Looking for a chemical-free cleaner? With naturally derived ingredients, such as coconut soap and chalk powder, you'll know you won't be killing off the local wildlife, but do they actually work? We put our favourites to the test.
*All products and prices correct at time of publication - 09/2006
£1.25 for 500ml from supermarkets
How eco is it? It's made from chalk dust and plant-based ingredients, all of which are biodegradable. The containers are 100 per cent recyclable.
Is it any good? Marvellous. It's probably as good as a traditional cleaner but without the chemical nasties. A quick squirt on a grimy hob shifted even burnt-on marks. Baths and sinks come clean, too, with only a little elbow grease and, once you rinse them clean, look really quite sparkly. This felt the closest to a traditional kitchen/ bathroom cleaner and, although you do need give it a good rinse afterwards, it produced the best results.
Score 5/5
From any supermarket
How eco is it? As eco as you can get.
Is it any good? Not so much a cleaner as a handy natural solution for breaking down grease (such as in the U-bend of a sink). It can be used as a water softener for laundry, too. We used it instead of bleach on a blocked sink by simply pouring a couple of cups worth of crystals down the plug, swiftly followed by a kettle of boiling water, and it did the trick. Got a waste disposal unit? Emptying half a cup and some hot water into it every few weeks will stop grease and smells building up.
Score 4/5
£1.49 for 500ml
How eco is it? It contains no phosphates, enzymes or bleach and is biodegradable, too.
Is it any good? Pretty impressive. Just squirt it on and leave it for a few minutes to work, then get scrubbing. You don't need a massive amount of elbow grease to shift grimy stains and burnt-on mess on your hob, and you can also use it to get rid of caked-on gunge in pans (though you can't use it on aluminium ones) and stained chopping boards.
Score 4/5
Kitchen/Bathroom Pack (one general purpose cloth, one glass/polishing cloth), £4.99
How eco is it? The cloth contains loads of tiny fibres to shift grease and grime and no chemicals at all.
Is it any good? It's worth having in the cupboard, but you will need another all-purpose cleaner to tackle every job around the kitchen and bathroom. It came up trumps on lightly soiled worksurfaces, glass and stainless steel, where it left surfaces clean and quite sparkly, but was less impressive on a grubby hob.
Score 2/5
Cleaner £9.99 plus £4.99 p&p for 1L of concentrate (makes up to ten 500ml trigger spray bottles when diluted - works out at £1.49 for 500ml)
How eco is it? No bleach, ammonia and phosphates. Comes as a concentrate, which saves on packaging and transport costs.
Is it any good? Yes. It may not smell as gentle and lovely as some of the fragranced cleaners we tested (it's like a more traditional cleaner though the lemon is much nicer than the original), but it does do the job if you leave it for a handful of seconds to work. Just spray it on and get to work - you don't need to rinse afterwards. Because it's a concentrate, you can change the strength of the mix for different tasks.
Score 4/5
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