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All Purpose Household Cleaner, humor me please

last year
last modified: last year

What type of all purpose cleaner(s) do you use? Because of an insect nightmare which will be remedied this weekend, and an every 20 year septic tank that needed pumping, which we didn't know until the toilet also overfilled, I need to restock. So you can imagine how much cleaning I'm doing because I have the heebie-jeebies, and also running out of my go-to cleaners.

Last night I needed to replace my 3 main staples & it was kind of fun comparing to what I use to what I ended up buying. My current all purpose (mild) is Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day. All purpose cleaner for tougher grime is 409. Sink and tub/shower is Soft Scrub. I like them all but Mrs M & 409 scent/fumes are overpowering me. I'll keep soft scrub for now unless you can recommend a better cleaner for sinks and tubs.

I googled 409, Mrs. Meyer's vs other cleaners & ended up ordering one product to replace both. Plus it has the lucious lemon scent. With two big country dogs, we need scent. ;) Mr. Clean All Purpose Cleaner, 3 in one Multipurpose Cleaning, Lemon Liquid, Clean Freak Spray. Other than magic eraser I was clueless at all the Mr. Clean products.

What do you prefer and why? This comes in a bundle. I also stocked up on more Handi Wipes which are the best.



Comments (30)

  • last year

    Yikes - what a mess to contend with. I have to assess the material I am cleaning, whether it’s wood, porcelain, quartz, etc. so I have many products.

  • last year

    My housekeeper swears by Pine Sol. Not sure why.

  • last year

    Simple Green Concentrate, dilute into a spray bottle.

  • last year

    What a mess. Totally depends on the surface but I always keep Bon Ami and Barkeepers Friend cleansers, Mrs Meyers all purpose in lemon verbena which is mildly scented, something like Fabuloso &/or liquid Spic &b Span diluted in a spray bottle. For kitchen/bath counters (quartz) and mirrors I use slightly diluted isopropyl alcohol and a microfiber cloth. I just looked and there are others but those are the ones I reach for most often.

  • last year

    I use Pine Sol, too, mostly for mopping the bathroom but will put some on a rag to wipe down woodwork and baseboards esp. painted woodwork. If not soaked with the liquid I will even use it to wipe down furniture. It should really be rinsed afterwards esp. floors because I think it will leave a film after awhile.


    For sinks, toilet, shower, etc I use Bar Keeper's Friend. I used to buy only the spray bottle variety but one time I couldn't find it so bought the bottle of creme BKF. It seems to clean better!

  • last year

    Mr. Clean all-purpose cleaner (in various scents) is my favorite general cleaner.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    I won't be of any use as I'm changing my products as well. I prefer liquid over spray because I can put the liquid into hot water and really scrub things down. I don't know what to do with a spray.

    I did however buy Mr. Clean which is something I haven't used in years but I have yet to try it.

    What do you use the Clean Freak spray for.?

    For my kitchen counters I just use soap and hot water.

  • last year

    I use dawn and hot water for most, but, I also love the Mr Clean products. Pine Sol cleans well, but, the smell of it nauseates me and I end up sick if I use it, so its never in my house.

  • last year

    Red Juice concentrate.is the only cleaner I have on hand, on the recommendationof our cleaning service.


  • last year

    I have used Method cleaner as my general cleaner for 20 years and have been very happy with it, it comes in several scents.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Cat, I am with you on pine sol!!! I cannot stand the smell. I use Mrs Meyers concentrate for some things. I use a mixture of alcohol/peroxide/vinegar/dawn for tubs/showers. I agree that dawn has many purposes. I use a steam mop.There are other cleaners I use for specific jobs.

    ETA: KSWL, I've never heard of that cleaner, will have to check it out.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    Thoughts of a Septic tank backup may be my greatest anxiety causing nightmare. Our cabin has a septic system. Even though its not used daily, we have it pumped every 2 years.

    Simple green user here.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    My cleaning person swears by Clorox Cleanup.


