Compare bathroom cleaners from 16 brands including ALDI Power Force, Dettol, White King and Ajax on their effectiveness, ease of use, smell, packaging design, environmental friendliness, value for money and overall satisfaction.
ALDI Power Force scrubbed up well in this year’s bathroom cleaner review, rating best for value for money, packaging design and overall satisfaction.
With plenty of surfaces to wipe down, as well as scrubbing the sink, shower and tub on the to-do list, cleaning the bathroom is easily one of the toughest chores. But for many of us, there’s also nothing better than getting some peace and quiet in the loo. Plus, according to the internet, the bathroom sets the scene for some hilarious work video conference blunders.
To see which brand scrubs up best, we surveyed more than 1,900 consumers across Australia for their feedback on the bathroom cleaners they purchased and used in the last six months. Respondents rated brands on effectiveness, environmental friendliness, ease of use, smell, packaging design, value for money and overall satisfaction. Those which received the minimum required survey sample of 30 responses are featured in our results.
This is one of our most competitive ratings categories, with no fewer than 16 different brands featuring in the results this year, including supermarket private labels, Aussie-owned companies and global brands that take up the majority of shelf space in supermarket aisles.
ALDI Power Force has swiped the crown from former winner White King, being the only brand to achieve a five-star rating for overall satisfaction. Plus, it earned full marks for value for money and packaging design. ALDI’s homebrand cleaner also got three stars for environmental friendliness, although bumped its score up when it achieved four stars for effectiveness, smell and ease of use.
Here are the best bathroom cleaners in Australia, as rated by consumers in Canstar Blue’s latest review:
ALDI Power Force stood out in what was mostly a clean four-star sweep across the board, earning the only five-star rating for overall satisfaction. It was also the only brand to achieve full marks for value for money, and one of two entries to claim a sweet victory for packaging design.
Former champion, White King, landed a few spots down the leader board on a respectable four stars, along with majority of the other brands featured. The only exception was Shower Power (OzKleen), which ended on three stars. But ALDI Power Force wasn’t the only one to shine in our latest review, with Domestos beating the winner when it came to effectiveness.
Orange Power similarly scored best for ease of use and smell, Earth Choice dominated the environmental friendliness category. and Dettol also proved to be a worthy match, being the only other brand to receive full marks for packaging design.
When it comes to bathroom cleaners, it’s obvious that effectiveness is going to be the most important consideration for consumers. But it’s also worth giving thought to how easy cleaning products actually are to use. There’s no point having an amazingly effective cleaning product if you struggle to make the most out of it – literally. Environmental friendliness may also be a key consideration for you.
As well as identifying which bathroom cleaners are highest-rated, our research is also able to determine the major drivers of overall satisfaction for consumers after they buy it. This is what we found:
Our latest research shows half of Aussies (50%) have tried multiple bathroom cleaners and one in three (35%) would actually recommend what they use to their friends and family.
A large number of people also clearly prefer to stick to what they know, with nearly two-fifths (36%) always buying the same brand. Although there’s still plenty of shoppers who don’t consider themselves that fussy, as a quarter (26%) pick whichever bathroom cleaner is cheapest or on sale.
Discount supermarket chain ALDI offers a range of cleaning products, with a fairly strong presence in the bathroom cleaner segment. Its ‘Bath & Shower Cleaner’ is claimed to cut through grease and grime, and kill up to 99.9% of germs.
Domestos seems to be a cleaning brand with corporate social responsibility, as it has partnerships with UNICEF and other organisations to promote sanitation and hygiene in developing countries around the globe.
Aussie-owned Orange Power relies on all-natural ingredients in its home cleaning products. It was born out of the realisation that orange peel has effective cleaning properties. The Shower, Bath & Tile Cleaner is claimed to have a powerful, fast-acting formula that can dissolve soap scum, water and rust stains in just minutes, without harsh fumes. It comes in a 750ml recyclable bottle with trigger action and is said to be suitable for shower screens and bases, baths, spas, basins, tiles, toilets bowls, taps and chrome faucets.
