Which green cleaners work best?

The days of being reassured by the eye-watering scent of a freshly bleached kitchen are long gone. Most of us now prefer to know our food-prep surfaces have been wiped down with spray cleaners that won’t harm us, our kids or our environment. Plenty of cleaning products claim to have risen to the challenge of eliminating harsh, synthetic chemicals that can damage our waterways and our health, but the question is – do their clean and green claims stack up?

Then there’s the big question for the house-proud and hygiene-conscious: Are ‘eco’ spray cleaners any good at their job?

Green Ideas put five sprays to the test on a streak-prone black stone kitchen counter, tackling a full day of food and cooking grime left by a messy family of three – plus an extra teaspoon of tomato sauce, smeared and left to solidify overnight. Although it wasn’t a scientific test, we found that all cleaners did an adequate job – but all left behind some streaks and cloudy residue.

We also asked a toxicology expert to check the ingredients for each product (see ‘are they safe?’) – including any the makers had chosen to leave off the ingredients list on their packaging.

Are they safe?

In preparing this article Green Ideas spoke to Associate Professor Malcolm Tingle, a toxicology specialist at Auckland University’s Department of Pharmacology and Clinical Pharmacology. We also sent him a list of all the ingredients in the cleaners below. After examining each ingredient he concluded that none of the ingredients in any of the products posed a serious health concern under normal usage due to the low concentrations used. Of course, any cleaning product is still a serious health risk if consumed by a child, for instance, regardless of how ‘natural’ it may be.

There were no serious environmental concerns due to the small amount of product washed away during each use. Any industrial-scale spillage, however, would be a different story.

The only area of major concern was the skin irritation that can be caused by some of the surfactant chemicals listed. Surfactants (such as soap) bind water to grease allowing it to be washed away, so are an important ingredient in most effective cleaners. However this property also means they tend to strip natural oils out of skin, which can cause irritation.

Professor Tingle’s comments appear in the 'toxicology notes'.

Ecostore Multi-Purpose Cleaner (Citrus)

$5.99 for 500ml

Green rating

Lists all ingredients – yes
Refills – yes
Third-party accreditation – yes

Toxicology notes: Alkyl Polyglucoside can cause mild skin irritation, depending on concentration. Sodium Hydroymethylglycinate is a preservative. It breaks down spontaneously in water to release formaldehyde, so although it may be ‘natural’ it is really just a way of introducing formaldehyde as a preservative. Is it safe? Well there are concerns that in formaldehyde-sensitive individuals it can cause allergic contact dermatitis, but will depend on concentration.

Product: This spray claims to have independently tested anti-bacterial qualities that kill germs without leaving anti-bacterial residue on surfaces. Concentrated refill available in 500ml, 5 litre and huge 20 litre containers – saving money and packaging waste. Made in New Zealand by a CarboNZero and Diamond Enviromark-certified manufacturer.

Test: I spray a fine mist over my dirty bench, but a little bit of stuck-on gunk remains after my first wipe. I spray lightly again and a second wipe removes all gunk. The finish is quite cloudy and a little streaky. It takes 44 seconds of elbow grease to remove the dry tomato sauce.

Effectiveness: 7/10

Simple Green Concentrated All-Purpose Cleaner

$9.99 for 650ml (concentrate)

Green rating

Lists all ingredients – no
Refills – yes
Third-party accreditation – no
Concentrate – yes

Toxicology notes: 2-butoxyethanol is a likely irritant through its solvent effect. There are also claims this ingredient can cause cancer, but extensive research by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (which is the gold standard in this field) has given it its safest classification, so it is of little concern. Ethoxylated alcohol (non-ionic surfactant) propoxylate can cause skin irritation, depending on concentration.

Product: Although very green in colour, this product contains phosphates not regarded as ‘green’ by other manufacturers. Made by a US-based company. Highly concentrated (one bottle makes up to 20 litres of product, depending on cleaning strength required).

Test: The packaging of this product presents an off-putting logistical challenge. This is a concentrated cleaner, with a dilution ratio of 10 parts water to one part concentrate for ‘medium cleaning’. Mixing the cleaner is a faff, but it does make the product good value and reduces packaging waste. The diluted spray smells strongly medicinal. Like the other cleaners tested, it dries cloudy and a bit streaky. It took 47 seconds to remove the dry tomato sauce.