    I use BKF cream for sink and pots and pans. I love Mrs. Meyers Rainwater and also Snowdrop for hand soap, but they dispense too much soap so I have migrated to this, which I also like a lot:



    I have also migrated 100% to this for laundry



  • last year

    During the height of COVID, I couldn’t get much of anything. The only all-purpose cleaner available was Mr. Clean, so I bought it. I was really impressed with it and have continued to use it. I only like the yellow Mr. Clean. The blue smells awful to me - too flowery and sickly sweet.

  • last year

    Love the lemon verbena scented Mrs Meyers. Like using Bon Ami but don’t care for its scent.

    Got Pine Sol during pandemic times and switched from yellow to purple because I prefer the toilet brush—- maybe Oxo— to pickup purple dye rather than yellow.

  • last year

    Valinta, same for me. Other than sinks/tubs, I wanted a product that would clean granite, wood, and paint. Mr. Clean does that, and also appliances.

    Forgot to say earlier, I will never stop using Clorox spray cleaner for sinks if they need a bit of brightening. One reason I prefer spray is because it's much quicker to grab and go.

    After I caught Covid my sense of smell went up a notch or two which made Mrs. Meyer's scented cleaner too much for me handle.

    Maddie, We have the old fashioned septic system with lateral lines. After it was installed when building the house, friends said they put in a lot of them which means an overflow will take a long time to happen, which is true. I'm not familar with those that spray water outside, ds has one of those and it saves on watering his lawn.

    As much as I hate mopping the ceramic tile in the kitchen, ur, and entryway, I finally found the easiest way to do it. The wide mop I have from Bona, and a spray bottle of hot water. Amazing. Washes dog drool like no other spray. Can't use it on wood floors which don't get as bad as the kitchen.

  • last year

    mtn you said handsoap but the pic is dish soap spray. I buy large size bottles of handsoap and use in nice looking decanters.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    FWIW, I use Method Bathroom cleaner, and Barkeepers Friend and Comet powder cleansers. My all-purpose is mixed from a bottle of Method concentrate that they don't make any more - I think it's rosemary scented. I also keep a sprayer top on a quart bottle of 70% rubbing alcohol and use that a lot for disinfecting and cutting greasy dirt - it's good for cleaning glass too. I use a basic toilet bowl cleaner with bleach.

    I mop with a steam mop, so no cleaning products there, just distilled water - and Windex foam for glass.

    I have a spray cleaner with bleach from Aldi for the bathroom too I think it's called Chloraleen.

    I can't say I like the scent of Method's bathroom cleaner, tho it does work well - it has a pretty strong vinegar smell.

  • last year

    Carol, i love nethods Eucalyptus Mint! I use that too. I use that in our bathrooms along with the shower spray mix i mentioned earlier. Thats my method scent!

  • last year

    I've always heard BKF is a great powder and once we got the new white cast iron sink I bought some and it was no better than soft scrub. There are so many types of BKF now I have no idea which would be better in kitchen and bath. BKF has been around for ages so I'm missing something.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    mtn you said handsoap but the pic is dish soap spray.

    Yes, I mistyped; I use Mrs. Meyers dishsoap and handsoap. I like the containers they come in (I only buy blue or green "scents.") But the dishsoap is too sudsy so I changed to the 7th Gen. foam spray.

    I don't decant handsoap, but for this TJ one I have in the pantry annex, that I just really like.



    I also have these little spray hand sanitizers from Mrs Meyers in a scent called Basil which is really just fresh, light and gender neutral. I keep these in a basket in the W/C; it is what passes for a sink for now. (P.S. Faucet has arrived! Now just waiting for a plumber to arrive!)





  • last year

    I keep a container of antibacterial cleaning wipes in each bathroom and under the sink. It’s easy to give things a quick swipe between cleanings, and I wipe down the trash cabinet at least once a week. We buy whatever spray cleaner is on sale. 2 roombas circulate weekly. I dust weekly. Kitchen floors mopped weekly. Other wood floors as needed. Bathrooms weekly (or more) with spray and toilet cleaner and cleaning wipes. Bathrooms are very small. Kitchen counters get wiped as needed during the day and wiped down after dinner. Cabinets wiped down about once a month - usually just hot water and a microfiber cloth. We are on a farm and all animals live outside, even the dog.

