How National Cleaning Product Brands Compare to Generics

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When you’re shopping for cleaning products, do reach for the name-brand items first? Or, do you try to go for the deals on the generic products? Today we’re taking a closer look at a few common brands of cleaning products and breaking down how they compare to the generic competitors.

Lysol Disinfectant Wipes

If you compare Lysol Disinfecting Wipes’ MSDS to the average generic brands, you’ll notice a few things that stand out. For one thing, most generic brands have a very similar list of ingredients to Lysol’s brand. For another thing, you’ll notice that a lot of what you’re paying for with Lysol’s wipes is the brand name itself.

The common complaint about generic wipes is that the cloth might be less durable than Lysol’s, which could lead to you going through more wipes with generic brands. Our recommendation would be to try the generic brand and see if the rate you’re going through wipes is noticeably faster than with Lysol. If it is, consider whether it’s fast enough to offset the amount of money you’re saving on the generic versus the name brand.

Windex Window Cleaner

Windex is the big name to beat in the world of glass and window cleaner. Compared to its generic competitors, the biggest thing users online have noticed is that Windex leaves fewer streaks. By comparison, other alcohol-based glass cleaners could leave more streaks and residue when you wipe them off of glass surfaces.

Of course, this defeats the purpose of a glass cleaner. Cleaning glass is a delicate endeavor because even the slightest amount of streaking can make it look like you’ve done little to clean up. As such, many cleaners recommend you skip the generic window cleaners and just go with the name brand.

Swiffer Mop

Cleaning floors with a wet mop is a great way to keep your kitchen and linoleum floors looking fresh and clean. Customers online note that Swiffer’s brand of wet mop cleaning cloths are just as effective as their generic competitors, however. Unlike window cleaner, it’s less important that you get a completely streak-free clean when you’re dealing with floors.

The task of cleaning floors requires can be daunting, but you can rely on generic floor cleaners. That will save you some money when you pick up supplies. Many cleaning experts swear by homemade floor cleaners, too. A quart of warm water and a quarter of a cup of vinegar can go a long way toward getting a kitchen floor clean and sparkling.