Effectiveness: 6/10

Earthwise Multi-Surface Cleaning Spray (Citrus & Mint)

$4.99 for 500ml

Green rating

Lists all ingredients – no
Refills – yes
Third-party accreditation – pending

Toxicology notes: Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulphate is not quite as irritating as the related sodium lauryl sulfate but can cause skin irritation, depending on concentration. Cocomidopropyl Betaine is a surfactant and therefore irritant.

Product: This spray cleaner is one of only two in our tests that claims to have antibacterial action. It is made in New Zealand by a socially responsible company that supports Plunket and the Red Cross. Earthwise is currently working towards gaining the Environmental Choice certification for all of its products.

Test: This spray has a strong but pleasantly ‘clean’ odour, and all benchtop gunk was taken care of with one light spray and a bit of elbow grease. It air-dries cloudy and a bit streaky. It took 50 seconds to remove the dry tomato sauce.

Effectiveness: 6/10

Green Works Natural Multi-Purpose Cleaner

$5.25 for 500ml

Green rating

Lists all ingredients – no
Refills – no
Third-party accreditation – yes

Toxicology notes: Alkyl Polyglucoside (plant-based non-ionic surfactants) can cause mild skin irritation, depending on concentration.

Product: This product claims tobe 99% ‘natural’, meaning all the ingredients are naturally derived, except the colours and the preservative. Manufactured in New Zealand by The Clorox Company, a US-owned multinational corporation that also produces non-eco-friendly cleaning products. Green Works carries the ‘sensitive choice’ butterfly logo from the Asthma Foundation for its mild formulation.

Test: After one spray of the (heavily soiled) bench and a wipe down, the surface looked clean but still felt a little gritty in places. A repeat spray and wipe got the surface completely clean. This product smells very strongly of lemon. It took 43 seconds to remove the dry tomato sauce.

Effectiveness: 7/10

BEE Multi-Surface Cleaner

$5.85 for 500ml

Green rating

Lists all ingredients – no
Refills – yes
Third-party accreditation – yes

Toxicology notes: Butylphenyl Methylproprional (essential oil-based fragrances) can cause skin irritation at high concentrations. Alkyl alcohol ethoxylate propoxylate can cause skin irritation, depending on concentration. Sodium 30-Coceth Sulfate can cause skin irritation, depending on concentration.

Product: The eye-catching packaging looks fantastic, but this was the only spray in our test with a trigger nozzle lacking an ‘off’ position for child safety. Refill available (500ml only). Made in New Zealand. This product is the only one in our test to display the Environmental Choice tick.

Test: This product’s fragrance was my favourite of the bunch – it smelled fresh, natural, clean and lemony. It did a great job of cleaning my bench on the first pass, leaving a slightly less cloudy finish than some of the other cleaners. It took 50 seconds of effort to remove the dry tomato sauce.

Effectiveness: 7/10

Homemade spray cleaner

Green rating

Lists all ingredients – yes
Refills – yes
Third-party accreditation – no

Ingredients: Water, Sunlight Dishwashing Liquid, tea-tree essential oil, baking soda.

Toxicology notes: The sunlight liquid we included contains diethanolamine (can cause skin irritation, depending on concentration) and Sodium lauryl ether sulphate (can cause skin irritation, depending on concentration).

Product: This recipe came from the popular Wendyl’s Green Goddess website. Wendyl’s preferred Dr Bronner’s Castile Liquid Soap is not available at supermarkets, so I followed the recipe’s suggestion to substitute Sunlight Dishwashing Liquid instead. The cleaner is very simple to make, and the low-cost ingredients will make many litres.

Test: The tea-tree fragrance is fresh and clean, and the product is easy to make. After one spray and wipe down, the bench looks clean but still feels a little gritty. A second spray and wipe leaves the surface very clean, with the least cloudiness and fewest streaks out of all the cleaners tested. It took 42 seconds to remove the dry tomato sauce.

Effectiveness: 8/10

New product

A new spray cleaner by eco planet came on sale as our story went to press. We weren’t able to test it, but it claims to be a plant-based phosphate free cleaner. It carries a gold certification from enviro-mark.

Our picks

Ecostore Multi-Purpose Cleaner is our pick of the manufactured spray cleaners, for its antibacterial action, full list of ingredients and economical refills.

Our homemade spray (mixed to a recipe from Wendyl’s Green Goddess) also performed very well and is the cheapest option long-term.

Handy link

Recipes, advice and ready-to-buy homemade cleaning products