Welcome Benny, So Long Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponges!

The Good: Inexpensive, Durable
The Bad: Retains a terrible odor, Abrasive side cannot be used on non-stick pans
The Basics: The Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is an unfortunate cleaning tool that is not worth picking up . . . even at its cheap prices!


Today is a big milestone day in my family's life. For the past few months, my wife and I have been without a dog. We had about two day's notice before we had to do the humane thing and put our beloved Siberian Husky Myah down when her kidneys failed. We had just enough notice that she gave me an opinion on one of her final treats (reviewed here!) and I was able to mourn her pretty much immediately. I still miss Myah and so does my wife, but today, my wife convinced me to go with her to the local animal shelter and we went 3-5 with buying a pet. Yes, three of the five times I have been to our local animal shelter, I have come home with a new pet. My wife convinced me it was time to open my heart again and she found us a pretty incredible English Setter at the animal shelter and after an unusually protracted conversation for us in public, she convinced me that we had to get this dog for our family before someone else snatched him up. So, when I started to consider getting a new (to us - he's three years old, the shelter thought) English Setter, one of the things I considered that it meant that I would be able to start reviewing dog products once again. Today has been a whirlwind of cleaning, my wife training Benny (that's our new English Setter's name, named after the alternate version of Benjamin Sisko from the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Far Beyond The Stars," reviewed here!), and me trying to figure out what I could review to introduce Benny to my new readers. My wife, however, gave me sage advice: Benny just came from the shelter and he's getting used to our home - there's no way to judge what he is actually liking as opposed to what he is trying for comfort (and because he's a bit on the thin side).

So, rather than do a pet review, I figured it was a good time to review the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge. What kind of segue is that? I'll tell you. We have a new, mostly white English Setter with fur so thin we can see where he is dirty. He spent the last three weeks in the animal shelter after (apparently) being abandoned and being found running through the woods. Our new, slightly dirty, English Setter smells far, far better than the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge we've been using in our home for about the same three weeks.

The Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is a 4 1/16” long by 3” wide by 15/16" thick sharp-cornered scrubbing sponge! These are orange or green sponges with a dark orange or light green and white floral print scrubbing pad (reminiscent of steel wool, but having more of a brick-like texture to it than most scrubbing sponges) fused to the top. The scrubbing pad accounts for 1/8” of the sponge’s thickness. Like most All-purpose sponges, the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge arrive out of the package flexible but firm and ready to clean. While the sponge is very soft, the abrasive side is fairly hard and minimally flexible, even after multiple uses.

As far as basic kitchen cleaning goes, the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge are fine. The sponge side soaks up spills efficiently and the scrubbing side good for its abrasiveness. This sponge would be a decent staple item for cleaning stainless steel or other surfaces that cannot be easily scratched were it not for the major problem of the sponges.

The Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is impossible to clean. Within four days of use, the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge had a foul, gross odor to it that nothing has been able to get out. First and foremost, it is worth noting that both my wife and I are fastidious about wringing out our sponges. From day one, we've been wringing out our Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponges. Our Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge smells foul, as if we were not keeping our sponge dry. Here's the thing, we've fully dried (oven and microwave) our Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge, we've bleached it, we've put it through the dishwasher, squeezed it out and then dried it fully. The moment our dry sponge gets wet again, it smells like we dipped it in tuna juice and stuck it out in the sun for twelve hours. No matter how long the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is fully dried and then used to clean anything with again, it stinks. This is the most smell-retaining sponge I have ever used. We've used three of these sponges and after the first one went foul, the next one I started using with a spray cleaner. The only thing that went into the sponge was spray cleaner and water and it was wrung out completely, dried for two days. The moment water hit it next . . . it bore the same terrible scent as the first sponge! Our third sponge got wet and smelled gross right away. The Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is the worst-smelling, impossible to make good sponge I've ever encountered.

Unlike several other premium sponges I’ve used, the scrubbing pad on this sponge does not separate easily from the main sponge. If the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge didn't retain and spread a scent like rotten fish, that would make the sponge worthwhile. As a result, the Gain All-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is impossible to recommend; it is not merely inexpensive, it is truly cheap.

For other kitchen product reviews, please visit my takes on:
Cascade Citrus Scent Action Pacs
Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth
Outset B218 Stainless Steel Handheld Cheese Plane

3/10

For other home and garden product reviews, please visit my Home And Garden Review Index Page for a concise listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Adequate, Not Exceptional, Cascade Citrus Scent Action Pacs Do Most Of What They Promise!

The Good: Ridiculously easy to use, Cleans well, Price is now affordable
The Bad: Not actually distinctive on the scent front
The Basics: Cascade Citrus Scent Action Pacs work well enough to recommend, even if they don't thrill consumers on the scent front.


One of the disadvantages of being on the cutting edge of product reviews (which, admittedly, seldom happens outside media reviewing), is that new products often cost more than they end up being when the product ages successfully into the marketplace. After the initial pricing, wherein a company recoups its R&D investment if the product is successful and the product endures, is usually a little higher and if the product works and consumers respond to it, often the price goes down. With dish detergent Action Pacs, I was biased against the product line for years because the initial pricing was so high relative to the convenience/benefits of the packs. Well, time has gone by and the prices have gone down and I occasionally find myself picking up dish detergent Action Pacs. I've been going through a bucket of Cascade Citrus Scent Action Pacs for weeks because my local grocery store had them on clearance and I realized that I have pretty much come around on the product line.

My wife and I live in an apartment now where we have an objectively terrible dishwasher. The water in our complex is very hard and I've discovered that one of the few ways to keep the drain pipes properly draining is to mix up what detergents we use. So, in addition to standard dish washing solid detergents, we've started using things like Cascade Citrus Scent Action Pacs.

The Cascade Dishwasher Detergent Action Pacs are small, concentrated plastic bags that contain a block of preformed, premeasured Cascade Dishwashing detergent and two types of concentrated Dawn dish soap. The pack is about 4/5 solid detergent, 1/5 liquid/gel detergent. The premeasured packs have a thin, but strangely durable, plastic bubble that surrounds them. There are sixty of the pillow packs in the bulk container. We managed to find ours on clearance because at about $.22/load, the locals have not responded to them (getting them at $.11/load was a steal as far as I'm concerned)!

