Testers pick best bargain cleaners for everyday jobs

Products on TV infomercials tend to disappoint.

The best cleaning products don’t necessarily cost a fortune. ShopSmart, the shopping magazine from the publisher of Consumer Reports, recently identified 12 cleaning products that work as well or even better than their expensive counterparts, according to tests.

“It’s important to have the right tools for cleaning,” said Lisa Lee FreeNo matter what prodman, editor-in-chief of ucts and tools are used to ShopSmart. “We’ve found clean, it’s important to alsome great products that ways take caution. worked well — and they ● Never mix bleach don’t cost a lot of monwith ammonia, vinegar or ey.” other acids. Those com

Here are some of bos can produce deadly ShopSmart’s picks for the gases. best bargain cleaners: ● Always wear gloves

Cleanser: Comet with to protect skin. Bleach, $1.25, can be ● Store safely. Keep all used to tackle many jobs. cleaners, including homeThis disinfectant even made ones, well-labeled. did great in ShopSmart’s Store them away from tough toilet bowl cleanGrill Daddy Grill kids and pets. er tests. Cleaner ($14.95 plus ● When working with

All-Purpose: Original S&H). Although it claims chemical cleaners, check Pine-Sol, $2.48, beat out to be a “revolutionary warning labels, open win18 pricier cleaners and grill-cleaning tool” that dows and doors, and keep left no streaks. cleans with the power kids and pets far away

Laundry Liquid: Up of steam, it didn’t leave from where you are clean& Up HE Fresh Breeze ing.grills spotless in tests, and (Target), $13 (11 cents per one ShopSmart tester’s load), works in regular hand got hot. Instead, use and HE washers and did a clean spray bottle filled great on grass, chocolate with water and a grill and other stains. brush for cheaper, better

Stain Stick: CVS Toresults. tal Home Instant Stain Re- Grout Bully ($20 plus mover On The Go, $1.99, performed as well as Tide to Go in tests. Like Tide, the only stain it couldn’t lick was lipstick.

Products seen on TV

ShopSmart gathered more than a dozen cleaning products hawked on TV infomericals and put these products to the test in real homes, swabbing floors, dusting cobwebs and cleaning dirty bathroom grout and backyard grills. Some did OK, but most were letdowns. Below are four products that were downright duds.

Deluxe Hi-Reach Cleaning Kit ($37 plus S&H). This kit is equipped with multiple dusting heads, a lightbulb changer and a squeegee. The flexible dusting head is supposed to help users get to hard-to-reach places with ease. ShopSmart testers got to some hardto reach spots with this product, but “flexible” is an understatement — it’s too bendy, and the dusting attachment broke after bending one too many times. S&H). This product says it will clean and renew grout on contact, plus remove mold and eliminate mildew. In tests, it was a messy, time-consuming job, leaving the grout looking like it was painted on.

The Original Smart Mop ($19.99 plus S&H). Claiming to cut cleaning time in half and never allowing a user’s hands to touch dirty water, this mop cleaned floors fine. However, twisting the pole to wring it out often loosened a screw, which fell off, and the handle came apart, too.

Five safety musts:

Try a cleaner in a hidden spot before using it on a surface for the first time to make sure the product doesn’t cause any discoloration or damage.