Offering a number of sprays and wipes to take care of spills and stains in the bathroom, Jif has been a regular in the cleaning aisle for years. Additionally offering a number of cleaning products to help you take care of other rooms in the house, Jif’s bathroom range has plenty to arm you with to tackle those tough stains and grime.
Eco-conscious Earth Choice is apparently free from harsh chemicals like ammonia, and is also septic and grey water safe. It has two products that can be used for bathroom cleaning – a spray for glass surfaces and windows, as well as a standard bathroom and shower cleaner that is claimed to be specially formulated to remove soap scum and build up.
A well-known brand within the cleaning aisle, Dettol has a range of products for all surfaces in the bathroom, and not only gets rid of grime but also disinfects, according to the company. Dettol’s ‘Rapid Foam’ bathroom cleaner seems to be its main product for bathrooms, with a number of spray bottle products also available.
White King is an established household name for cleaning bathrooms, offering a large range of cleaners for the shower and toilet, as well as numerous ‘do-anything’ bleach products for all white porcelain. The range includes the hospital-grade disinfectant ‘Bathroom Power Gel Lemon’ that has a thick cleaning formula to get rid of mould and soap scum.
From the Colgate-Palmolive group, Ajax’s ‘Professional Bathroom Cleaner’ comes in a seemingly easy to use trigger bottle, and is said to be useful for grime, soap scum and rust stains. This makes it perfect for easy, general bathroom cleaning and for older sinks and taps that perhaps suffer from rust. The brand’s cleaning range also includes a bathroom cleaner that’s designed specifically for mould.
More famous for being a go-to for window cleaning, Windex also offers a range of bathroom cleaners. Its range includes disinfectant sprays, including its ‘Shower Cleaner Trigger Pack’ that is claimed to prevent soap scum and supposedly doesn’t require any scrubbing.
If mould is a major problem in your bathroom, Exit Mould may be the brand for you, offering anti-fungal products, including an easy-use spray trigger bottle designed to reach nooks and crannies.
Coles Ultra has something to offer in the bathroom cleaning department, including a ‘Bathroom Foam Cleaner’ and ‘Bath & Shower Cleaner’ in a modest 100ml trigger spray.
Strike hits the nail on the head with its wide range of household cleaners. Exclusive to Woolworths, the brand includes a large and affordable selection of disinfectants in liquid, spray and wipe varieties. Strike also offers tools such as scrubbing brushes, mops, mop refills and drain cleaning crystals.
Easy Off BAM offers a number of products, including its easy-use ‘Power Grime and Soap Scum’ spray bottle cleaner and the ‘Foam Soap Scum & Shower’ cleaner. Easy Off Bam also boasts its ‘Power with Bleach’ cleaner for bath tubs and sinks that claims “unbeatable power that works in seconds”.
Pine O Cleen has a large range of household cleaning products for the toilet, floors, shower and all kinds of surfaces. Its products are available in a variety of scents, and most come in seemingly easy-to-use spray bottles, including the ‘Apple Crisp’ disinfectant trigger spray.
The brand may be best-known for its oven cleaner, but Mr Muscle still claims to pack a punch in the bathroom, offering glass and multi-surface cleaners, sink and drain de-cloggers, as well as a mould and mildew specific spray bottle to help with those tricky areas.
Shower Power is claimed to ‘instantly’ dissolve soap scum, calcium build-up and other stains in bathrooms. Shower Power products are also supposedly environmentally friendly, free from harmful chemicals, so can be used on most surfaces.
This report was written by Canstar Blue’s home & lifestyle journalist, Tahnee-Jae Lopez-Vito. She’s an expert on household appliances, grooming products and all things grocery and shopping. In addition to translating our expert research into consumer-friendly ratings reports, Tahnee spends her time helping consumers make better-informed purchase decisions on all manner of consumer goods and services, while highlighting the best deals and anything you need to be aware of.
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Picture credits: FotoDuets /shutterstock.com, Maryna Pleshkun / Shutterstock.com
Canstar Blue surveyed 3,000 Australian adults across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from customers within the survey group who have purchased a bathroom cleaning product in the last six months and have used it to clean their bathroom – in this case, 1,961 people.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criteria.
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