Guest Author - Julie Fletcher

The folks at Clorox were nice enough to send me full size samples of their Green Works line of cleaners to review for BellaOnline readers.

A lot of eco/green sites have talked about Green Works and not all of the talk is good. The main reason that Clorox Green Works is getting a bad reputation with hard core green bloggers is due to the 1% un-natural ingredients, Kathon (a preservative) and Milliken Liquitint Blue HP and Bright Yellow X (dyes). If you are very green already or have a sensitivity to those additives, then you will want to avoid Green Works.

For me, I think this is a step in the right direction for a major cleaning company. Many people believe that Clorox is green washing (hiding behind green to make cash and hide the true ingredients). Whether this is the case or not, 1% un-natural in a formerly fully un-natural product is something to admire in a major brand name. Clorox is taking the time to offer more eco-friendly choices to customers and that is something I can get my teeth into.

Think on this: there are people who will not use home made or totally natural products because they do not believe they are effective. They think that nothing without a brand name on it is worth using at all. Thanks to Clorox, many of their loyal customers will switch to greener practices.

Now, on to the products!

Clorox sent me bottles of the All Purpose cleaner, the concentrated All Purpose cleaner (like Lysol concentrated), Glass Cleaner, Bathroom cleaner, and Toilet Bowl cleaner. Of all the products, the toilet bowl cleaner had me the most skeptical. We all know how nasty a toilet can be under the rim and come on, how well would a plant based product clean it?

Pretty darn well! All of the cleaners impressed me with how well they broke up dirt, most of the time on contact. The glass cleaner left a streak free shine on all of the shiny surfaces I tried it on. The all purpose cleaner had grease on the run as soon as it was sprayed on. If you have seen the Green Works commercials, you may be familiar with how the dirt runs down the sample area when the cleaner comes in contact with it. This actually happened in several instances in real use.

I enjoy the scent of the products, though I have read that others find it too strong. I do not agree with this assessment, especially when compared with traditional chemical cleaner scents. Clorox Green Works has a refreshingly natural scent that is not overpowering, especially for those who like a citrus-y smell. People with sensitivity to scents or with asthma may want to avoid the cleaners, but I have asthma and it did not cause a problem.

For a safer clean, I give Clorox Green Works two thumbs up.