Perhaps the swankiest line of the new cleaning products is Caldrea. Its motto is "The Spirit of Keeping Home," but it's clear from the products themselves that we are talking mansions here. Sold at upscale specialty retailers, Caldrea's luxury products go for between $8 (for its dish soap) and about $12 (the all-purpose cleaner and stainless-steel spray).

In our test, though, the higher prices didn't always translate into a better experience. The stainless-steel spray (in a stainless-steel style bottle) looked good but left streaks across my trendy refrigerator. And its wipes, which had a lovely sweet-pea scent, were too dry to be of much use.

Its citrus mint ylang ylang (that's a flower) powder scrub was much more effective, with a clean scent and nonabrasive feel. So too, its dish soap, which cleaned greasy plates easily.

But another line, also made by the Minneapolis-based Caldrea, was much more satisfying, in both price and results. Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day, which pushes a more old-fashioned and thrifty image, has a mantra of "uncomplicated products for a clean and happy home." That rings true, with retro styling on its bottles and winsome tips on its labels (like advising the user to have a cup of coffee while waiting for the product to work). With prices running from about $5 for its window cleaners to $8 for its scrubs, Mrs. Meyer's line sells in stylish grocery stores like Whole Foods.

Almost everything from Mrs. Meyer's worked great, such as its excellent kitchen scrub, made with a powdery sand called silica and oxygen bleach. But the stainless-steel cleaner (using olive oil) was again a bust and left the surface dull. I prefer its zesty geranium scent over its lavender, which had the odor of decaying flowers.

Freshness is a big selling point for the New York-based Good Home Co.'s products, whose lovely fragrances were its most winning quality. Almost all of them seem to recall being outside in the midst of summer on some wonderful vacation. In fact, Ed correctly surmised that its strangely lovely blue-colored beach-house scent had the odor of Coppertone suntan lotion and salt water. Its pure grass was also a hit, but Good Home's big miss in the scent department is its cilantro, which disconcertingly smells like a dish of salsa.

All the Good Home cleaners worked decently enough — its creamy tile-and-tub cleaner was a dream on the bath, leaving no film on the sparkling ceramic. The floor soap was the weakest in this department. Ranging in price from $9 to $12, Good Home is available at specialty retailers like Restoration Hardware.

Even more widely available is the line from Method of San Francisco, which has been selling at major chains such as Target and Linens 'N Things and supermarket chains like Safeway and Kroger. It's a good move by these retailers, given that Method is the best all-around choice with great fragrances, nice cleaning ability and cheaper prices. (They range from $2 to $5.)