  • PRO
    last year

    Pink! I love all the cleaning products..the bathroom cleaner is amazing..cleans grout really well.

  • PRO
  • last year

    I use Hertel multi cleaner for just about everything in my home. one small capful in 8 litres of water. no rinsing needed. i found out about it from my cleaning lady a few years ago and i have not used anything else since. it also costs very little, 2.98 and will last me more than 6 months. i really like it.



  • last year

    Dr Bronner Sal Suds. It is concentrated with a light pine scent. It works well and I use it on most surfaces including floors. I sprinkle baking soda on sinks and toilets then spray with Sal Suds for a homemade soft scrub. It earned an A from EWG and is septic safe. For furniture, Bees Wax furniture polish.

  • last year

    I cannot stand the smell of Pine Sol - my SO bought some awhile ago - and it was awful!


    I like Mrs. Meyer's Basil scent hand sanitizer.


    I use Bon Ami for some things - my mom used it - so, I hve it under my kitchen sink.


    I really like The Pink Stuff. I also like the Scrub Daddy paste. It's a little milder than The Pink Stuff paste (while it works really well, you need to be careful with it on some things).


    I use Dawn dish soap for a lot of things. I also have a bottle of diluted isopropyl alcohol that I use for a lot of things - it works great on mirrors. I also have a second diluted bottle of isopropyl alcohol that has a little bit of Dawn dish soap in it.

  • last year

    For all purpose, we use Mrs Meyers, either in rosemary (preferred), or lavender (easier to find locally). Window cleaner is just a mix of rubbing alcohol and water. For bathrooms, Scrubbing bubbles, Oxyclean type cleaners, or Clorox Clean up (not together…depends on who is cleaning - DH prefers Clorox, I prefer Oxyclean). My engineered hardwood floors are oiled, so I just use the products from the manufacturer for that as necessary.

    Dish soap is Mrs Meyers and Dawn (depending on need). For soaking stainless pots and pans, I use Urnex espresso machine cleaner. Table salt for cast iron.

  • last year
    last modified: last year

    I love threads like this, I always pick up hints and tips from these!

    I would warn anyone thinking to buy Mrs. Meyers Basil scent or any other for that matter, to sniff it first. I had watched Tati on youtube one time just going on and on about how she LOVED Mrs. Meyers Basil scented hand soap, so I went out got a bottle and immediately it gave me a splitting headache and scent (to me) was nauseating. It was so strong it was like I couldn't get it off of my hands.

    For most of my surface cleaning like counters and SS appliances, I use that Windex multi-surface antibacterial spray. I hope they never discontinue it. You can pretty much use it on everything. I also even use it with a microfiber cloth on my vinyl kitchen floor. For windows, normally I just use a wet microfiber cloth and then wipe it dry with a dry microfiber cloth. For tub and sinks, I use a foaming spray cleaner, I haven't really found one that I stick to though. After Scrubbing Bubbles changed a few years ago, I've been buying whatever without really liking how they clean. For tile mildew in the tub area, I use a Great Value cleaner with bleach that really does a good job getting rid of the black mildew stains, plus it's cheap! :) For the white sink in the kitchen that gets black marks on it from pans, I use BKF in the powder form. That easily removes those marks and makes the sink white again. I've tried other suggested ways to clean it without much success.

    For the greasy stove top, I use the LA Totally Awesome full strength but be warned, it's strong with an ammonia smell so I make sure I quickly spray it and walk away. Or I may even use a mask while spraying it.

    the Windex spray I mentioned

  • last year

    For those of you who use Mr. Clean's concentrated all purpose cleaner, what exactly do you clean with it, and do you always mix it in a bucket or can you mix it in a spray bottle?

    I refuse to carry a bucket anymore to clean floors because if you rinse a dirty mop or cloth then you're cleaning with dirt.

    I accidentally ordered one and not sure if I'll use it because it cannot be used on granite which is the one item that gets the most cleaning. The Clean Freak is good, and it can be used on granite, but it's just one spray bottle.