10 All-Purpose Kitchen Cleaners, Ranked from Worst to Best

There are so many different ways to clean your kitchen with pantry staples and basic ingredients you probably already have on hand. For example, it only takes a few ingredients to make your own all-purpose cleaner. There’s also a lot you can clean around your kitchen using just baking soda or even fresh lemon. A lot of these ingredients will leave your kitchen smelling its best, no expensive cleaner purchases necessary.

However, when you have a serious mess — which happens in any kitchen that gets a decent amount of use — you may choose to upgrade to a store-bought cleaning product. All-purpose kitchen cleaners are usually a good way to go since they serve multiple uses around your kitchen and home, negating the need to buy several different products at the same time. But how do you know which all-purpose cleaners are best?

I’ve tried out 10 different all-purpose kitchen cleaners and ranked them according to efficacy, aroma, and general usefulness, prioritizing less-harsh and more widely usable products over more intense products that could cause irritation for some users. By taking a closer look at this list, you may have an easier time picking out a cleaner to use in your kitchen. These are all-purpose kitchen cleaners, ranked worst to best.

If you’re like me, you’re immediately attracted to products that have well-designed packaging, which ostensibly communicates that you’re getting something that’s higher end. However, that’s not always the case, and unfortunately, that holds true for Clean Cult All-Purpose Cleaner Lemon Verbena. I really wanted to like this stuff, but it fell flat in so many arenas. First of all, the bottle kept leaking, so I was left with lemon verbena-scented cleaner all over my bag as soon as I got home from the store. Not ideal, but that doesn’t necessarily tell you much about the product itself.

When I actually used it in my kitchen, though, I was once again disappointed. It was fine for simply wiping down surfaces that were relatively clean already, and the scent was okay, if a little too strong for my taste. But when it comes to stuck-on and greasy messes, this stuff just didn’t do the job. You really have to scrub hard when you’re using this stuff. And considering that this is one of the pricier cleaners on this list, you may be better off just opting for a sponge with some dish soap.

You’ll want to make sure that you read your container of Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner carefully before you use it. That’s because this stuff is concentrated, meaning that you need to dilute it with water before using it. However, that’s a bit confusing since the spray bottle that you’re apparently supposed to use with the product comes filled to the brim with that bold green liquid. And this is an important point, since using it at full strength can irritate your skin. I generally prefer to stay away from products that feature warnings like this, as less-harsh products usually get the job done fine, and I don’t have to worry about wearing gloves with them.

Once you start spraying this stuff, you’ll notice how strong and noxious the smell of the product is. Yes, it can cut through grease and oil well, which is why it doesn’t rank last on this list, but that intense smell takes a while to dissipate and makes this one of my least favorite products of the group. It’s one of the more affordable options here, but I’d pay just to avoid having to smell that scent again.

The Pink Stuff doesn’t necessarily smell bad — the aroma is pleasant enough. However, it’s quite strong, with a candy-like scent that can be overwhelming after a while. Although it’s not quite as noxious as Simple Green, it’s still quite a bit more scented than I would prefer in an all-purpose kitchen cleaner, which is why it doesn’t rank higher on this list. Additionally, it can be irritating for some people, potentially causing allergic reactions, and who wants that when they’re just trying to clean their sink? It’s yet another reason why this is far from my favorite product on this list.

That being said, The Pink Stuff does clean up messes quite well, including a marinara sauce stain that was quite stubbornly stuck to my stovetop. It can also leave streaks on some surfaces, but as long as you scrub instead of wiping, that shouldn’t be too much of an issue. Overall, I think there are better all-purpose kitchen cleaners out there to choose from.

When you want to use a disinfecting spray for your kitchen, Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner may be a good option, depending on what you’re using it for, but it’s a product I don’t prefer to use on a regular basis. It kills germs, which can be good when you have a mess that you may consider a health hazard, but it’s also one of the least environmentally friendly options on this list. Some of the chemicals in this product can linger in the environment and harm aquatic life if they enter the water system. It’s also one of the harsher options on this list.

Sometimes, you may feel like you need that extra cleaning power, but most of the time, that same job can be tackled with soap and water, although it may require some extra scrubbing. If you do decide to use Lysol All-Purpose Cleaner, make sure to keep it away from food, kids, and pets for the best results, and try to use it sparingly.

Fabuloso is a household staple for many, and I can certainly understand why. This all-purpose kitchen cleaner really does work for a variety of different applications. The way I’ve always used it is as a kitchen floor cleaner. You can simply add it to your mop water, and it’ll give your kitchen a light, refreshing lemon scent that makes it feel and smell sparkling clean. However, you can also just pour the stuff on a sponge and go to town on countertops, cabinets, and basically anything else in your kitchen that way as well.

