How many sprays does it take to find the best Eco-Friendly Kitchen Cleaner Spray? We’ll tell you. And it’s comprehensive.
In his book, The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg uses Febreeze as an example of using habits to sell products. Febreeze is an odor eliminating spray that has the ability to remove foul odors. When it was launched, it was received well but failed to sell. The reason was that while someone may use it to get rid of a foul smell, they wouldn’t use it often enough to form a habit or remember it unless prompted. What made Febreeze sell was changing the message of how to use it. Instead of selling it as an odor eliminating spray, they marketed it as the final step of cleaning. A few spritzes into the now clean room as a mini celebration of finishing a task – that last final touch. The P&G marketing team watched hours of video tapes of people cleaning their houses and noticed that upon finishing cleaning, a person would do something – look over the room an smile, stretch – something that signaled a job well done. They changed the product – adding fragrance, redesigning bottles and marketed it as a reward for cleaning. They used the habit of needing to do something to signal a room was clean, to sell Febreeze. And it worked.
When searching for the best Eco-Friendly Kitchen Cleaner Spray, that story kept popping up in our minds. The kitchen cleaner spray is the final step of cleaning the kitchen. It’s the last thing you do that finishes off the cleaning, it’s that final step. But unlike Febreeze its job is not to just make the kitchen smell good and finish it off. It’s job is to clean – to make your counter tops, stove and fridge sparkle. But the smell we discovered was critical – something fresh and light made us smile, too strong or vinegary and we left the kitchen with a frown.
The search to find the best Eco-friendly kitchen cleaner spray has taken months. We searched for as many options as we could find and then put each to the test. Choosing Eco-friendly or non-toxic kitchen cleaner sprays was important as we’re using it on counter tops – counter tops that we put food on, roll out dough etc. This food then enters our bodies, and we’d prefer it not to be accompanied with chemicals.
Below are all the options we found and tested. All are Eco-friendly and non-toxic.
All the sprays were scored on 5 categories, which for us makes up the qualities of an ideal kitchen spray.
Price – How much it costs relative to the others.
Smell – An important factor when considering how you like your kitchen to smell once clean.
Spray function – A good spray should have an even diffusion, think of a shower – you want an even spread not a sharp stream, dribble or hose pipe that hasn’t been fully turned on. You also must consider the length of the spray straw. It should not curl up, as this eventually requires a trim to get the last drops out of the bottle.
Effectiveness – Does it leave your counters glinting, your stove shining and fridge streak free?
Effort Level – Is it a spray and wipe, or a spray, wait, wipe and buff. How much effort do you need to exert to get the results you want? Ideally the less effort the better.
We scored each category from 0-3. 1 is bad, 2 is neutral, 3 is good and 0 was awarded when the bad was worse than the other bad.
The highest possible scoring is thus 15 and the kitchen cleaner spray with the highest combined score was deemed the winner. It’s all very official, as our Taste Tests are 😉
Method Daily Kitchen Non-Toxic Surface Cleaner
Price
R79.95 for 828ml available here
It’s the most amount of money but is the largest bottle. All other cleaners came in a 500ml bottle. Per 500ml you’ll pay R48.28 which is the figure we looked at when giving it the score. This was middle of the range pricing – not the most expensive, but not most affordable.
Score: 2
Smell
It’s labelled as clementine, which South Africans know as nartjie. Anyone who’s peeled a nartjie by hand, knows that unmistakable fragrant citrus smell. This does not smell like a clementine. It smells clean and unoffensive, but you won’t spray it and remark how delicious your kitchen now smells.
Score: 2
Spray Function
It sprays perfectly even; with the distribution you expect from a spray. The spray straw is also the ideal length. Touches the bottom of the bottle and does not curl up.
Score: 3
Effort level
Method requires you to just spray and wipe to achieve the desired clean gleam. We would recommend wiping away any loose debris, such as flour or crumbs before spraying.
Score: 3
Effectiveness
When following directions, it works brilliantly. It cleans and shines countertops, ovens, stoves and fridges. However, if you use the same cloth to wipe down the whole kitchen, start with reflective surfaces like the fridge, stove and oven before the counters.
Score: 3
Total score: 13/15
Pick n Pay Live Green Kitchen Cleaner
Price
R33.99 for 500ml available here.
This was the best price of all the kitchen cleaner sprays, and significantly lower – R9 cheaper than the next best price.
Score: 3
Smell
It’s labelled as lime and cinnamon. Had we named it we would leave out the cinnamon, there is nary a hint of it. To best describe the smell; If you took vinegar and tried to mute the smell with some lime, you’d get this. If you like the smell of vinegar, great. We prefer the taste, so this is a miss on the smell.
Score: 1
Spray function
It sprays out like a nice even spritz but is a bit heavy handed in the amount that sprays out. It does have a good length spray straw.
Score: 2
Effort
You need to leave it on a surface for a few seconds then wipe with a damp cloth.
Score: 2
Effectiveness
It leaves a soapy residue which is annoying because it feels like it’s not cleaning. However, within a few seconds that residue disappears (without wiping it completely away) and it leaves behind shiny clean surfaces.
Score: 2
Total score: 10/15
Simple Truth Vinegar Powered Household Cleaner
Price
R42.99 for 500ml available here
This was the middle rang pricing, the second cheapest cleaner.
Score: 2
Smell
The fact that it is vinegar powered indicates it smells like vinegar. It does and it’s a harsh smell, like it permeates through the entire house for a few hours after using it. It was the worst smell out of all the kitchen cleaners and was described by some of our testers as “so terrible I refuse to use it”.
