This $1 Fan-Favorite Dollar Store Cleaner Proves Your Home Can Sparkle on a Budget
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If you’ve ever used baking soda, vinegar, or hydrogen peroxide to clean, then you know household cleaners don’t have to be expensive to work well. Let us introduce you to another budget-friendly cleaner that, like these other staples, deserves a permanent home in your cleaning caddy: LA’s Totally Awesome All-Purpose Cleaner, available at the Dollar Tree for exactly one U.S. dollar.
There are a few reasons we like it. Obviously, it’s cheap. LA’s Totally Awesome All-Purpose Cleaner is also more environmentally friendly than your standard all-purpose cleaner, because it’s sold in a concentrate — just add water and put it in your own spray bottle.
But the best part of all is that it actually works. Of more than 300 reviews on the Dollar Tree website, the cleaner has a 4.9-star average rating — evidence that, true to its name, it’s actually totally awesome. Amazon buyers love it, too; the product has a 72 percent five-star rating (and lots of ecstatic comments from buyers).
According to the product description, you really can use the cleaner on a variety of surfaces. It’s not only great for everyday cleaning jobs like wiping off counters; it also works as a degreaser and stain remover. Apparently, it’s strong enough to remove all evidence of blood, oil, coffee, wine, and even paint and tarnish (but without potentially risky ingredients like ammonia or bleach).
One buyer uses it to clean their grout: “It was TOTALLY AWESOME! It cleaned the grout better, easier, and quicker than the highly recommended baking soda and peroxide,” they wrote. Another customer says the product worked wonders for cleaning her kid’s dirty car seat. “This stuff works great. I cleaned my son’s light colored car seats, leaving a couple of minutes, then wiped down with a microfiber cloth that was put in hot water and squeezed. Awesome got the stains out from grease from fried chicken.”
Over at Amazon, another reviewer says Totally Awesome was the only cleaner that rehabbed her walls. “I had some absolutely filthy walls and baseboards from my 3 animals. Lots of stubborn stuck on dirt, food and grease and nothing was getting it out,” she wrote. “It took me just 10 minutes to clean everything. The dirt practically just wiped off with this stuff.”
While some reviewers note the grapefruit smell is quite strong (and recommend wearing a mask and gloves), the general consensus is that if you have a stain or mess nothing else is effectively cleaning, Totally Awesome is absolutely worth a try. And if the cult-favorite cleaner doesn’t do the trick? Well, then you shouldn’t have a problem finding something else to use it for — and if not, at least you didn’t spend a ton of money!