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    outside the labs

    We Tried Ajax, Bar Keepers Friend, Bon Ami, and Comet to Find the Best Powder Cleansers

    CR also compared these four household cleaners to The Pink Stuff paste

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    Bon Ami, Ajax, Bar Keepers Friend, Comet powder cleaners on kitchen counter
    The powder cleansers we evaluated were all tough on heavy messes, but they didn't perform the same across all surfaces.
    Photo: Jodhaira Rodriguez/Consumer Reports

    Saturday was the day to clean the house growing up, and it was my job to clean the bathrooms. At our house, we had a bottle of Fabuloso, which was usually enough for routine cleanings, but on days when the job required a little extra oomph, my mom requested I use a sprinkle of the heavy stuff—a powder cleanser in a blue metal tin, Ajax. I don’t usually keep a can of the cleanser or any other popular brands at home, but I still see a tin in my parent’s bathroom or under their kitchen sink.

    In this article Arrow link

    Powder cleansers contain physical abrasive ingredients that are supposed to help clean up stubborn messes like rust, burnt-on food, soap scum, mildew, and plenty of other things that need a little extra muscle to clean. The list of surfaces that can be cleaned with these products is lengthy, spanning nearly every room of the home and beyond. Keep in mind, though, that because of their abrasive nature, they can’t be used on every single thing in your home, and you’ll want to spot test a small area first. 

    More on Cleaning

    We evaluated four of the top brands of powder cleansers to find out whether any stood out from the rest. Then compared their performance with that of the oh-so-popular The Pink Stuff cleaning paste, which has a list of uses about as lengthy as the powder cleansers we tried. Some of the surfaces we used the cleaners on included a 15-year-old Calphalon baking sheet, a stainless steel sink, ceramic plates, and a porcelain tub. We also took a look at the ingredients of each product to assess their safety and evaluated how easy the powders were to use. 

    Overall, they did clean better than my usual nonabrasive everyday cleaning products, so I’ll keep one around as a once-in-a-while polisher for my sink and other surfaces that can handle a rougher scrub. But I wouldn’t reach for any of these on a daily basis, especially considering how much easier it is to simply spray and wipe a liquid multipurpose cleaner


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    Jodhaira Rodriguez

    Jodhaira Rodriguez is a senior multimedia content creator at Consumer Reports. Before joining CR, she tested and wrote about cleaning and organizing products and major appliances like washing machines and dishwashers at Good Housekeeping. In her free time, you’ll find her reading, listening to true crime podcasts, or working on her latest hobby of the month.