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    Best Multipurpose Cleaners

    We evaluated 11 bestselling all-purpose cleaners from brands like Lysol, Mr. Clean, and Seventh Generation to find out which were the best at tackling everyday cleaning tasks

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    seven bottles of multipurpose cleaner
    We smeared toothpaste, oil, maple syrup, and marinara on several surfaces to find out which products worked best at cleaning the mess away.
    Photo: Lisa Fogarty/Consumer Reports

    Whoever said “variety is the spice of life” wasn’t referring to all of the different surfaces you have to keep clean in your home. Whether it’s moldy grout, a perpetually greasy stovetop, stainless steel appliances covered by fingerprints, grimy sinks, or all of the above, a quality multipurpose cleaner is, ideally, a good alternative to purchasing different cleaning products designed to handle one or two cleaning tasks.

    A great multipurpose cleaner should save you money that you might have spent on several different cleaners. It should also cut back on the time it takes you to clean and—in a pure and perfect world—contain ingredients that are safe for you and the environment.

    More On Cleaning

    It can seem like there’s an endless number of multipurpose cleaners out there; it isn’t easy to choose just one. We evaluated 11 popular products to find out which ones clean the best on a variety of surfaces. All of them fulfilled our cleaning tasks, but four stood out because of their fast performance and the clarity of their labels, including safety warnings.

    Three of our favorites also meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s Safer Product Standards, which means they were evaluated by the EPA and found to contain ingredients that are safer for human health and the environment. 

    We consulted with Amy Ziff, founder of our partner Made Safe, an independent organization that screens household products for potentially dangerous ingredients and certifies those that may be less harmful.

    Ziff used Made Safe’s ingredient analysis to review seven cleaners we evaluated (we tested the four store-brand cleaners later). None of the cleaners passed the ingredients test with flying colors based on those guidelines, although some, like the Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner, fared better than others.

    Become a member to read the full article and get access to digital ratings.

    We investigate, research, and test so you can choose with confidence.


    Lisa Fogarty

    Lisa Fogarty is a senior multimedia content creator at Consumer Reports. She studied journalism at Columbia University and has written numerous health, parenting, fitness, and wellness articles for The New York Times, Psychology Today, Vogue, and NPR. Lisa is passionate about mental health and is a co-creator of The Hunger Trap Podcast, which focuses on eating disorders. In her spare time she surfs, plays the guitar, and kickboxes. Follow her on X: @lisacfogarty