The ActionPac is ridiculously easy to use. Remove the ActionPac from the container of Action Pacs and place in the primary wash detergent dispenser in your dishwasher. The primary wash is the one that usually has the little flip door that you close after putting detergent in. Put one ActionPac in there and close it. It does not get much easier than that!

It is worthwhile and important to not that the detergent is not removed from the ActionPac when it is put into the dishwasher. The plastic bags are not supposed to be cut open before the ActionPac's contents are put in the dishwasher detergent dispenser. The ActionPac is designed to go in intact. Put it in and run your dishwasher as you normally would.

And the dishes come out clean. I have no idea how they work, but they do. The plastic bag that surrounds the ActionPac completely dissolves. The materials from the Cascade Citrus Scent Action Pacs quite effectively dissolved and washed away without a trace, even in hard water conditions!

With the general price drop on whole solutions for dishwashing, the only real strike against the Cascade Citrus Scent Action Pacs is that they have no discernible scent. Despite being called Citrus Scent, the dishwasher is odorless during and after the cleaning cycle, so there is no olfactory benefit to these Action Pacs that makes them at all exciting or stimulating. As a result, these are a decent standard, but not one that is worthwhile for those using the dishwasher to help the house have an aromatic experience!

The Citrus Scent Formula Action Pacs work well and are a decent household staple, even if they are not truly aromatic.

For other dishwashing products, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest Natural Dish Liquid
Ultra Palmolive Antibacterial Orange Dish Soap
Finish Jet-Dry

5/10

For other home and garden product reviews, please visit my Home And Garden Product Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Method Ginger Mango Detergent Cleans Well And Makes Laundry Fun!

The Good: Cleans clothes well, Wonderful scent while in the washer
The Bad: Almost no real scent during and after use, Comparatively expensive
The Basics: Method Ginger Mango cleans incredibly well, but does not leave clothes scented with its amazing aroma!


As I review various products, I have come to realize that I do not truly understand laundry detergent. It seems like it is a selling point for laundry detergents that they smell amazing while the clothes washer is going, but then leaves clothes without any scent. I love scent memories reminding me of fun, interesting or powerful moments from my past; so I enjoy the smell of good laundry detergents while the washer is running, but then I feel a bit cheated when the clothes come out of the dryer and they have not even a hint of the scent that was present when the washer was on. That is certainly how I felt with the Method Ginger Mango Detergent.

My wife and I got in the 53.5 fluid ounce bottle of Method Ginger Mango laundry detergent and have been using it for several loads now and I have been pleasantly surprised by it. While it may be a bit pricey for the 66 load bottle (and it looks like we will get that many uses out of it), the Method Ginger Mango Detergent cleans clothes well and has an incredible and accurate scent to it.

Method Ginger Mango cleans clothes without fading them. This detergent does not have any fabric softener in it, but clothes still came out fairly soft. We have used Method Ginger Mango for a month and my only real complaint with it is that it does not have a very strong or distinctive scent on the clothes after they are cleaned. In the bottle, the detergent smells delightfully of ginger and a mellow fruit scent that is very accurate for the aroma of mango. For sure, clothes come out smelling clean, but they do not carry even a vaguely fruity scent to them after using this detergent. Despite that, while the washer is going, the laundry room fills out with the scent of the ginger and mango from the detergent.

Method Ginger Mango is a translucent orange colored detergent. It smells clean, fruity and just a bit like ginger to open up the nostrils!

I liked Method Ginger Mango, especially because of the strong scent while it was in the washer, as it did what it promised. No matter how soiled or stinky our clothes were going into the wash, they always came out clean and smelling neutral with the Method Ginger Mango Laundry Detergent. That makes the Method Ginger Mango Detergent worth picking up, even if it follows the market's trend of making neutral-scented clothes.

For other laundry-related reviews, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
JMK 2 Pc. Dryer Balls
Arm & Hammer Essentials Lavender & Linen Fabric Softener Sheets
Xtra Tropical Passion Laundry Detergent

7.5/10

For other household cleaners, please visit my Tools And Cleaners Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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More Mediocre Than Exceptional, Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth Are Good!

The Good: Fairly inexpensive, Durable, Easy to use and clean out
The Bad: Scrubbing side is not abrasive enough to justify the expense.
The Basics: Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloths are an inexpensive option for those who want to clean, but they are not special enough to differentiate them from a pretty basic cleaning cloth.


Whenever I consider cleaning supplies, I have some pretty strong criteria for judging the value of the product. I grew up with a decent array of cleaning supplies to learn to sterilize a kitchen and bathroom, make a mirror streak-free and reuse cloths. The truth is, when it comes to the reusable cleaning supplies, there are remarkably few products that I have found that need to be more than a cleaning rag to get the job done. In the kitchen, Brillo pads and the right type of sponge pretty much trump anything. So, when my wife picked up a Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth, I was a little skeptical. She got the Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth as part of a promotion and after two weeks of use, I am glad that we did not pay full price for them.

The Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth is not bad at all, but it is in no way exceptional or special enough to justify spending money upon it instead of just using any basic rag.

The Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth is roughly square at 11 3/8” long by 11” wide by 3/16" thick kitchen scrubbing Dish Cloth! This is a yellow Dish Cloth is smooth on one side and has a textured grid on the other side. The textured side is incredibly mild, with tiny dots of rubbery scrubbing dots that have shown no wear after about two weeks of daily use!

The Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloths are easy to use, but utterly unremarkable. The dish cloths are appropriately absorbent, much like virtually any dish rag. For basic cleaning around the house, the Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth seem to work at least as well as any old linen or basic sponge. The Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth, so long as it is damp, gets dirt and dust off virtually any surface without any issue.

