To have a house that is actually clean, without having to spend tons of time cleaning, you need to have the best cleaning products for your home. All commercial products claim to be better than all the others at their jobs, so how do you determine which truly are best?
What even makes a cleaner the “best” anyway? Here are some tips for choosing the best commercial cleaning products, as well as some specific products we think are worth buying.
How to Find the Best Cleaners
When looking for great household cleaners, you will typically want to focus on versatility, value, and safety.
Versatility vs. Specialty
Although there will be some specialty products you will want for certain extra tough or delicate cleaning situations, most cleaners should be able to do more than just clean one or two things. You don’t want to spend a lot of money on a specialty cleaner unless the area or item needs a specialty cleaner.
Just because it’s a specialty cleaner doesn’t mean it cannot also be versatile within its tasks. For example, if you want to clean your stainless steel stove, a good cleaner should be able to clean anything that’s stainless steel, and possibly other types of metal, not just stoves.
When your homemade silver cleaner is not working well enough and you do need a specialty cleaner, like for polishing or to clean jewelry, look for one from a respected brand known to perform well for that particular task. If you are going to buy specialty cleaners, also make sure you will use them enough to make them worth it.
Value
How much cleaner are you getting for your money and how much do you need to get the job done? If you are paying $10 and only getting an 8 oz bottle, for example, you better be able to use a droplet to clean a large area and clean it well. Likewise, spending $5 for a gallon of cleaner may seem like a good idea, but if it takes cups of the stuff to clean anything you end up wasting both time and money.
Don’t just consider the size of the bottle when you are determining how much cleaner you are getting or if there is a homemade cleaner alternative. Learn whether you can mix it with water to stretch it. Most good cleaners will still work well when diluted.
Is it safe?
Many commercial cleaners contain harmful chemicals, so you don’t want to buy something that may make you sick with repeated use. Sometimes it is better to opt for homemade cleaners, like a DIY grill cleaner, where you know exactly what’s in it and how it will work.
Harsh chemicals, like ammonia, bleach, or phosphate, can be harmful or damage certain areas. Look for safety sheets for products you are considering buying. If no safety sheet is available, you may want to reconsider the product.
Product Review Best All Purpose Cleaner
Mr. Clean Liquid All Purpose Cleaner
Mr. Clean has been known for years as a floor cleaner brand, but the company also has branched out into other cleaning products as well. This all-purpose cleaner is one of their most versatile products.
What we Love
- Used on almost any surface or appliance, in bathrooms (toilets and bathtubs, as well as sinks and counters) and garbage cans, and on doorknobs and window blinds and shades
- Does not contain ammonia, bleach, or phosphate
- Used diluted still works at full strength, so a little goes a long way
- Includes Febreze in its mix, so has a pleasant scent that helps eliminate odors and does not smell like a typical cleaner
- Cuts through grease
- Reasonably priced and affordable
Points to Consider
- Not recommended for copper or aluminum and should not be used for carpets
>> Homemade DIY Cleaner Alternative: Make sure you check out our homemade all purpose cleaner recipes.
Product Review Best Stainless Steel Cleaner
Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish
Stainless steel can be difficult to clean and often dulls over time. Many general multipurpose cleaners leave streaks on stainless steel, which is why a more specialty stainless steel cleaner may be in order if you have a lot of stainless steel in your house. Always clean stainless steel going with the grain to prevent scratching of the surface.
The Weiman Stainless Steel Cleaner & Polish is one of the best out there, and here’s why:
What we Love
- Works on any stainless steel, including how to clean stainless steel grill grates and other surfaces, kitchen appliances, and trash cans
- Does not leave streaks
- Will clean hard water stains and shines as well as it cleans
- Does not leave oily residue on your hands
- Requires minimal buffing to get a good shine on your appliances
- Incredibly easy to use and does not require much elbow grease to remove stains or streaks
Points to Consider
- Use a good microfiber cloth with this product to spread it effectively and leave the surface without streaks
Product Review Glass Cleaner
Glass Plus Glass Cleaner
If you have a lot of glass in your home, you may want to invest in a specialty glass cleaner. However, most glass cleaners, despite their name, are more versatile than just cleaning glass.
Although Glass Plus is not a household name, it does as good of a job at glass cleaning.
