High price doesn't assure quality of cleaning products

It used to be that spring cleaning meant the harsh odor of bleaches, ammonias and solvents wafting through the house. But a flurry of specialty products armed with a more natural and lofty approach are aiming to make it feel more like a day at the spa.

There's an all-purpose cleaner that smells like pink grapefruit, a tub-and-tile scrub that reminds you of freshly mown grass, and a toilet polish in green-tea patchouli that you might easily mistake for an expensive talcum powder. Apparently, the drudgery of housework has become an opportunity for a little aromatherapy.

The question is, can these new-age cleaning products do more than evoke images of seaweed wraps and shiatsu massages? To find out, I plunged headlong into a world of plant-derived "surfactants" (which simply means a surface-active substance), essential oils and aromatheraputic scents.

My cleaning aide de camp Ed and I could have used a spa treatment after several scrubbing sessions where we tried out these products in a variety of scents, shapes and styles. That's because, in general, no matter which new-age product we used, none matched the cleaning power of a dose of Pine-Sol.

These cleaners aren't cheap — they can cost as much as $12 a bottle, compared with just a few dollars for traditional cleaners. But presumably prices don't matter to a demographic looking to spiff up their homes in ways their parents never dreamed of — by using products that have a number of key attributes over less-evolved cleaners. All of these new-style cleaners tout that they are largely biodegradable, aren't tested on animals, and aren't hazardous (i.e. fewer synthetic chemicals). Their lifestyle pitch also includes trendy natural fragrances and wickedly cool packaging, pretty enough to be displayed on the counter.

Several smaller manufacturers, such as Method Products Inc., the Caldrea Co. and Good Home Co., lead the market and are increasing their customer bases quickly. This has caused big cleaning-products companies, like the makers of the popular Simple Green, to get into the act with competing cleaners. This movement has even affected the giants of the cleaning-products industry, who have been trying to add less-antiseptic fragrances to their product line.

To whit: The Pine-Sol in my broom closet touts its "Orange Energy!" while my Palmolive lavender Aroma Therapy dish liquid declares that it is "anti-stress." (It is not.)