The abrasive side of the Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth is mild and it lives up to its promise of not-scratching things like Teflon pots and pans, which is far better than the alternative. Unfortunately, by the time I added enough elbowgrease to get off baked on pieces of food, I was using at least as much effort as I would with any other basic cleaning cloth. The Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth has nothing on a decent dish sponge.

Ironically, the Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth has a very stiff tag on it that can actually scratch through dirt and I have some concern it might scratch non-stick surfaces (certainly more than the textured side of the cloth).

The Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth is exceptionally easy to clean. While it might keep from developing a smell rather easily simply by wringing it out after each use and hanging it so it might dry, the Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth may be washed in a clothes washer and dryer and it comes out clean, dry and ready to do cleaning work again! While an industrial setting might be tempted to purchase the Scotch-Brite Non-Scratch Scrubbing Dish Cloth for a business's use, it seems disproportionately expensive for its value compared to simple rags or more effective scrubbing sponges.

For other kitchen product reviews, please visit my takes on:
Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scrub Sponge
Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes
Finish Quantum Powerball

4/10

For other home and garden product reviews, please visit my Home And Garden Review Index Page for a concise listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Sterilizing? Maybe. Cleaning? Nope! Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes Disappoint!

The Good: Might well sterilize as it promises
The Bad: Environmentally irresponsible, Expensive, Low cleaning power, Poor scent
The Basics: Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes are one of the less successful Lysol products I've yet encountered.


Every now and then, I find a cleaning product at my local grocery store on clearance that I buy right away based on the idea that it seems exactly like something my wife would love for around the house. My wife is enamored with cleaning wipes, which I used to find troublingly wasteful, but she loves for the convenience. As well, she likes to be able to dispose of wipes we use as opposed to trying to wash our various washclothes and rags in our super crappy clothes washer (which was my preferred method of cleaning around the house until we moved to an apartment with a terrible clothes washer). So, when I saw the Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes in our grocery store, I picked them right up.

I wish I had not.

I was drawn into the Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes because unlike most of the wipes we have bought and used, the Dual Action Wipes have a textured side designed to allow the wipes to scrub surfaces that have more accumulated grime on them. The problem with the Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes, other than the scrubbing side leading Lysol to charge twice as much for their canister of wipes, is that the scrubbing side does not actually work as promised.

Lysol Citrus Scent All Purpose Wipes come in a thirty-five pack plastic canister. The canister is a #2 recyclable canister, which can be recycled virtually anywhere that has a recycling program. The canister has a fairly small footprint as it is eight and three-eighths inches tall with a three inch diameter! The canister of Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes fits easily in one's hand.

The Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes has a medium-hard plastic container with a cap that has a flip top dispensing hole. If one fails to thread the wipes through correctly, the cap may be popped off and access granted to the container, though it is not recommended to leave the container open as the wipes will dry out.

What are Lysol Dual Action wipes? They are like baby wipes for one's furniture and possessions. Virtually any surface one might usually dust or use a limited cleaner on is what these wipes may be used for. Use of these wipes is ridiculously easy: flip the cap open on the top of the plastic container and pull the wipe out. As it exits the container, it will present the top of the next wipe for the next time. Close the container by clicking the cap back in place and wipe the surface you wish to clean with the wipe. It is that easy. When you are done, throw the wipe away!

Lysol Citrus Scent all purpose wipes are 7" by 7 7/8" rectangles of fibrous cleaning power. The baby wipe analogy is an apt one. These cleaning cloths are durable, clean and have limited stretch to them. The scrubbing side is not thick or abrasive enough to be very effective for cleaning, though.

As for the scent, the Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes have a vague, antiseptic scent to them and it is not actually citrusy in the bouquet. The scent is clean and disippates fairly quickly, but it is not a pleasant aroma and it is not a clear scent that smells like anything enjoyable or fruity.

Wipes are traditionally good for cleaning up dirt where minimal scrubbing might be involved and the Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes are all right on that front. They clean and (apparently) sterilize doorknobs, handles, and countertops. But the Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes do not pick up much in the way of dirt or grime - wiping emptied litterboxes quickly clogged the scrubbing side of the wipes. The Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes leave streaks on any glass surfaces or monitors one uses them upon. That said, the Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes hold up well with scrubbing and basic dusting.

The key selling point of the Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes is the scrubbing power of the more abrasive side and it falls down completely on that front. Between the lack of a decent scent and the failure of the abrasive side, the Lysol Citrus Scent Dual Action Wipes are a bit of a flop.

For other cleansers, please visit my reviews of:
Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs
Lysol Multi-Purpose Scrubber Sponge
Scotch 3M 30-Sheet Mini Lint Roller

2/10

For other home and garden reviews, please visit my Cleaner Reviews Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2017 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs Work Shockingly Well!

The Good: Ridiculously easy to use, Cleans surprisingly well
The Bad: No scent!
The Basics: Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs turn me around on the whole Action Pac phenomenon by working incredibly well!


I have not, traditionally, been a fan of Cascade Action Pacs. The truth is, the new dishwasher detergent packs have seemed incredibly lazy to me and disproportionately expensive. But, perhaps as a sign of me getting older and more lazy or maybe because the price truly has come down in the market over the last ten years, I keep giving various dishwashing blocks a chance. After actually being impressed by the cleaning power of the Finish Quantum Powerball detergent blocks (reviewed here!), I thought I would give Cascade another chance to impress me. And I am happy to admit that the company did impress me with a comparatively inexpensive Action Pac that actually worked incredibly well. The product is Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs and they deliver astonishingly good results!

My wife and I live in an apartment now where we have an objectively terrible dishwasher. I have long been tired of dishes coming out either still dirty or covered in detergent. It was with that in mind that I decided to risk a few cycles with Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs. And they worked incredibly well to leave our dishes spotless and truly clean, without any residues!

The Cascade Platinum Dishwasher Detergent Action Pacs are small, concentrated plastic bags that contain a block of preformed, premeasured Cascade Dishwashing detergent and three types of concentrated Dawn dish soap. The pack is about 3/5 solid detergent, 2/5 liquid/gel detergent. The premeasured packs have a thin, but strangely durable, plastic bubble that surrounds them. There are thirty-nine of these pillow packs in a container. The bags seem to be popping up at about $11.00 in retail outlets. That means for $11.00, one is getting 39 loads of dishes washed, but because the product actually works (and because I tend to find them on sale or clearance), it is hard to kvetch about the results. Where I live, we have fairly hard water and the problem of residue and not getting dishes clean makes an effective product like the Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs worth the $.28/load!

