Ajax: Unbelievably Cheap, Amazingly Effective in Cleaning
Written: Jul 20 '05
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: CHEAP, has bleach, cuts through grime, easy to use, works better than expensive cleansers
Cons: "Messy" container, can be abrasive for "soft" surfaces, need some "elbow grease"
The Bottom Line: Ajax is such a great cleanser - I have used it for as long as I can remember, and it is one of my favorites.
|
|
|
| Javelina's Full Review: Ajax Cleanser with Bleach Easy Rinse Formula |
I have used Ajax and Bon Ami for years. It’s my secret weapon in cleaning. Despite all the cleaning products that come out, I always keep a container of Ajax under the sink in my bathroom and/or kitchen.
This is an incredibly cheap cleaning product for what you get. It comes in a cardboard container (100% recycled paperboard (80%) post-consumer), which contains 14 oz of powder. This is an easy product to find, and I usually pick it up at the grocery store, Target, Home Depot, etc. It costs around $0.69, although sometimes I find a larger size for $0.79.
Ingredients
Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Carbonate, Anionic Surfactants, Bleach, Quality Control Agents, Fragrance, Color. Ajax® cleanser formula contains no phosphates.
Directions & Use
The directions read, “Wet surface. Sprinkle Ajax® freely. Rub lightly to make a paste with sponge or pad. Clean and rinse.” This product is supposed to be very versatile, and you can use it “to clean all around the house, on items like pots and pans, porcelain, bathroom fixtures, ceramic tiles, and even tough outdoor items like barbecue grills and garbage cans.”
Some warnings… “Use caution and test a small area first on delicate surfaces such as fiberglass, formica, imitation marble, plastics and enameled appliances. Use plenty of water, rub gently and rinse well. Store in cool, dry place. Eye irritant. In case of eye contact, flush with water. To avoid harmful fumes, do not mix with ammonia or other household cleaning products. Keep out of reach of children.”
My Experience & Thoughts
My favorite use for this is in the bathroom and also the kitchen sink. I simply cannot use any kind of cleaner that just sprays on. After using Ajax and Bon Ami, I need to put some elbow grease into my cleaning. I have never found a liquid cleaner that does the job like Ajax.
I use a wet sponge, sprinkle on the Ajax liberally, and get to work. Liberally, because for one, it’s so cheap, but secondly, part of the power of Ajax is it’s scrubbing ability. This is not an abrasive scrub, but it does scrub surfaces. I make sure I don’t water this down too much, and get to work. It’s perfect if someone has just taken a shower and everything is wet, or you can just wet down the shower and then sprinkle on the Ajax powder. Just as the instructions say, I make a sort of paste with a sponge and water, which is very simple.
Ajax is especially perfect for things that have a buildup. For example, the shower gets so much soap scum and buildup in it, I can actually feel the Ajax cutting through it to reveal shiny tile. The bath/shower in our apartment does not have a fan in it (kudos to the landlord on that one), so the shower needs some extra help in the cleaning department.
This is where no matter how many liquid cleaners or sprays I use, and how ever long I let the spray sit on the surface of the shower, they don’t do any good. I think the only one I have had some luck with in terms of speeding up the cleaning process, would be CLR. If anything, sprays tend to leave streaks and don’t cut through soap scum and hard water build up. In the end, I always end up using my Ajax!
In one particular instance, Ajax really saved us. We were preparing my mom’s house for sale, and one of the bathrooms had an old tiled floor. The tiles were in great shape, but the grout between them looked really dingy and awful. We tried everything from grout paint to grout cleaners, and nothing worked. In fact, some of them made the grout look worse. I was cleaning the shower and thought I would give the floor a try, and after scrubbing the floor with a brush and some Ajax, I knew this was our cure-all. Sure enough, I worked the entire floor with Ajax and a scrub brush, and it is incredibly clean and looks new. You could never have convinced me that a 40-year-old bathroom floor could look like new, but we did it!
(I also recommend the Black & Decker Scum Buster, which helped me in this project!)
Ajax also does a wonderful job in the kitchen sink. At my mom’s, we use it in on her white ceramic sink, and it brings it to a shine and helps remove stains. In our sink at home, it brings our metal sink to a clean, high shine. If there is food stuck on, the Ajax helps scrub it off. This goes for things like faucet fixtures as well – they shine like new!
This is supposed to be an Easy Rinse Formula. I don’t have anything to compare it to (a previous “formula”, perhaps?), but I would agree that it rinses well. Ajax is sort of “silty” but doesn’t “stick”.
I am glad this product has some bleach in it. Because it isn’t messy to use, I haven’t had any problems with bleaching anything I haven’t intended to. The bleach works great to brighten things. And of course, it aids in killing bacteria, which is a must in the kitchen and bathroom, my top two places where I use Ajax.
The biggest downside to Ajax is that if you aren’t willing to use a little elbow grease, you may not get optimal results. To me, this isn't a downside, since I don’t see much of an alternative, because with spray-on cleaners, they don’t cut through dirt and grime, so you need to scrub anyway.
Another downside is, because this has some abrasive particles in it, however fine, care should be taken with more delicate surfaces. It’s not like rubbing sand on something, but you can cause some wear and tear on “softer”, more delicate surfaces. I can’t say I have been presented with that problem, since I have only needed to use this on ceramic tiles/surfaces, metal, etc. We recently remodeled a bathroom by installing a vanity with a plastic top, so I would be cautious on surfaces like that (and would be more likely to use a liquid cleanser anyway).
Lastly, the container is almost "old fashioned", with a shaker top that does not have a cap. This can get messy, although I think I've knocked it over a handful of times without anything spilling, so I'm not worried. You also have to worry that the top is open, if any water gets in, it could clump (but who spills water on their cleaning supplies?).
Overall
Ajax really is one of my favorite cleaners. The slight abrasiveness and bleach cut through stains and built-up grime. It is amazing how cheap and easy it is to use this product, and I can’t say it has ever failed me. It has saved me a ton of money (as opposed to pricey cleansers) and saved me from taking drastic measures to replace an old tile floor. This is a versatile cleaner that has been around for ages and has never let me down! I also recommend Bon Ami for the same reasons – to me, it is the same cleanser.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.