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REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: Non-Toxic All Purpose Cleaner

By Real Food Freaks, on May 14th, 2012

How are you doing with your New Year’s Goals?  I don’t call them resolutions because I feel like that it’s setting me up for failure.  I prefer to look at each year as a challenge to set new goals for myself.  Last year I focused on changing my diet.  And that is a monumental task that is still evolving.  But one of my new goals for this year was to add non-toxic cleaners to my home cleaning rituals.

I was thrilled to be able to review a bottle of All-Purpose Cleaner from Tropical Traditions (Yes, our favorite coconut oil company sells non-toxic cleaners too — YIPPEE!).  Little by little I have been trying some of their cleaning products.  All of them have exceeded my expectations and the All-Purpose Cleaner was no exception.

What’s in it?

All the ingredients are edible!  Now I’m not saying that it will taste good, silly.  I’m just saying that if you wanted to drink it you could because it is made up of things you can ingest.  The following are the ingredients as listed on Tropical Traditions website:

purified water, amino acids, minerals and other ingredients derived from leafy green, edible and seed-bearing plants.

What’s NOT in it?

What’s even more important to me is what’s NOT in it.  Nothing toxic.

no harmful detergents or solvents, perfumes or dyes.

In other words, not only is this safe for your home, children, and pets; but it’s also safe for the environment.

Does It Clean?

I took my time  reviewing this product because I wanted to see how many things I could actually clean with it.  Not being blessed with a natural drive to be a clean freak, I found things that needed cleaning on an as-needed-basis and then would reach for the All-Purpose Cleaner.

Here are a few things that Tropical Traditions says the cleaner can be used for.  I have not tried all of them (see next section for the ways I used the cleaner):

  • Kitchen – stove tops, ovens, countertops, especially greasy messes.
  • Use as a dishwashing liquid
  • Use as a hand soap
  • Bathrooms – cleans soap scum and mildew on the shower, countertops, toilets.
  • Laundry – Pre-treat stains with grease, oil, blood, wax, dirt
  • Cars – exterior sap, tar and bugs; tires, engines

My Experience with the Cleaner

6 of 7 applications in which I used the cleaner worked extremely well.

Counter tops and greasy stove top — Cuts grease and cleans well without residue.  I am amazed.

Furniture fabric — We have two pugs.  As much as I love them, they are dirty little monsters, especially my male.   He leaves behind some gross stuff where he sits on the couch.  I simply sprayed and scrubbed with a dry cloth and it came out with ease.

Leather couch – Ok, I am not sure if this was made for leather.  And I am usually pretty particular about what I put on my leather couch, but I held my breath and sprayed  some spots where my pug had also been.  I wiped dry immediately (do not let moisture linger on leather), and it came clean with no streaks or water stains. Phew!

Goo on the Washing Machine and Dryer – When you have to replace your washing machine or dryer you realize how much crud is built up on the machines because you never move them.  Or at least I don’t.  If you clean there often you are a clean freak.   I am guessing that my blogging friend Leslie fits into that category.  I do not!  Bottom line, I had to replace the washer and got back there to clean the goo that I never ordinarily see.  It was gross and sticky — BLECH.  But it came up really easy with the  All-Purpose Cleaner and a damp rag.

Carpet stains — So, I experimented with this on a little bit.  I had seen where carpets can be cleaned with a vinegar, dish washing liquid, and water dilution.  I was actually out of dish washing soap, so I used the  All-Purpose Cleaner in place of it.  It worked like a charm for the muddy patches that my pugs walked in the house one rainy day.  I even tried to scrub some dark spots that were from regular wear and they came clean as well.  Now, I can’t tell you if it will work on a direct spray.  I don’t even know if it is color-safe.  But the formula for the dilution worked!  If you have pets or kids, this is a must have for carpets!

Pre-treat laundry stains - One of the annoying things about my real food cooking is that I almost always spill or splatter on myself at least once a week now.  I immediately pre-treated a grease stain with the  All-Purpose Cleaner and washed my soiled clothing right away.  It came clean!  You know how tough grease is, right?  This cleaner is worth it just for pre-treating of the the messy, real-food-cooking, slop  factor alone!

Shower soap scum/mildew — This is a review so I am going to tell you like it really is.  This did not work for me here. I left it on as prescribed and then rinsed it away.  The directions say to wipe and rinse.  I didn’t wipe and it didn’t remove the soap scum or little bit of mildew that was forming.  I guess I am looking for something similar to the toxic junk I used to use where I would spray it and it would clean by itself.  I am not going back to that because . . .  well, it’s toxic!  So the cleaner does involve a little elbow grease for the shower cleaning.  It’s not a deal breaker, but I am definitely going to keep looking for the all-natural spray rinse version of the shower cleaner I used to use.

So, whad-da-ya think?  Wanna give it a try? Do you want to enter our giveaway?  Here are the rules.  Only the first one is required but you can get extra entries for each EXTRA thing you do (YOU MUST LEAVE A COMMENT FOR EACH ACTION YOU DO TO GET CREDIT FOR EACH!):

  1. REQUIRED:  Subscribe to Tropical Tradtions newletter (where you get a heads up on specials!) and leave a comment that you did so.
  2. Like us on Facebook, and leave a comment that you did so (if you already like us, just leave a comment to that effect)
  3. Follow us on Pinterest, and leave a comment
  4. Follow us on Twitter, and leave a comment

GIVEAWAY entries accepted Monday 5/14 – Thursday 5/24.  The winner will be announced Friday, May 25.  Good Luck!

Post links to: Fat Tuesday, Traditional Tuesdays, Hearth and Soul Hop, Whole  Food Wednesday, Real Food Wednesday, Whole Food Wednesday (TCC), Fightback Friday,

Disclaimer: Tropical Traditions gave me a bottle of All-Purpose Cleaner to review free of charge.  I was under no obligation to write a positive review whatsoever.  The links on this page are affiliate links.  We may receive incentives from Tropical Traditions if you click a link and make a purchase, however this in no way reflects any increase in the price you pay for the product.

May 14th, 2012 | Tags: , , | Category: Give Aways, Jen's Blogs, Non toxic Cleaning, Real Food Boot Camp, Uncategorized

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