The ActionPac is ridiculously easy to use. Remove the ActionPac from the container of Action Pacs and place in the primary wash detergent dispenser in your dishwasher. The primary wash is the one that usually has the little flip door that you close after putting detergent in. Put one ActionPac in there and close it. It does not get much easier than that!

It is worthwhile and important to not that the detergent is not removed from the ActionPac when it is put into the dishwasher. The plastic bags are not supposed to be cut open before the ActionPac's contents are put in the dishwasher detergent dispenser. The ActionPac is designed to go in intact. Put it in and run your dishwasher as you normally would.

And the dishes come out clean. Perfectly clean. I have no idea how it works, but it does. The plastic bag that surrounds the ActionPac completely dissolves. The materials from the Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs quite effectively dissolved and washed away without a trace, even in hard water conditions!

Over several uses, I decided to make an effort to see what these little packs could do. And the Fresh Scent ones cleaned everything quite well, even if they did so without any real flair. They were effective at getting off all levels of food matter that had been left on silverware, plastic cookware, and all manner of ceramic dishes and glasses. I put in every combination of cookware, flatware and dishware coated with food, dirt, coffee stains, grease and sauces that I could think of. ALL of the dishes came out clean and clear every time. Not one piece I put in needed so much as a touch up or polishing.

With the general price drop on whole solutions for dishwashing, the only real strike against the Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs is that they have no discernible scent. Despite being called Fresh Scent, the dishwasher is odorless during and after the cleaning cycle, so there is no olfactory benefit to these Action Pacs that makes them at all exciting or stimulating. As a result, these are a decent standard, but not one that is worthwhile for those using the dishwasher to help the house have an aromatic experience!

The Fresh Scent Formula Action Pacs work delightfully and are a comparatively affordable way to effectively clean one's dishes, especially highly-soiled dishes in hard water conditions where one does not want to bother with scrubbing! The Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs are simple to use and they work. The Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs might well be ideal for people who have trouble with motor control and might otherwise spill dishwashing detergent when trying to load a dishwasher or those who have trouble judging how much to use. The premeasured packets are very efficient in that regard. And people who do not like strong scents might actually like how the dishes come out clean and there are no obtrusive scents while using the Cascade Platinum Fresh Scent Action Pacs.

For other dishwashing products, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest Natural Dish Liquid
Ultra Palmolive Antibacterial Orange Dish Soap
Finish Jet-Dry

8/10

For other home and garden product reviews, please visit my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Good Ethics, Poor Cleaning Power: Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest Natural Dish Liquid!

The Good: Good corporate philosophy, Good initial scent
The Bad: Poor cleaning power, Mediocre lather, Scent does not diffuse at all out of the bottle.
The Basics: Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid is a good idea without the power to be a worthwhile cleaner.


Every now and then, I encounter a product whose corporate philosophy I can truly get behind. Seventh Generation is one such company, with its philosophy of environmental responsibility, making biodegradable products that are hypoallergenic and non-toxic. The concept for the company is that environmental responsibility is not anathema to profitability, which is true and a good idea. So, it pains me to review a product from Seventh Generation negatively. Alas, though, whatever the corporate philosophy, Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid does not work to clean dishes, making it an impossible sell for me.

We found Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid at our local discount store. While we found Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid for $1.99, usually, it is quite a bit more expensive for the 25 fl. oz. bottle.

Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest is a very simple natural dish liquid. It is a translucent fluid without any additional colors added to it. We found it locally exclusively in the 25 fl. oz. opaque white plastic bottle. In that form, it appears much like any other natural dish liquid. It features a top that is opened by flipping the plastic top, the fluid is easily dispensed. The Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid is very fluid. I tend to use Ultra products, those concentrated without much excess water, but the Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid is not a concentrated dish liquid and is very viscous as a result.

Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid barely cleans and is so watery initially, that it requires more than an average amount of fluid to use. I usually end up using about three squirts of Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest when I do dishes. As a result, our bottle of Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid barely lasted a month, which is pretty disappointing considering we're only doing dishes for two these days and we have a dishwasher for most of them!

When opened, Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid emits a strong citrus aroma. Despite the name, the Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid smells strongly of lime while in the bottle. Unfortunately, out of the bottle, the Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid diffuses very quickly and does not linger in the air or on the dishes. As a result, doing dishes with this dish liquid is not a pleasant olfactory experience; it is neutral at best.

Using Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest is simple. All you need to do is open a bottle of Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest, squirt some into a dirty bowl, cup or onto a plate and turn the hot water on. No matter how much we use, there never seems to be enough to clean an entire sink full of dishes. The Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid barely lathers up, no matter how it is agitated or how the water is sprayed onto the dish liquid. There are no real bubbles generated by this dish liquid. Perhaps the biggest strike against the cleaning power of this dish liquid is that it does not cut through simple pet saliva. Occasionally, we let our dog or cats lick out dishes. When Myah, our Siberian Husky, licks clean a dish, the Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid does not even cut through the residue she leaves on dishes.

Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid is not ideal for anything greasy or real potstickers. If you cook rice to the bottom of a pot or burn a pasta meal to an old pan whose Teflon surface has worn out, the Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid will not do all that much for you. In fact, any pots or pans used to cook anything that generates grease is left pretty much uncleanable by this dish liquid.

Ultimately, Seventh Generation Lemongrass & Clementine Zest natural dish liquid is a good idea that lacks the cleaning power to do much of anything, which is a huge disappointment.

For other kitchen cleansers and cleaning implements, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Dawn Twister Bottle Brush
Scrubbing Bubbles 2 in 1 Kitchen & Dish Sponge
Finish Jet-Dry

1/10

For other home and garden product reviews, please check out my Home And Garden Product Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2016 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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So Close . . . The Dawn Twister Bottle Brush Almost Lives Up To Its Potential!

