Ecos Plant-Powered All-Purpose Cleaner

Even though it contains just a handful of ingredients, Ecos Plant-Powered All-Purpose Cleaner is a hard-working surface spray. Its biodegradable and pH-balanced formula is safe for septic systems, has not been tested on animals and is both gluten-free and vegan. In our Today’s Parent Approved lab, our editors found the product’s orange scent to be light, natural and refreshing. When it came time to clean, we were impressed with this spray’s ability to clean up a variety of messes with a streak-free shine.

Parents face down a variety of sticky, oily and grimy spots throughout the day, even artistic scribbles of crayon and (yikes!) permanent marker. Our editors tested all these scenarios in the lab, and this surface spray stood up well against most of them. Just one spritz cleaned up oily messes perfectly, and while 10 wipes with a paper towel left a noticeable spot of jam on our laminate surface, a second spray finished the job. Crayon was lifted from a white wall with a little scrubbing—letting the spray sit on the marks for a while made the job easier. The biggest surprise in our lab was the permanent marker cleanup: While the stain was not removed completely, our editors noted the product did a much better job than other similar sprays.

The majority of our parent testers were also impressed with Ecos Plant-Powered All-Purpose Cleaner’s cleaning ability on a variety of surfaces, including quartz, laminate, sinks, cupboards and stovetops. Household messes were mostly easy to clean, although one parent felt it took a lot of effort to remove caked-on food from the high chair. Overall, our testers liked how this spray left surfaces feeling fresh and clean to the touch, and the majority rated it better than surface sprays they have tried in the past.

All of our parent testers said the instructions on the bottle were easy to understand and follow, although our editors noted that this spray does not provide special information for removing stains. It does indicate that it’s only to be used on water-safe surfaces and suggests testing first painted areas. Our lab found it sprayed easily—almost on the forceful side, requiring a step back to cover a wide area. The majority of parents said the bottle was simple enough to lock. One tester found this feature sticky on initial use, but it opened and closed easily afterward. Our editors liked that no product leaked out of the bottle when in the locked position, even after repeated pulls on the handle.

FINAL WORD

All of our parent testers felt the environmentally conscious properties of Ecos Plant-Powered All-Purpose Cleaner added to its value, and most of them enjoyed the natural orange scent. Only one parent tester felt this spray did not perform well enough for her to switch from conventional surface cleaners. All our parent testers said they would recommend this product to other families, and for its ease of use, quality and value, we have awarded it the Today’s Parent Approved seal.