Aisles and aisles of cleaners scream at you every time you go to the store. But, knowing the best all-purpose cleaners that actually work can save you a lot of money. Get the best all-purpose cleaners for your home, car, and even outdoors.
1. Best All-Purpose Cleaner
When it comes to the best all-around cleaner, Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner wins hands down. It's versatile and powerful enough to use on every surface of your home and outside. It can come in handy for cleaning out your car interior or your grill and even be used on stubborn stains. Simple Green is non-toxic and comes in a range of sizes and can be found for around $4 for the 32-ounce spray at many stores, making it affordable. It's even useful for cleaning your mailbox and getting rid of ants. If you're looking to replace all the cleaners in your home with just one bottle, this is it. Good Housekeeping also lists Simple Green among top cleaners as well.
2. Best All-Purpose Disinfectant
Clorox Clean-Up All Purpose Cleaner with bleach is an ultimate germ killer. From your kitchen counter to your toilet, this cleaner takes germs down in a quick 1-2 punch. Clorox Multi-Surface Cleaner is also great for disinfecting doorknobs. However, it does use bleach. Therefore, you wouldn't want to use this on your colored clothing, and it can be irritating to the skin so gloves are important. However, the fact that it easily wipes out 99% of germs makes it a disinfecting go to. It's also listed on the EPA list of disinfectants against coronavirus and other diseases. You can find this as cheap as $4 at Target. Reviewers agree it is worth it with a nearly 5 star rating.
3. Best All-Purpose Bathroom Cleaner
In the bathroom, eradicating germs and disinfecting are important, along with tackling soap scum and limescale. Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner has all the bases covered, and it's among the cheaper products at around $3 at Walmart. It's powerful enough to tackle even the nastiest of toilet germs but can still cut through grime, grease, and soap scum on your tub and shower. And you just spray and go. This means you have very little scrubbing to do if used in your weekly cleaning rotation. Take it out of the bathroom to your kitchen stovetop or even to pre-treat stains on your carpet. However, it's important to be cautious when using this cleaner around small children according to Consumer Reports.
4. Best Natural All-Purpose Cleaner
Costing about $12, Puracy Natural Surface Cleaner is one of the top natural cleaners for the home. It works great on multiple surfaces and is actually streakless. While many products claim to be streakless, this product actually is, even on mirrors. This versatile cleaner is safe to use on children's toys and hypoallergenic. The reviews stand behind this product too with 4.4 stars out of 2,714 reviewers on Amazon.
5. Best All-Purpose Cleaner for Deep Cleaning
Bar Keepers Friend Cleanser and Polisher is an absolute must if you have deep cleaning to do. Using science, it breaks down grime on the microscopic level, and it's cleaning ability is astounding. Bar Keepers Friend removes burnt on grime stains on stoves, along with scorch marks on pans. Using it with a little buff on your faucets brings back the shine, and it's safe to use on all kinds of stains on tubs. You can take it outside for grills and patio furniture too. This versatile cleaner comes in a premixed and powder format, and it's only $2 at Walmart. Plus, it has 4.5 stars out of 2,558 ratings on Amazon.
6. Best All-Purpose Floor Cleaner
Pine oil cleaners are all the rage. A great equivalent for your floor catastrophes is Pine-Sol. It's a dilutable cleaner with a refreshing piney scent great for deodorizing and killing germs on all types of flooring. The fact that it fights grease, grime, and tackles bacteria on most floor types helps rank it among the best. That isn't just hard floors either, it can be used on carpet to tackle grease and pet urine. Just be aware that some people find the scent overwhelming. It was also ranked among Consumer Reports all-purpose cleaners.
7. Best All-Purpose Kitchen Cleaner
Mr. Clean Anti-Bacterial Cleaner costs $3 at Walmart and packs a lot of punch in a small bottle. For your kitchen, it works to clean your trash bins, sinks, and countertops. It can also tackle spills and stuck-on gunk. Hit the ground running by trying this on your kitchen flooring as well. While it works diluted and straight, the scent does linger and can be a bit overwhelming for some. Additionally, for burnt-on bits, you'll need to scrap them first before using the cleaner. It's also been endorsed by Good Housekeeping as a robust "big job" cleaner.
8. Best All-Purpose Cleaner for Cars
When it comes to your car, it takes a special kind of all-purpose cleaner. Chemical Guys Nonsense Invisible Super Cleaner is the best for interior and exterior cleaning. The space in your car is limited. And sometimes cleaners can leave that nauseating lingering smell. However, this all-purpose cleaner is odor-less. It's also strong on dirt and stains on your interior. Since it's concentrated, you get a lot of bang for your $9. And, it earned a top spot for versatile cleaners on Car and Driver.
9. Best Green All-Purpose Cleaner
With a cost of $19, Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Liquid Soap is a versatile green cleaning agent with uses in the laundry, bathroom, and kitchen. Not only can it effectively shine your floors, but it's a great mixing agent for many DIY home cleaners. You can also find it in a variety of scents like lavender and peppermint. However, make sure when diluting Dr. Bronner's to follow the directions to the T. Too much will leave unwanted streaks. Looking for further expert approval? Dr. Bronner's was commended by Women's Health. While pricey, you do have to remember that a little goes a long way.
10. Best Budget Green All-Purpose Cleaner
Green cleaning can get pricey because most green cleaners are more expensive than other types of all-purpose cleaners. However, this isn't true for Mrs. Meyer's Multi-Surface Everyday Cleaner. With a price tag of only $4, it's downright cheap. It's also biodegradable and refillable. Additionally, it has superb cleaning power but includes non-ionic surfactant cleaners. However, if you aren't a fan of scents, then this is definitely not your cleaning agent. It uses essential oils and is heavy on the fragrance.
11. Best DIY All-Purpose Cleaner
If you're a DIY cleaner, you can't live without hydrogen peroxide. Not only is it cheap at $2 for a 2-pack, but it's one of the staples for many DIY home cleaning methods. You can use peroxide as a pre-treater on your clothing, add it to whites to brighten them, mix it with baking soda in the bathroom, the uses go on and on. Though it's safe enough to use to whiten your teeth, peroxide makes the list of CDC disinfectants.
12. Best All-Purpose Cleaner for Home
Looking for an all-purpose cleaner covering just about every surface in your home from dishes to laundry? Powerizer Complete has your whole home covered. It can be used to clean toilets, showers, sinks, and ovens, along with laundry and dishes. In addition to softening your laundry, it includes biodegradable ingredients and is dye and filler free. Additionally, it lacks the heavy perfumes that can cause irritation in some. Retailing for about $20 on Amazon, it offers the complete package for all kinds of messes in your home. This powered detergent also works great on carpet stains and cleaning high traffic areas.
Finding the Best All-Purpose Cleaner
Cleaners are a dime a dozen. And commercials try to get you to buy just about anything. However, these cleaners have been tried and tested and proven to be the absolute best by cleaners trusted around the globe.