Although this stuff is fantastic for cleaning your floors and has a pleasant scent, it’s not as great when it comes to cleaning up sticky messes, especially those involving stuck-on food. It’s really for lighter cleaning projects — not when you need extra scrubbing power. It’s a good product to have on hand, but I certainly wouldn’t depend on it for all of my kitchen cleaning needs.

Clorox Disinfecting All-Purpose Cleaner is a cleaning staple in many households for good reason: It works. Spray it onto a surface, let it sit for about 10 minutes, and any messes should come right up. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’s the best option for a kitchen cleaner, though, especially considering that this is one of the harshest options available. I find that I have to keep my windows open when I spray this stuff since the fumes easily give me a headache. It’s also not great for surfaces where you prepare food — you’ll need to make sure you wipe them down with water before allowing them to come in contact with anything you eat again.

Depending on the kind of messes you tend to have in your kitchen, there may be a time and a place to use Clorox Disinfecting All-Purpose Cleaner. That being said, it’s best not to use this stuff all the time, instead opting for a lighter, less harsh cleaner for everyday messes and spills.

When you have serious spills and messes around your kitchen — like after a particularly ambitious cooking product or when you’re wrapping up a laborious Thanksgiving dinner — you have to use a serious cleaning product. That’s where Fantastik Multi-Purpose Cleaner comes in. This product ranks in the lower middle of the list because there are both pros and cons to using it. The pro is that it really, really works when it comes to cleaning up spills and messes, and since it’s disinfecting, it works well for cleaning up after you cook raw meat or fish. You won’t have to scrub a lot when you use this stuff, because it cuts through grease and oil well. Plus, it’s one of the more affordable sprays on this list.

That being said, this is another product that’s a bit too harsh for my taste. The smell is strong, so you might want to open your windows while you use it. And it can be irritating to some people’s skin, so it’s a good idea to wear gloves while you’re scrubbing. This can be a good product to have on hand in certain, particularly germ-y instances, but it’s not the ideal everyday cleaner, if you ask me.

For a lighter and gentler cleaner that you really can use every day, Seventh Generation All-Purpose Cleaner in Lemon Chamomile isn’t a bad option to use. It’s not as harsh as many of the products on this list, instead utilizing lighter ingredients like essential oils. This isn’t a product I feel like I have to use gloves for, which is nice for when you’re just trying to do a light clean without seriously scrubbing. That being said, it may not be the best product to tackle particularly dirty or stuck-on messes, since it doesn’t have quite the same cleaning power as some of the more intense cleaning options on this list.

The scent of this product isn’t my favorite, but it’s nice. The addition of chamomile to the lemon is a nice touch that makes your house smell less like a lemonade stand and more like a nice tea shop. Although there may be better cleaning products available, this isn’t the worst choice you could make if you’re looking for something lighter and less harsh than what other brands offer.

If you’re the kind of person who can’t stand the smell of harsh cleaners but you want something that’s a bit more powerful than vinegar as a kitchen cleaner, Open Nature All-Purpose Cleaner Free and Clear may be just what you’re looking for. This stuff doesn’t have any scent at all, which means it shouldn’t irritate even the most sensitive of cleaners. It’s not harsh, either, meaning that it’s more appropriate for everyday cleaning than a lot of the other options on this list.

Although it does clean effectively, it’s definitely not the most powerful cleaner listed here. For the best results, you might want to let it sit for a while before wiping up stuck-on messes. That being said, if you’re doing your daily cleaning, making sure your countertops and other surfaces look nice and clean, then this stuff is definitely worth checking out, particularly if you find that you’re sensitive to other all-purpose kitchen cleaners on the market.

If you’re looking for a good, standard cleaner that will get the job (including seriously grimy messes in your kitchen) without being too harsh and without filling your kitchen with noxious-smelling fumes, then Method All-Purpose Cleaner Pink Grapefruit may be the way to go. This stuff is light enough to use on an everyday basis, but it still helps cut through grease and oil in a way that some of the lighter, less harsh products on this list don’t. It does have a scent to it, but it’s a particularly pleasant scent. There are a lot of lemon-scented cleaning products out there that don’t smell like lemon at all. But the grapefruit aroma in this product really smells like actual grapefruit, filling your kitchen with a pleasant scent that really does make it feel fresher and cleaner.

Although this isn’t the cheapest all-purpose kitchen cleaner on the market, I definitely think it’s worth it to spring for something a little nicer when you want your kitchen to sparkle and smell great. Compared to the competition, it’s clear why this one comes out on top.

I chose these cleaning products according to availability at my local grocery store, and I ranked them according to a variety of factors, including how well they clean difficult messes in the kitchen and their scent. In some cases, I also took environmental issues into account. The highest-ranked products on this list clean well but tend not to be as harsh as some of the more intense products listed here. I tried out all of the products in my own kitchen, both for trickier messes as well as everyday countertop and sink cleaning.