You want a clean house, without all the chemicals used in conventional cleaning products.

Me too!

However, when I go to the cleaning aisle and try to pick out an eco-friendly cleaner, I am never sure what product is actually green or just trying to look like they are green.

Also, I want a product that actually WORKS!

In this review, I will be testing and researching Eco-max Natural Lemongrass All Purpose Cleaner to know once and for all if it is truly eco-friendly and if it will actually clean my house.

I will do my best to not leave any stone unturned in this detailed review.

We will be discussing the following:

• Performance
• Ingredients
• Label Claims
• Sustainability Model
• Where to Purchase
• Cost
• Disposal
• Alternatives

Performance

My kitchen was in desperate need of some cleaning attention, so it was a perfect place to put Eco-max Natural Lemongrass All Purpose Cleaner to the test.

I cleaned the countertops, cupboard doors, appliances, sink, and pantry door.

Here is what I thought of this product.

• smelled nice- not too strong or overpowering
  • reminded me a bit of lemon scented Mr. Clean or Pinesol but I think lemon scents in general trigger that memory for me, however, Eco-max was not nearly as ‘chemical’ smelling
• it cleaned the surfaces really well
  • was very consistent
  • it did a decent job on all of the surfaces tested
• dried out my hands a bit
  • I did not wear gloves on purpose to see the effect on my skin
  • it is a cleaning product, so no surprise that my hands ended up a bit dry
  • wearing gloves (which I generally do) would mitigate this issue

Overall Opinion

I enjoyed using this product. It smelled very pleasant as it is not in-your-face lemony.

It is what it claims to be: An all-purpose cleaner. It cleaned all the surfaces in my kitchen pretty well with no exceptions.

Ingredients Deep-dive

A great thing about this product is its transparency. Every single ingredient is listed on the label. That tells me that the company has nothing to hide.

Side note: If there are ingredients not listed on the label of a particular cleaning solution, DO NOT BUY IT! The manufacturer is most likely trying to hide some sinister ingredient.

Eco-Max All Purpose Cleaner has just six ingredients.

Let’s explore these ingredients, shall we?

Water

• diluent

Food Grade Sodium Citrate

• sodium salt of citric acid
• biodegradable
• preservative

Decyl Glucoside

• surfactant (loosens dirt and grease from surfaces so they can be washed away)
• plant derived
• biodegradable

Food Grade Potassium Sorbate

• potassium salt of sorbic acid
• preservative

Food Grade Citric Acid

• naturally occurring in citrus fruits
• active ingredient
• chelating agent (binds to the metal in hard water, allowing the cleaning solutions to work better)

Cymbopogon Schoenanthus (Lemongrass) Oil

• used as a lemon scent
• botanically derived

Label claims

It’s easy for manufacturers to slap a green label on their products these days.  Do they really mean their product is truly eco-friendly or is it just greenwashing?

Let’s examine the eco-friendly labels that Eco-max All Purpose Cleaner has advertised on the bottle and find out.

Natural

• not regulated
• natural does not mean a product is safer or environmentally friendly
• look for a third-party certification on the label to verify the claim

Non-toxic

• the product will not harm human health or the environment
• there is no standard definition for cleaning products
• not helpful when choosing the safest cleaners

High Performance

• buzzwords
• no real meaning

Ingredients derived from biodegradable, renewable and sustainable botanical resources

• this is proven true by the ingredients listed
• backed by EcoLogo certification

ECOLOGO

• UL Environment developed this third-party environmental standard
• Products, services, and packaging are certified for reduced environmental impact
• Products undergo rigorous scientific testing and/or auditing to prove their compliance

Gentle to skin and surfaces

• my hands were a bit dry after use
• if you have a sensitivity to lemongrass oil, this statement may not be true
• it was, in fact, gentle on the surfaces I used it on

Not tested on animals

• this is a tricky claim as it means that the product as a whole was not tested on animals but the individual ingredients may have been

manufacturer sustainability model

Both the offices and manufacturing facility are powered by 100% renewable electricity from wind farms and hydroelectric plants.

where to purchase

Eco-max is a pretty common product in Canada. It’s found in department and grocery stores such as:

• Sobey’s
• Loblaw’s
• Superstore
• Metro
• Foodland
• Whole Foods
• Save-on-Foods
• London Drugs
• Canadian Tire

It’s also available to purchase online from Amazon.

Cost

Eco-max All Purpose Cleaner is very well priced at around $3.99-$4.99 per 710 mL (24 fl oz) bottle.

disposal

The body of the spray bottle is recyclable. However, the spray nozzle may not be depending on your community’s recycling guidelines.

Every municipality’s recycling system is different, unfortunately, so I cannot say for sure if the whole bottle is recyclable or not.

I encourage you to quickly google your municipality’s recycling information page to determine if you can recycle both the body and the nozzle in your area.

Alternatives

There are many green cleaning products on the market, or at least they claim to be green. I am early on in my review process of these products, so I am hesitant to offer alternatives before I have had a chance to test and research them.

I will be updating this section as I review more truly eco-friendly cleaning products, so please stay tuned for more reviews in the future!

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think this is a great, affordable eco-friendly option for a household cleaner.

Eco-max has a third party certification, which is crucial for any product claiming to be eco-friendly. The more third-party certifications a product has, the more confident I am that the product is actually green.

It is easy to find as it is readily available in many grocery and department stores throughout Canada.

Eco-max cleans kitchen surfaces pretty well without leaving streaks or unpleasant residues behind.

Their manufacturing facilities are powered by renewable resources which is awesome. I think the company could do a little more active outreach to help support our environment, but this is a good step regardless.

So, if you’re frozen in the cleaning aisle staring at all your options, you can feel confident grabbing Eco-max All Purpose Cleaner knowing it is actually eco-friendly.

Have you used this cleaner before? What did you think of it? What do you use as an all-purpose cleaner? Please leave any comments or questions down below. I love to hear from you!