The Good: Reasonably-priced, Durable, Easy to use and clean
The Bad: Not quite stiff enough to clean adequately.
The Basics: The Dawn Twister Bottle Brush is just stiff enough to be helpful, not stiff enough to be essential, for cleaning tough to reach build-up on dishes!


Ever since my wife got a Contigo SnapSeal Vacuum-Insulated Stainless Steel Travel Mug (reviewed here!) as a gift, we have struggled with how to clean it. The long, tall travel mug gets residue at the bottom and even with long fingers like mine, it is virtually impossible to reach with a sponge or cleaning cloth down to the bottom. So, we've been looking for a good brush primarily to clean that. We were instantly drawn to the Dawn Twister Bottle Brush because it was one of the wider brushes on the market and not made of a cheap, flimsy material, like sponges. And, it almost lived up to what we needed it to in order to clean the difficult-to-clean travel mug. We just wish the bristles were a little bit stiffer to actually clean!

The Dawn Twister Bottle Brush is a 13” long by 3” wide by 3" thick at the widest point of the brush! This is a blue and white brush, much like a toilet bowl brush and the brush is attached to a rubbery grip that makes it hard for it to slip out of one's hands. The brush is connected to the rubber handle by the plastic shaft that has minimal flexibility and a little bit of rotational play.

As far as basic kitchen cleaning goes, the Dawn Twister Bottle Brush is good, but the nylon bristles are a little less stiff than they need to be to get sediment out of bottles and clean anything other than surface dirt. Things like crusted-on sugar easily resists the Dawn Twister Bottle Brush. The bottle brush is good for dealing with things like a coffee mug that still has fluid on the edges or a bottle that has been sitting on the shelf that has some dust in it. But for serious, caked on dirt, this bottle brush is not exceptional.

The nylon of the brushes allows the Dawn Twister Bottle Brush to be cleaned off very easily. The bristles do not retain odor or any of the matter one uses the brush to remove from the bottles or mugs one is using to clean with it. That is nice because it means that the brush does not get smelly and transmit germs to the items one is trying to clean.

After a few weeks of using the Dawn Twister Bottle Brush, none of the bristles have fallen out or bent, so this seems to be durable. And while I respect Dawn for making a brush that will not scratch the hell out of everything it is used on, they made the Twister Bottle Brush just a little too flexible, so it does not agitate enough to actually clean the truly durable things one might use the brush to clean with.

For other kitchen product reviews, please visit my takes on:
Brillo Estracell No Scratch Scrub Sponge With WedgeWorks
Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scrub Sponge
Domestix Supreme Clean Kitchen Scrubber Sponge

5.5/10

For other home and garden product reviews, please visit my Home And Garden Review Index Page for a concise listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Right On The Verge Of Perfection: Bissell Cleanview Rewind Pet Vacuum (Model 7636) Works Wonders!

The Good: Reasonable price for the quality, Incredible sucking power for an upright, Easy to assemble, Easy to clean, Surprisingly quiet
The Bad: Still very right-biased on the suction
The Basics: The best vacuum cleaner I have yet found, the Bissell Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum is quiet and powerful enough to keep my pet-filled home hair-free!


Last summer, when I had the chance to revamp some things around the house thanks to a sudden largess and some great sales, I asked my wife what she actually wanted new for our apartment. I was somewhat surprised when she said she wanted a new vacuum cleaner. After all, our Eureka 4700 vacuum (reviewed here!) had not died and that (usually) was our standard for replacing appliances. My wife, though, had apparently been researching the topic for some time (our Eureka 4700 had been making more noise of late . . .) and she started to talk with me, at length, about Bissell. Bissell is a Michigan-based company that is, apparently, committed to offering quality products at under $100. So, as part of a larger stock-up on housing supplies, I “splurged” the $89.99 (it was on sale that day, rather conveniently) for the Bissell Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum.

The Bissell Cleanview Rewind Pet is a very simple canister-style vacuum and the 7636 is only the second canister-style vacuum cleaner I’ve owned and I’m pleasantly surprised by some of the technological advances between my first and my new canister vacuum. The Cleanview Rewind Pet came in a pretty big box and it is a little heavier than some of the other canister-style vacuums I’ve tried. Fortunately, that seems to be because the Bissell Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum is most sturdy, durable and stable than lighter models. The Cleanview Rewind Pet came unassembled, so our first task was to get it out of the box and put it all together. Anyone with a Phillips head screwdriver can put this together, probably without even looking at the directions; the assembly is pretty intuitive for both attaching the handle and affixing the tube. One simply needs to attach the base to the handle assembly and connect the hose and they all come together in one way. The handle has two pieces which snap into the base and screw together to form the solid drive shaft of the vacuum. The Bissell Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum is predominantly purple-gray for all of the front pieces (at least the ones that are not made out of clear plastic) and black for all of the components along the drive shaft of the vacuum.

Properly assembled, the Cleanview Rewind Pet is 45" tall by 13 1/4” wide by 12 1/4" deep at the base. This is a sleek-looking canister vacuum cleaner with a handle with a guard that actually makes it very easy to maneuver the vacuum. The drive shaft holds the tube, so the handle is not encumbered by the tube which is transporting the sucked up matter from the ground to the canister. The 7636 has the belt and motor assembly in the base of the vacuum, which rotates the brushes. There seems to be suction from the canister area, though, even without the brushes rotating and sucking (which makes sense because the hose on the back of the vacuum detaches in order to get into tough areas). The canister is attached to the front of the handle assembly and snaps in easily. The tube winds around the back of the handle assembly.

Once the Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum was assembled, we plugged it in – the cord is attached to the base, but winds up into the unit at the press of a lever on the side. After five months of use, the recoil function for the power cord still works amazingly well and I’ve not had any problems.

The moment the Bissell Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum impressed me with how little noise it made. I’m not a fan of loud noises and the Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum impressed me because it was so quiet my vacuum-skittish dog and two cats were amazingly unperturbed. The fact that Myah, our Siberian Husky, remains in the room when the unit is on is amazing!

