The Good: Does (mostly) what it says, Cleans well, Lasts a while, Inexpensive
The Bad: Rust stains resist effectively.
The Basics: LA’s Totally Awesome All Purpose Cleaner might effectively take on Lime and Calcium, but Rust stops it dead.
When it comes to cleaners, my new place with my wife is turning out to truly need some good ones! We have hard water her and that necessitated the purchase of a decent cleaner that might cut through hard water and rust stains. We opted, for our first attempt, to go with LA’s Totally Awesome All Purpose Cleaner, largely because it was geared specifically for Rust, Lime, and Calcium and it was exceptionally inexpensive.
We picked up LA’s Totally Awesome All Purpose Cleaner in its 32 oz. bottle for use in cleaning our bathroom surfaces. From the porcelain of the toilet to the plastic/vinyl of the shower sides, we wanted a good cleaner that would remove rust stains, calcium and lime build-ups. The LA’s Totally Awesome All Purpose Cleaner comes in a round green plastic bottle with a spray trigger top. The nozzle ends in a simple, pretty standard, rotating cap that offers three spraying options: Off, Stream, and Spray. The "Off" function locks the trigger and prevents anything from being sprayed. This is handy for those who have children kicking around who might otherwise enjoy getting into a bottle like this. Obviously, the "Off" position does not cause the bottle to run out of power or adversely affect the product inside. The "Stream" setting creates a fairly concentrated stream of cleanser that targets the soiled area fairly precisely when held a foot away. The "Stream" function creates a fairly narrow dispersion of the All Purpose Cleaner and I like that level of control. When held six inches from the target, the All Purpose Cleaner creates sprayed area approximately four inches long by an inch wide. The “Spray” function creates a cloud of vapor for the cleaner that covers more surface area – about six or seven inches in diameter – with less concentration.
The actual product is a clear liquid with a light chlorine smell to it. The scent is pretty much what one would expect from a cleanser, though the aroma is comparatively minor. Unlike some cleansers, the LA’s Totally Awesome All Purpose Cleaner will not irritate skin, though it will make worse any open wounds one might have as it is pretty efficient at killing skin. The makers of this product know that and the bottle comes with plenty of warnings to avoid getting the All Purpose Cleaner on skin, eyes, etc. As well, this is potentially toxic if swallowed and is not supposed to be inhaled either, so proper precautions are recommended when applying it in confined spaces like a bathroom.
The directions for use are simple, this is, after all a spray cleaner. Simply turn the spray nozzle from "Off" to "Spray" or “Stream” and spray 4-6 inches away from surface to be cleaned. Let stand for 5 minutes. Wipe clean and rinse. Following those directions yields fine results and I have had no problems with getting my floors, toilets, and most of the shower area clean by doing just that. The All Purpose Cleaner leaves no residue of any kind when properly wiped away.
The directions are pretty adamant about not getting the cleaner on clothes, rugs, etc. and for the record, the warnings are good ones. The product does cause stains and whitens virtually all fabrics and fibers I have come across. If wiping away with a rag, be sure to use one that is either white or you do not care about becoming white. This is a very concentrated product and accordingly, it works well.
This is a remarkably easy product to use. I turn the cap to the spray setting (yeah, I keep it "Off" otherwise, though I don't know why) and spray it exactly as it mentions on the bottle. This reacts to anything that possesses ammonia, so ventilate well when cleaning the toilet area. That gets pretty noxious and could do serious harm. I recommend wiping away as much urine and dirt as possible before spraying. When cleaning the floor, I wipe away the cleanser after five minutes and the floor is completely clear. Perfectly. This is a wonderfully effective product for eliminating odors and stains and generally cleaning up.
Spraying the cleaner in my sink easily eliminated dirt and soap slime and it simply washed down the sink when I was done. It worked wonderfully. This product has been used on virtually every ceramic and tile surface in my house, including the tile floor in the bathroom, the toilet, sink and even the metal kitchen sink. In all of those areas, the surface ended up clean with minimal effort. Indeed, the All Purpose Cleaner cut through some dirty grease residue in my rinse sink! In every place, the surface ended up both clean and odor free as a result of the cleaner.
However, the All Purpose Cleaner had pretty limited results on hard water rust stains in the bathtub. And here is where I admit, I'm spoiled by the Scrubbing Bubbles. The LA’s Totally Awesome All Purpose Cleaner does work on soap-scum build-up, but not the rust and hard water stains in the tub, no matter how much I sprayed and how hard I scrubbed.
Because of the noxious quality of the All Purpose Cleaner, I had to wear gloves, which was fine. I was not in the mood to scrub, but the truth is the All Purpose Cleaner works, it just needs a helping hand with an extra helping of elbow grease. This means it might not be an ideal cleaner for those who have an inability to get down and scrub (like senior citizens). I have noticed that this works fine as a preventative to recurring build up, so if the surface was cleaned once, anyone may use this once a week to prevent hard water stains from redeveloping or soap scum from rebuilding up.
As part of a weekly regimen of cleaning, the LA’s Totally Awesome All Purpose Cleaner works well to eliminate lime and calcium, but not rust, making for a less useful overall cleaner.
For other cleansers, please visit my reviews of:
OdoBan Eucalyptus Scent Disinfectant
Lysol All Purpose Cleaner With Bleach
Speedy White Hearth & Ceramic Glass Cleaner
6.5/10
For other home and garden product reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!
© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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