Did Your All Purpose Cleaner Make the Cut?

There are so many all purpose cleaners on the market.  So which one do you choose?  There have been many debates on whether to use the green cleaners, old faithfuls like Pine Sol, or just use vinegar and baking soda.  Consumer Reports put our favorite brands to the test.  They were tested for their ability to remove stains, grease, soap scum and streaking.  So who won?

Pine-Sol  won the overall test.

Can one household cleaner vanquish tough kitchen stains such as grease and grape juice; soap scum and other bathroom scourges; and stubborn mineral deposits left by hard water?

To find out, we applied those and other common stains to tiles; sprayed or wiped on 19 all-purpose cleaners, and inserted the tiles into our special scrubbing apparatus. In our tough tests, only Pine-Sol Original cleaned well enough to be recommended, earning high marks on all stains. It did so without streaking, and at 9 cents per ounce is a CR Best Buy.

All-purpose cleaners are typically used to clean such household surfaces as kitchen counters and bathroom tiles. In our labs we pit them against four soil types—grease, grape juice, ketchup and mustard that we spread on glass, ceramic and metal tiles. Then it's on to the soap scum test.

Finally, we see if the cleaners leave streaks behind. Only the Pine-Sol aced that test. It was also very good at removing stains and soap scum and was the only cleaner to make our list of top-picks.

So if you use name brand all purpose cleaners then it seems as though Pine Sol  might be your best overall all purpose cleaner.  What are your favorite household cleaning products?

Check out these men using Pine Sol!