What is more amazing is that the Bissell Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum works. We bought ours at a time when Myah was shedding daily and our old vacuum labored to pick up the hair. While the volume of Myah’s hair did not change, the results did. Our rug is tan; with our old vacuum, when Myah was shedding, we would vacuum and get up what we thought was all her hair, but the rug still looked fairly gray. With the Bissell Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum, the instant reaction my wife and I had after using it from the very first times was “oh yeah, our rug is tan!” The difference in the amount of hair and dirt vacuumed up was that different. For sure, there were still areas that would be so concentrated with dog hair and dust that we would fill the canister within four passes of the vacuum (about four square feet of carpet!) because of how much Myah sheds, but once the canister was emptied, we could move onto the next high-soil area. The Bissell Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum is so efficient that one need not continue to go over the same spots so many times!

The Bissell Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum is not a flawless appliance, though. Because the transport tube comes in the right side of the base, the right side has stronger suction than the left side on this vacuum cleaner. Suction on the Bissell Cleanview Rewind Pet is the best I’ve ever seen out of an upright vacuum, but there is a noticeable difference between the quality of the suction on the right and on the left.

The vacuum easily removes dirt and hair and every other form of solid matter I’ve been able to find so far from carpets and walls. Because the hose may be detached from the base, this vacuum has quite a bit more versatility than most uprights and it may be used to get cobwebs as well . . . assuming the cobwebs are within five feet of the base of the vacuum, as that is about the length of the vacuum’s hose. In addition to all of the dog hair we never realized had built up this vacuum was powerful enough to suck up was the dust that was caked onto the fan in my tower computer! The Cleanview Rewind Pet is easy to move over any level of carpet or hardwood, which makes it a pleasure to clean with.

Use of the assembled Cleanview Rewind Pet is exceptionally easy. There is the standard release lever on the base of the unit which allows the handle to be unlocked. This allows one to push or pull the vacuum at an angle, as opposed to perpendicular with the floor. Near the top of the handle for the vacuum is a simple button which activates the vacuum. From there, the vacuum does almost all the work. It sucks up anything on the floor and it is powerful with great cleaning power. The Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum may be used on low carpets (or bare floors), medium pile carpets or even longer carpets, with the height of the base being adjusted by a simple knob on the front of the base.

As the canister gets filled up – easily visible as it is at the front and transparent – the vacuum continues to vacuum with astonishing force, making this an impressive vacuum option, while still being affordable. When the canister is filled, simply unlatch the canister from the handle assembly and empty the canister. The press of a button allows all the crap in the canister to drop out, like the canister has a trap door! The top of the filter twists off and the filter itself may then be dumped into a garbage bag. You can even wash the filter and canister out, but that just puts dirt and dust down the sink. Either way, it is exceptionally easy to get the hair, dirt and dust one vacuums up out of the canister without putting it back in the air, simply by operating the release right in the container one is disposing of the stuff into!

Even so, the cleaning power of the Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum should not be underestimated and my wife, who has allergic reactions to dust, animal hair and about a dozen other things, has shown a noticeable improvement in health since we started using the vacuum. It gets up so much deep-down crap in rugs and from the air that her allergies are acting up less than they were before, which is pretty extraordinary results that have been maintained for six months of use (so far!). Perhaps most impressive about the suction is that my wife can be in the room when I am vacuuming and not suffer from all of the side effects and hair and dust getting vacuumed up; the filters on the Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum are THAT good!

The Cleanview Rewind Pet comes with a pair of attachments: a solid tube which extends the hose an additional two feet and a little brush which attaches to that or to the hose itself. I’m not wild about attachments, but both my wife and I used the attachments and found them easy to use, though the sucking power was diminished some using the extension. Far more often, we found the vacuum worked great on the floors and for sucking up matter through the hose directly when we detached it from the base.

As a result, the Cleanview Rewind Pet vacuum is ideal for cleaning a home for those with pets and/or allergies. The original cost might be a little more than some (who aren’t able to splurge at the time) might think is reasonable to spend, but the results make this vacuum a real value and a powerful home appliance worth picking up!

For other vacuum reviews, please check out my reviews of:
Cheetah Ash Vac II vacuum cleaner
Kenmore 31079 vacuum
Dirt Devil KWIK vacuum

9/10

For other home and garden product reviews, please visit my Home And Garden Products Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2015 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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The Lysol Multi-Purpose Scrubber Sponge Is Ideal Everywhere . . . But The Kitchen?!

The Good: Reasonably-priced, Durable, Easy to use and clean, Strong
The Bad: Abrasive side cannot be used on non-stick pans
The Basics: The Lysol Multi-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is such a good sponge that it remains a powerful cleaning tool . . . so much that it cannot be used on non-stick pans, no matter how broken in it is!


When It comes to cleaning tools, I have some very specific guidelines for things that I will recommend. I value versatility, but I also value clear distinctions of purpose. In the case of the Lysol Multi-Purpose Scrubber Sponges I recently started using with my wife, this is a cleaning tool that has to be used for specific projects and is not an all purpose sponge. While it may be used for many different purposes, the abrasive, textured top of the sponge makes it unusable for non-stick surfaces. In short, they will scratch the hell out of any non-stick pans and I write that even referring to the Lysol Multi-Purpose Scrubber Sponge I have been using for over a month for daily cleaning.

The Lysol Multi-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is a 4 4/4” long by 2 3/4” wide by 1" thick curved scrubbing sponge! This is a blue sponge with a dark blue scrubbing pad (reminiscent of steel wool, but having more of a brick-like texture to it than most scrubbing sponges) fused to the top. The scrubbing pad accounts for 1/8” of the sponge’s thickness. Like most multi-purpose sponges, the Lysol Multi-Purpose Scrubber Sponge arrive out of the package flexible but firm and ready to clean. While the sponge is very soft, the abrasive side is exceptionally hard and barely flexible, even after multiple uses.

