Product Reviews and Tips

Watkins Natural All-Purpose Cleaners / Citrus Tub & Tile Cleaner

My favorite Watkins cleaner has been the old Tub & Tile Cleaner, which unfortunately was discontinued. I loved it because it was the only cleaner that really worked on the hard water stains in my sinks and shower/tub. I could just spray it on, wait a few minutes, scrub it a little, and then wash it off. Goodbye stains!

So last year when I tried the new Citrus Tub & Tile Cleaner I was most disappointed. Sure, it has a light orange scent instead of an awful smell, but it just didn't clean like the old formula. With the new Citrus Tub & Tile Cleaner, I have to do more scrubbing (or repeat the process more than once) in order to get rid of all the water stains. This defeats the purpose, because the whole point of cleaners is for me to have to do as little work as possible.

With that in mind, I wasn't expecting much from the Lemon All-Purpose Cleaner. I first tested it in my parents' bathroom. My parents have a water softener, so they don't suffer with stubborn hard water stains like I do at my house. The first thing you notice about Lemon All-Purpose Cleaner is that it doesn't smell like Lemon Lysol. Instead, it smells more like candy lemon drops, which is a pleasant surprise. It cleaned well at my parents, but I couldn't give it good ratings just yet. I had to see how it would do at my house.

Luckily I still have half a bottle left of my tried-and-true old Tub & Tile Cleaner, so I tested the Lemon All-Purpose Cleaner against both it and the new Citrus Tub & Tile Cleaner. My shower doors were nicely coated with a few months worth of hard water stain build-up (for testing purposes only, of course--not because I'm too lazy to clean them more often. Ahem.) Anyway, to my surprise, the Lemon All-Purpose Cleaner did a great job! It's almost as good as the old Tub & Tile Cleaner at getting off the stains (perhaps even just as good, though I stubbornly refuse to admit it.) The Lemon All-Purpose Cleaner certainly outperformed the new Citrus Tub & Tile Cleaner.

I'm so happy that at least the All-Purpose Cleaner will work for me, because it's nice to have a cleaner that doesn't overpower me with heavy fumes or harsh chemicals. Both these products have non-toxic plant-based formulas that are biodegradable and phosphate free. Easy on the environment, family, and pets!

Another thing I really like about these cleaners is the new & improved trigger sprayer that comes with them. The adjustable nozzle allows you to change the spray from a light mist to a forceful stream, with several settings in between the two.

I'm not the only one happy with the All-Purpose Cleaner. Leanne G. of Belleuve, NE*** and her husband discovered an unusual benefit of it, saying,

"The All-Purpose Cleaner (Lavender) is a success. In fact, Don discovered that it assists in killing flies. Apparently, they can’t fly when their wings are wet with it, so they are slower and easier targets. Oh, and it cleans stuff nicely too, leaving a pleasant scent! Definitely a re-order item."

Thanks, Leanne, for that um, informative review. Guess I can get rid of that can of Raid now.

***Okay, I admit Leanne is my sister and I gave her a monetary incentive to give me a review.

Bottom Line:

Watkins Citrus Tub & Tile Cleaner: Pleasant scent, non-toxic, great trigger sprayer, works well for people with soft water. Lousy on hard water stains.

Watkins Natural Lemon All-Purpose Cleaner: Pleasant scent, non-toxic, great trigger sprayer, works well for people with soft water and does a great job on hard water stains.

Note: All-Purpose Cleaners also come in Lavender and Aloe & Green Tea scents, and in concentrated formulas (mixed with water, they're used to refill the ready-to-use bottles.) I will confidently say that all the variations of All-Purpose Cleaner will perform as well as the Lemon scent I tested; if I discover otherwise, I will certainly amend that assertion.

Update

I've now tried the Aloe & Green Tea All-Purpose Concentrate, and just love it! This is my favorite scent of the cleaners. Each bottle of concentrate makes 1 gallon of cleaner when mixed with water.

USA:

USA Aloe & Green Tea All-Purpose Cleaner #16781 $5.99

USA Lavender All-Purpose Cleaner #16783 $5.99

USA Lemon All-Purpose Cleaner #16782 $5.99

USA Aloe & Green Tea All-Purpose Cleaner Concentrate #16791 $15.99

USA Lavender All-Purpose Cleaner Concentrate #16793 $15.99

USA Lemon All-Purpose Cleaner Concentrate #16792 $15.99

USA Citrus Tub & Tile Cleaner #16788 $5.79

CANADA:

Canadian Aloe & Green Tea All-Purpose Cleaner #16781 $7.49

Canadian Lavender All-Purpose Cleaner #16783 $7.49

Canadian Lemon All-Purpose Cleaner #16782 $7.49

Concentrates not available in Canada

Canadian Citrus Tub & Tile Cleaner #16788 $6.99