The Best Non-Toxic All-Purpose Cleaners
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The time has come to embrace natural, non-toxic cleaners to not only help our planet’s ecosystem, but also to stay away from harmful chemicals that can potentially hurt our health and well-being. Traditional chemical cleaners can cause health issues such as respiratory effects, asthma, skin allergies and irritation, developmental and reproductive toxicity, and cancer.
Many cleaners may use the word “natural” on the bottle, but the only way to know if they are natural and non-toxic is to check all the ingredients. A great resource that you can use to check if a product is clean or not is the Environmental Working Group (EWG) website. The EWG employs a rating system ranging from A to F. EWG verified products represent the utmost cleanliness and safety, followed by those rated A, B, and so forth, with F indicating the highest potential hazards.
With that being said, I have found that no system is perfect and that’s why I personally check all the ingredients myself. I left the EWG ratings for those of you who like to see them, but the ratings do not indicate that they are cleaner than other items on the list so take your pick. Check out my list of clean, safe, and non-toxic multi-purpose cleaners below. Hopefully, you’ll find a clean all-purpose cleaner that works for you!
1. Aunt Fannie’s Cleaning Vinegar Wipes, Bright Lemon
EWG Rating: A
These non-toxic wipes are multi-surface and are convenient for wiping up household dirt and grime in the kitchen, bathroom, and beyond. They are safe for food contact surfaces including counters, fridges, and high chair trays. The lemon scent is made with 100% essential oils. They are biodegradable and compostable and are made without alcohol or harsh chemicals. Aunt Fannie’s also has other wipes with different scents that are also rated an A (eucalyptus, fresh lime mint, and sweet mandarin).
2. Force of Nature Disinfectant
EWG Rating: No rating
This is the only cleaner on this list that is a disinfectant. Since this is the safest disinfectant that I’ve found, I bought this cleaner for my son’s school and encouraged them to use it. Hopefully they do!
Force of Nature is different than other cleaners because their technology uses an electrical current to break apart molecules of salt, water, and vinegar and form them into two new ingredients: hypochlorous acid and 0000003% of sodium hydroxide. This cleaner is only good for two weeks after mixing the ingredients because the hypochlorous acid will start to break down and won’t be effective. The capsules to mix the cleaner are very cheap so making a new cleaner every two weeks won’t break the bank.
Force of Nature is a federal EPA-registered disinfectant & sanitizer that is registered for use in hospitals, ICUs, schools, daycares, and more. However, it’s gentle enough that hospitals even use it in wound care. Here is a PubMed article stating that it’s safe to use and that when they used this cleaner in a surgical center, it had “significantly lower bacterial counts than the rooms that underwent standard cleaning and disinfection”.
Personally, I would only use this cleaner in areas where a disinfectant was needed like the bathroom, if someone was sick, or if you’re potty training! It’s not good to disinfect your house frequently. More studies are needed, but over-sanitizing can cause an increased resistance of bacteria against disinfectants (source). With that said, there is always a time and place for a disinfectant, so try Force of Nature so you’re not exposing yourself to harmful chemicals.
3. Earthley Wellness Cleaning Spray Concentrate
EWG Rating: No rating, but I checked all the ingredients. Ingredients are saponified oils, citric acid, and sodium carbonate. That’s it! All ingredients are completely safe and rated a 1 or 2 on the EWG database. The scented versions of this product also contain essential oils.
This non-toxic all-purpose cleaner is really clean and inexpensive! It comes in a small jar that is shown in the picture above. You simply place a teaspoon (the size of a blueberry or small marble) in a spray bottle (which is also available for purchase on the button below) and add 16 oz of warm water. Shake to mix and then spray to clean. Each 2oz jar makes 12 bottles of cleaning spray.
There are no sulfates, fragrances, phosphates, petrochemicals, allergens (soy, corn, dairy, tree nuts, gluten, peanuts, sesame, fish), preservatives, formaldehyde, chlorine, ammonia or other junk. It’s made with 3 clean ingredients plus essential oils that vary depending on which scent you get. There are 5 different scents available. I really like this company. They have a ton of clean products. Feel free to browse the website!
4. Good Natured Brand Multi-Surface Cleaner Spray, Lavender & Eucalyptus
EWG Rating: A
Good Natured Brand cleaning products have been tested by the independent Green Seal and scored on the highest, green tier of Whole Foods’ Eco-Scale. Their multi-surface cleaner is made with essential oils and can be used on appliances, tables, chairs, floors, walls, bathrooms, electronics, or any areas you want clean and green. It has a reusable bottle that you can simply refill with one of their surface cleaner concentrates. Their products are made in the USA and are never tested on animals.
This is a great cleaner that uses glucosides. I’ve found that glucosides get the job done and I like cleaning with them, but I wanted to add that this cleaner also contains eucalyptus essential oil which is safe, however, this website says that it shouldn’t be used around kids 12 and under. I think this warning applies more if you are diffusing it or using it topically, but I just wanted to point it out. I have small kids and I would still buy this cleaner, I just wouldn’t spray it when they’re sitting right next to me.
5. Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap, Citrus
EWG Rating: A
Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soaps are made with over 90% organic ingredients, over 70% of ingredients are certified fair trade, and it doesn’t contain any synthetic preservatives, thickeners, or foaming agents. This clean all-purpose cleaner is different from the others on this list because you can also use it for laundry, mopping, hand-washing dishes, washing pets & more. You can get so many uses out of it. On the back of the bottle, it gives you instructions on how to dilute it depending on how you are using it.
6. EcoMe All Purpose Cleaner, Ready to Use Household Cleaner, Citrus Berry
EWG Rating: No rating, but this product only has 4 ingredients including water, vinegar, natural plant essential oils, and Capryl Glucoside. I looked up Capryl Glucoside on the EWG database and it is rated a 2.
This natural all-purpose cleaner is made for any surface of the house. It’s free from harsh chemicals, toxic fumes, sulfates, BPA, colorants/dyes, phthalates, preservatives, and synthetic fragrances. In addition, it’s made in the USA, is Leaping Bunny Certified, cruelty-free, septic and greywater safe, vegan and gluten-free.