Score: 0
Spray function
It sprays in a delicate shower spritz, leaving behind the ideal amount of cleaner for surface. The straw does not curl up.
Score: 3
Effort level
You need to spray on a surface, leave for a few seconds and then wipe down with a clean dry cloth.
Score: 2
Effectiveness
Despite its smell, it actually cleans well and removes grease with ease. It does leave a slight streak on the stove top, but otherwise does a good job.
Score: 3
Total score: 10/15
Woolworths Earth Friendly Kitchen Cleaner
Price
R49.99 for 500ml available here
This is priced on the higher end of the middle range (R7 more than the lowest in this category), but still not crazy.
Score: 2
Smell
It is described as cucumber and jasmine tea with lemon oil. The cucumber really shines in the smell. It’s not delicious but leaves your kitchen smelling pleasantly clean.
Score: 2
Spray
It squirts in a straight stream, like a hose pipe that you haven’t opened fully. Not ideal for the even light sprinkle you want when cleaning counters. We prefer a shower like spray which results in an even distribution of cleaning solution.
Score: 1
Effort
First you need to spray the area clean, then leave it for 5 minutes before returning with a clean cloth to wipe away. Finally for extra shine, one must buff the area. That’s a lot of steps, in fact one of the most detailed instructions in the kitchen cleaner sprays tried.
Score: 1
Effectiveness
The good news is that the effort does indeed pay off, just as long as you follow instructions. After 5 plus minutes you have counters that glint and bare no streaks.
Score: 3
Total score: 9/15
Triple Orange All Purpose Wonder Spray
Price
R47 for 500ml available here
Middle range pricing and still affordable in comparison to the others.
Score: 2
Smell
It’s incredibly citrus which you’d think would be pleasant but it’s intense and can be a bit too overwhelming on your senses when sprayed into small spaces. It left some of our testers coughing.
Score: 1
Spray function
The issue with the spray function is not the stream vs spray but rather its straw. It is so long it curves halfway up the bottle, and this blocks liquid from coming out easily. When you get halfway through the bottle you can no longer spray unless you actually remove the spray nozzle and trim the straw down.
Score: 0
Effort
It’s a spray and wipe cleaner.
Score: 3
Effectiveness
It is super soapy, which we don’t love. The soapiness effects the shine – it cleans but can be a bit streaky.
Score: 2
Total score: 8/15
So Pure Anti Bacterial Kitchen Cleaner
Price
R71 for 500ml available here
This is in the higher range when it comes to pricing, I fact it’s almost double the price of the least expensive cleaner.
Score: 1
Smell
It is unlabelled but smells like Fanta Orange. As they claim, it does not have strong fumes. It leaves your kitchen smelling like an orange farm. In a good way.
Score: 3
Spray
It has a good range of spray but is a bit heavy handed with the amount that streams out.
Score: 2
Effort
There are many steps involved for this one. You need to shake it, then spray and then wipe. You’re not done. You now need to rinse with water. If you have heavy marks you need to spray, brush, leave for 5 minutes, brush again, wipe with water. We’re exhausted just typing this.
Score: 1
Effectiveness
If you have time on your hands to follow the steps you’ll be rewarded with shiny and sparkling counters but it does streak the stove ever so lightly.
Score: 2
Total score: 9/15
Earthsap Kitchen Cleaner
Price: R64 for 500ml available here
This falls into the higher price range, but is the least expensive in the higher category. Still in comparison to others the price is high.
Score: 1
Spray
It sprays well in a gentle spritz.
Score: 3
Smell
It’s unlabelled but we would label it as lemonade. There was a disagreement as to whether it’s sickly sweet or just sweet. Sweet won out, it leaves your kitchen smelling like a lemonade stand.
Score: 3
Effort
It requires you to just spray and wipe, doesn’t get easier than that.
Score: 3
Effectiveness
It works. Cleans, sparkles and leaves your kitchen looking as clean as it now smells.
Score: 3
Total score: 13/15
Natural Orange All Purpose Spray
Price
R76 for 500ml available here
This is the most expensive cleaner. It is R12 more than the lowest higher priced cleaner and more than double the least expensive cleaner.
Score: 0
Smell
It says it has real lemongrass and lemongrass is the main smell. More cleaning products should use lemongrass as a scent, it is the perfect combination of fresh, clean and delicious.
Score: 3
Spray
It gives you the perfect light even shower.
Score:3
Effort
Spray and wipe, and you’re done.
Score: 3
Effectiveness
It works leaving your kitchen sparkling and smelling like citrus.
Score: 3
Total score: 12/15
So what is the best Eco-friendly kitchen cleaner spray?
From best to worst we have:
13/15 Method Kitchen Cleaner . Available here
13/15 Earthsap Kitchen Cleaner . Available here
12/15 Natural Orange Kitchen Cleaner . Available here
10/15 Pick n Pay Kitchen Cleaner. Available here
10/15 Simple Truth Kitchen Cleaner . Available here
9/15 Woolworths Kitchen Cleaner. Available here
9/15 So Pure Kitchen Cleaner . Available here
8/15 Triple Orange Kitchen Cleaner . Available here
What would we recommend and repurchase?
Method and Earthsap scored equally the best but differed in two important categories. Method’s Kitchen Cleaner spray comes out at R15.72 cheaper than Earthsap’s Kitchen Cleaner spray, BUT, Earthsap smells noticeable much better. If budget is your game go for the Method – not only is it cheaper but the larger bottle means you won’t have to repurchase as often (saving you time and more money.)
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