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    Best Multipurpose Cleaners

    We evaluated seven best-selling 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 of these products worked best at cleaning them away.
    Photo: Lisa Fogarty/Consumer Reports

    Whoever said “variety is the spice of life” was not referring to all of the different surfaces you have to keep clean in your home. Whether the thorn in your side is moldy grout, a perpetually greasy stovetop, stainless steel appliances that are possessed by fingerprints, grimy sinks, or all of the above, a quality multipurpose cleaner is, ideally, the anecdote to purchasing 10 different cleaning products that are each only designed to handle one or two cleaning tasks.

    Not only should a great multipurpose cleaner save you money you might have otherwise spent on several different cleaners, but 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 your health and the environment.

    More On Cleaning

    It can feel like there is an endless number of multipurpose cleaners out there—it isn’t easy to choose just one. We evaluated seven popular multipurpose cleaners to find out which cleans best on a variety of home surfaces. All of the cleaners on this list fulfilled our cleaning tasks, but three cleaners stood out because of their fast performance, safer ingredients, and the clarity of their labels, including safety warnings.

    Our three favorites all meet U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Safer Product Standards, as well, which means they were evaluated by the EPA and have been 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 harmful ingredients and certifies those that may be less harmful to human and ecosystem health.

    Ziff used Made Safe’s ingredient analysis to review the cleaners we evaluated for CR. Unfortunately, none of the cleaners passed the ingredients test with flying colors based on the Made Safe guidelines, though some, like Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner, fared better than others.

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