As far as basic kitchen cleaning goes, the Lysol Multi-Purpose Scrubber Sponge are exceptional. The sponge side soaks up spills efficiently and the scrubbing side actually is ideal for its abrasiveness. This sponge is a great staple item for cleaning stainless steel or other surfaces that cannot be easily scratched. Also cool is the shape. The sponge itself is curved along its length, much like a subtle boomerang. The top of the sponge is wavy and the abrasive scrubbing portion is fused to the waves.

Like most premium sponges, the Lysol Multi-Purpose Scrubber Sponge is easy to clean. In the normal course of serving as a kitchen sponge, the scrubbing side and the sponge may encounter quite a bit of grease, dirty water, and fluids that might make a kitchen sponge smell moldy and unhygienic. That has never once been the case with the Lysol Multi-Purpose Scrubber Sponge I have used, though. This sponge may easily go through the dishwasher to get cleaned and completely revitalized! Put it through a normal dishwashing cycle – the abrasive portion will not break apart at all! – squeeze it out after the cycle is done and give it about an hour or two to dry some and it is fresh, as if it just came from the package! No matter how many times I put it through the dishwasher, the Lysol Multi-Purpose sponge does not get soft enough to use on non-stick cookware.

Unlike several other premium sponges I’ve used, the scrubbing pad on this sponge does not separate easily from the main sponge. That makes the Lysol Multi-Purpose Scrubber Sponge a worthwhile scrubbing sponge, even if it can’t be used on Teflon. Lysol has made an affordable, strong sponge and it’s an odd thing for strength to be both a key selling point and a detraction of a product like this, but that is the case with the Lysol Multi-Purpose Scrubber Sponges.

For other kitchen product reviews, please visit my takes on:
Brillo Estracell No Scratch Scrub Sponge With WedgeWorks
Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scrub Sponge
Domestix Supreme Clean Kitchen Scrubber Sponge

7.5/10

For other home and garden product reviews, please visit my Home And Garden Review Index Page for a concise listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Strong Enough For Kitchens, Mild Enough For TefLon, The Brillo Estracell No Scratch Scrub Sponge with WedgeEdge Works!

The Good: Inexpensive, Durable, Easy to use and clean
The Bad: Has to be broken in
The Basics: An easy-to-use kitchen sponge, the Brillo Estracell No Scratch Scrub Sponge with WedgeEdge holds up, but needs to be “softened” before it is truly usable on non-stick kitchenware.


My mother-in-law gave my family a wonderful gift this past winter; a whole set of non-stick pots and pans to replace the ones that have gotten scratched over the years here. In keeping brand new pots and pans looking (and working) well, I have been rigorously testing new (to me) scrubbing sponges. The new top of my list are the Brillo Estracell No Scratch Scrub Sponge with WedgeEdges, which I picked up and have been using on the new pots and pans for the past month. Brillo Estracell No Scratch Scrub Sponge with WedgeEdge are a marginally pricier kitchen sponge (one gets two for the price of three discount-brand kitchen sponges), but they hold together very well and, after about two day’s use are soft enough to use on Teflon without scratching it.

The Brillo Estracell No Scratch Scrub Sponge with WedgeEdge is a 4 3/4” long by 3 1/4” wide by 1 1/4" thick kitchen scrubbing sponge! This is a purple sponge with a white scrubbing pad (reminiscent of steel wool, but made of vinyl and therefore not as abrasive as its steel counterpart) fused to the top. The scrubbing pad accounts for 5/16” of the sponge’s thickness. Like most kitchen sponges, the Brillo Estracell No Scratch Scrub Sponge with WedgeEdge arrive out of the package flexible but firm and ready to clean.

As far as basic kitchen cleaning goes, the Brillo Estracell No Scratch Scrub Sponge with WedgeEdges are exceptional. The sponge side soaks up spills efficiently and the scrubbing side actually is ideal both for abrasiveness and the way it does not scratch non-stick surfaces. This sponge is a great staple item. Also cool is the shape which gives the sponge more edge strength (the bottom is not at a 90 degree angle to the top, so this is a parallelogram shape that has edges that act like a cleaning wedge for getting into tight corners nicely.

What separates it, on the positive side, from other kitchen sponges, is how easy it is to clean. In the normal course of serving as a kitchen sponge, the scrubbing side and the sponge may encounter quite a bit of grease, dirty water, and fluids that might make a kitchen sponge smell moldy and unhygienic. That has never once been the case with the Brillo Estracell No Scratch Scrub Sponge with WedgeEdges I have used, though. This sponge may easily go through the dishwasher to get cleaned and completely revitalized! Put it through a normal dishwashing cycle – the sponge will not break apart at all! – squeeze it out after the cycle is done and give it about an hour or two to dry some and it is fresh, as if it just came from the package! In fact, after laundering it thus just once, the “abrasive” side is soft enough to use on a non-stick surface.

Unlike other Estracell products I’ve used, the scrubbing pad on this sponge does not separate easily from the main sponge. That makes the Brillo Estracell No Scratch Scrub Sponge with WedgeEdge the best scrubbing sponge I’ve yet found and it is more than worth the initial price, regardless of how few one gets (compared to the cheap brands!).

For other kitchen product reviews, please visit my takes on:
Brillo Estracell Heavy Duty Scrub Sponge
Scotch-Brite Heavy Duty Scrub Sponge
Domestix Supreme Clean Kitchen Scrubber Sponge

9/10

For other home and garden product reviews, please visit my Home And Garden Review Index Page for a concise listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Smells Good While Drying, No Scent Afterward, Arm & Hammer Essentials Lavender & Linen Fabric Softener Sheets Work!

The Good: Adequately dissipates static electricity in the dryer, Smells good while the dryer is on
The Bad: No real scent after use, More expensive than other, comparable products
The Basics: Arm & Hammer Essentials Lavender & Linen Fabric Softener Sheets cost a little more than comparable products, but do essentially the same thing,


After a year in our apartment together, my wife wore me down on buying fabric softener sheets. We have an admittedly dry apartment, which is excellent for the transmission of static electricity, but fabric softener sheets have always just seemed like a waste of money to me. Still, when we found them on sale and had a coupon, my wife convinced me to pick up some Arm & Hammer Essentials Lavender & Linen Fabric Softener Sheets.