What we Love
- Safe for fiberglass, granite, quartz, marble, and on stainless steel
- Used for countertops and appliances, even to clean car windows
- Less expensive than other brand names
- Lightly scented, so leaves things smelling clean without overpowering your nose like other name brand window cleaners
- Cleanse streak-free just as our homemade window cleaner
- Does not contain ammonia is safe for electronics with care
- Comes with a large, easy to use spray bottle
Product Review Best Toilet Cleaner
Lysol Clean & Fresh Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Knowing how important it is to keep that toilet bowl clean, here our recommendation for an effective cleaner.
Lysol, although initially known just as a disinfectant, has been a trusted cleaning product for a century and does a great job with toilet bowls. Their Clean & Fresh toilet bowl cleaner works really well at our home
What we Love
- Kills over 99% of germs
- Can be used to clean porcelain tiles and sinks, as well as Plexiglas shower doors
- Works with any pipe (metal, plastic, etc.)
- Is a cling gel so really sticks to the sides of the toilet bowl to get it clean
- Only minimal scrubbing required
- Mild, pleasant smell that leaves the toilet smelling fresh without smelling like a cleaner
- May prevent staining for a few days after use
- Crooked neck design allows for easy under-the-bowl cleaning
Points to Consider
- Slightly more expensive than no-name brands
Product Review Best Carpet Cleaner
Resolve Carpet Cleaner with Triple Oxi Action Advanced Carpet Stain Remover
Carpet stains are one thing you may need a specialty cleaner for. Although many cleaning products can remove stains on certain items, carpet tends to be something many all-purpose cleaners can’t tackle.
Resolve is known for its effective carpet cleaning abilities. The Triple Oxi Action Advanced version helped us out quite a few times around our house
What we Love
- Lifts stains from deep in carpets, which means the stain won’t seem like its gone and then reappear a few weeks later
- Works very well as an overall carpet cleaner or just a spot cleaner
- Deodorizes as well as cleans
- Comes in a spray bottle for easy and precise application
- Great for pet stains, food, drinks, wine, and blood stains
- Can work on anything carpet-like: floors, couches, car flooring, etc
- Can be used on clothes, particular upholstery, and linens
Product Review Jewelry Cleaner
Weiman Silver Wipes for Cleaning and Polishing Silver Jewelry
Weiman is on this list again because it does a good job at polishing. This specialty jewelry cleaner is designed to remove the tarnish from jewelry items and shine them right up.
I have used it quite a few times at any type of silver. Like with any good homemade jewelry cleaner, weiman silver wipes work not just for jewelry but cutlery and an old family silver trays.
What we Love
- Can shine any silver, including dining ware and jewelry, as well as gold items. Works great for cleaning pewter.
- Excellent at removing tarnish from old silver and gold, even if the item has been tarnished for decades
- The cleaner comes in wipe form, so it is easy to apply and use. No additional polishing cloth is necessary
- Each container comes with 20 large wipes (about paper towel size) so are suitable for polishing even larger items
- Does not leave a chemical smell; its smell is mild and not unpleasant
- Works fast so you don’t need to use a lot of elbow grease
Product Review Leather Cleaner
TriNova Leather Cleaner
TriNova has several specialty products for leather, and this leather cleaner is one of their best. We used it one time on an old sofa and were really surprised how well it works.
If anything, just make sure you read directions for it before you start; would have saved us a lot of trial and error. But the result was very impressive.
What we Love
- Comes with a microfiber towel, so you don’t need to purchase extra accessories to clean
- Does not use harsh chemicals
- Extends the life of leather if used routinely
- Works on any leather-like surface, including vinyl and Durablend(R)
- Does not leave leather wet after use and keeps the leather from becoming dry or cracked.
- Gets many tough stains out with some elbow grease, including make-up and pet stains
Points to Consider
- It is a bit on the expensive side but was really worth it for us.
Although all these products are worth buying, if we had to choose one “Must-Have” cleaner it would, of course, be the Mr. Clean Liquid Cleaner. It has far more uses than any other of the specialty cleaning products.
Since it can be used diluted, but still is safe to use at full strength, a little goes a long way, and with an affordable price tag, this all-purpose cleaner may save you money. Add it to your housekeeping checklist to be sure you always have it on hand when you need it for spot or deep-cleaning.
