| MarketWatch has highlighted these products and services because we think readers will find them useful. We may earn a commission if you buy products through our links, but our recommendations are independent of any compensation that we may receive. |
You can be extremely clean — and green.
Want to kill the germs in your home, without also adding a bunch of potentially toxic ingredients to your countertops and other surfaces? Then your choice of cleaner may be simple: Indeed, there is just one disinfecting cleaner that gets a grade “A” from nonprofit environmental research organization Environmental Working Group. That cleaner is Seventh Generation Disinfecting Multi-Surface Cleaner, Lemongrass Citrus — and it retails for about $3.50 on Amazon.
(That $3.50 price is available to Prime Pantry members, who get free shipping on groceries and other household products.Amazon is now offering a 30-day free trial of Prime Pantry.)
Many users have good things to say about Seventh Generation Disinfecting Multi-Surface Cleaner — even preferring it to other, less green options, with one verified customer writing: “This is actually one of the most effective cleaning products I’ve ever used. Throw away your harsh chemical-based cleaning products. This stuff will get the job done. Even gets dried cat vomit out of porous old hardwood. Impressive!”
It’s not your only solid choice of disinfecting cleaner though. EWG — which examined the ingredients of nearly 70 EPA-certified disinfecting all-purpose cleaners — recommends using cleaners with an A or B rating, and a handful of others get a B rating.
1. Windex Multi-Surface Disinfectant Cleaner, about $3 on Amazon.
Price is with a Prime Pantry membership, which is being offered free for 30 days now.
2. Windex Touch-Up Cleaner Multi-Surface Disinfectant, Glistening Citrus, about $6 at Walmart.
3. LYSOL Power & Free Multi-Purpose Cleaner, Oxygen Splash, about $3 at Target in store.
4. LYSOL Power & Free Tap Top Multi-Purpose Cleaner, Citrus Sparkle, about $4 at Walmart
5. Mr. Clean Antibacterial Cleaner, Summer Citrus, about $4 at Walmart.
To be sure, EWG notes that Seventh Generation’s disinfectant isn’t perfect, nor are the other ones on this list — and it recommends that you use disinfectants carefully (follow the directions on the bottle) and sparingly: “Most routine cleaning does not require disinfection. Simple soap and water is enough for removing most household dirt and organic matter,” says Samara Geller, senior research and database analyst at EWG.
And HealthyChildren.org, a website from the American Academy of Pediatrics, notes that: “Although chemical disinfectants and sanitizers are essential to control communicable diseases, they are potentially hazardous to children, particularly if the products are in concentrated form.”
In other words, if you are trying to curb the spread of flu or other hazardous germs, a safer disinfectant might be the way to go, but if you are just casually wiping down your counter, use something milder.
Add Comment