water-blasting center of the machine, which will help get your dishes cleaner.
DISHWASHING LIQUID –
Ajax Lemon Dishwashing Liquid (Average price is $2.10; 2.9 cents per wash*)…tests showed all 14 liquids they tested worked just as great so go with the cheaper brand. You can wash dishes with this but you can also make a general cleaner by mixing 1 teaspoon with a cup of warm water. *I actually buy this at the Dollar Tree for $1.00 for the same 14 oz size, which drops the price by half.
CLEANSER-
Comet With Bleach ($1.25)…cleans and disinfects sinks, toilets, counters and more. This is another product I buy from our Dollar Tree store, saving a quarter, but hey, if I’m already there, saving a quarter adds up.
ALL-PURPOSE –
Pine-Sol Original (Average price $2.48)…ShopSmart tested and found this beat out 18 pricier cleansers, and this doesn’t leave streaks. For an easy spray, simply combine 1/4 cup in 1 gallon of water and keep in a spray bottle.
LAUNDRY LIQUID –
Up & Up HE Fresh Breeze (Target $13; 11 cents per load)…this laundry detergent works in regular and HE (high-efficiency) washers and test results found it did great on grass, chocolate, and other stains. I haven’t personally tried this but now that I see how cheap it is, I’ll be buying this next time I need detergent. You can use this as a pretreatment product too by simply rubbing a little of the detergent into the stain before washing.
LAUNDRY SOAP –
Fels-Naptha (Average price $1.50)…I had never heard of this but it was in four different magazines (April issues) topping their lists for favorite stain treatment. Test results showed using this with detergent got out more stains than detergent alone.
LAUNDRY PRETREATMENT –
Resolve Laundry Liquid (Average price $4.46; 10 cents per use)…ShopSmart tested 14 products and this came out on top at removing stains and was the cheapest of them all. For best results, spray on stains, wait 5 minutes, rub, and then wash.
STAIN STICK –
CVS On The Go ($1.99)…worked as well as the more expensive Tide to Go. Doesn’t work on lipstick (but tests found Tide to Go didn’t either). The best way to treat stains is as soon as possible.
SUPER CHEAP TRIED-AND-TRUE BASICS….
BAKING SODA –
Cleans without any scratching. I keep a box in every bathroom and under my kitchen sink….and in my fridge, freezer and pantry (for cooking).
CHLORINE BLEACH –
Among many uses, this removes stains and mildew. Perfect for disinfecting cutting boards by mixing 1 tablespoon bleach to 1 gallon of water (the American Cleaning Institute suggests).
LEMON JUICE –
This works great on cleaning metals like brass and copper. An easy way to clean and polish those pots and pans is to simply sprinkle salt on half a lemon and rubbing it on the metal, then rinsing.
WHITE VINEGAR –
One of my very favorite ways to clean! This works perfect for general cleaning!
If you have a favorite inexpensive cleaner, we’d love to hear from you!