The box of 144 Arm & Hammer Essentials Lavender & Linen Fabric Softener Sheets was locally available in the $3.50 range. We selected these because they were on sale, we had a coupon, and my wife loves lavender-scented things. Each sheet of Arm & Hammer Essentials Lavender & Linen Fabric Softener is 9” long by 5” wide when unfolded. The sheets are paper-thin, permeable, and look virtually like every other fabric softener sheet on the market.

Use of the Arm & Hammer Essentials Lavender & Linen Fabric Softener Sheets is simple: place one (or two, if the load is large) sheet in the dryer when running it and turn on your dryer. There is nothing else to using these fabric softener sheets, save remembering to dispose of them after the load is done drying!

Before going into the dryer, the Arm & Hammer Essentials Lavender & Linen Fabric Softener Sheets have a vaguely floral scent. Lavender is a very distinct aroma and these sheets lack the spicy quality that lavender possesses. There is something much more generic about the scent these sheets have before use than actual lavender, though the aroma is not at all unpleasant. In the dryer, the Arm & Hammer Essentials Lavender & Linen Fabric Softener Sheets smell floral for a few minutes, but the scent dissipates. Within fifteen minutes of our dryer getting up to heat, there is no aroma coming from our laundry area. When the clothes come out, there is no scent on them.

I’m not sure what the point of scented fabric softener sheets are if they do not make laundry smell richly of the claimed scent, but despite that defect, the Arm & Hammer Essentials Lavender & Linen Fabric Softener Sheets work. Our clothes and blankets consistently come out of the dryer static-free and softer than from the clothes washer alone. We have pretty hard water locally, so the fabric softener sheets seem to work to prevent any issues with our clothes that might result from any sort of minerals left after washing our laundry.

Ultimately, the Arm & Hammer Essentials Lavender & Linen Fabric Softener Sheets are good, but because the scent does not endure, I find them harder to enthusiastically recommend for their price. If you can find them on sale and have a coupon, by all means, pick them up, but at full price, those who truly want a high-quality scented fabric softener are likely to find their needs met elsewhere for less cost.

For other laundry-related reviews, please be sure to visit my reviews of:
Lavender And Vanilla Xtra Laundry Detergent
Frigidaire FTF2140ES Tumble Action Frontloading Washer
Tide Coldwater Fresh Scent Detergent

4.5/10

For other household cleaners, please visit my Tools And Cleaners Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2014 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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Myah’s Accidents Are Easily Cleaned By Woolite Pet Urine Eliminator!

The Good: Eliminates odors quite well, Cleans stains well!
The Bad: Does not prevent resoiling.
The Basics: Woolite Pet Urine Eliminator works well . . . for the things it is designed to, but is not the ultimate pet odor cleaning product.


Lately, I’ve been working at nights on Friday nights when my wife works and no one has suffered more than my beautiful Siberian Husky, Myah. Myah is a five year-old Siberian Husky and she has spent so much time with me in the last two years that she truly does hate to be alone. As a result, the last few weeks when she has had a single night (only six hours) home alone, she has gotten upset and peed on our carpet. It tends to be in one spot and even though I always give her a bathrooming opportunity before I leave, she has had an “accident.” To clean up when I get home, my wife and I got a bottle of Woolite Pet Urine Eliminator.

Woolite's Pet Urine Eliminator comes in a 22 oz. bottle with a spray trigger top. The nozzle ends in a simple, pretty standard, rotating cap that offers two spraying options: Off 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. So long as the kid has a short attention span, this will thwart them from spraying the product around. The "Spray" setting creates a fine mist that dusts a decent area, about six inches square when held a foot away. The "Spray" function creates a wide dispersion of the Woolite Pet Urine Eliminator and that works fine for covering the soiled areas (which are very easy to see with a light carpet!).

The actual product is a clear, slightly yellow, liquid with a faint smell to it. The scent is inoffensive and almost unnoticeable and it is a very clean smell. This smells very much like a cleaner. Having had plenty of this stuff on my skin - including in an open wound on my hand - I can honestly say that it does not irritate the skin.

The directions for use are ridiculously simple. After blotting up the excess urine, spray the Woolite Pet Urine Eliminator on the spot where the fluid had been. Let the Woolite Pet Urine Eliminator set for about five minutes and then blot up the wet spot. I’ve found it helps to hide the spot by being sure to vacuum the previously-spoiled when it dries (usually the next morning).

The directions also recommend testing the product on a discreet area to make sure that it does not have an effect on color fastness of the fabric being sprayed. I've yet to find a fabric that bleeds when this is used on it, though I’ve only used it on the carpet in our apartment.

This is a remarkably easy product to use. I twist 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 does not foam up when it hits dog urine, which surprised me. There is no apparent chemical reaction to the Woolite Pet Urine Eliminator and dog urine. However, it works perfectly well!

The Woolite Pet Urine Eliminator removes all pet urine smell. There is, by smell (and feel after it dries), not even a hint of dog urine on the rug.

Unfortunately, the product does nothing to truly discourage Myah from peeing on the rug in the exact position come the next Friday! Some of the better pet cleaners manage to discourage resoiling, but the Woolite Pet Urine Eliminator does not do that.

The Woolite Pet Urine Eliminator lasts a decent amount of time. The 22 oz. bottle has lasted me a month and a half, which is decent considering Myah is a larger breed than the cocker spaniel my wife brought to our marriage originally!

Woolite Pet Urine Eliminator is a good cleaner, but not a flawless or truly exceptional one that is absolutely indispensible. Still, it is useful and can help make owning a dog a lot less stressful than without it!

For other household cleaners or pet care products, please check out my reviews of:
Speedy White Hearth & Glass Cleaner
Flexi 10' Leash
Four Paws Wire Rake Pooper Scooper

6/10

For other pet products, please check out my Pet Products Review Index Page for an organized listing!

© 2013 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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