The Best All Purpose Cleaners: 4 Compared (and One to Skip)

RBE top pick

Adam's All Purpose Cleaner

Adam's is the only product here that describes what the cleaner does at full strength and what it does diluted, and names the surfaces for each. P&S makes the same range of claims in trade sizes with a longer surface list and a biodegradable formulation.

See why it wins Compare all

All purpose cleaner is the most useful bottle in a detailing cupboard and the most dangerous one, because the same liquid cleans a wheel well at full strength and ruins a leather seat at the same concentration. Dilution is what separates those two outcomes, which makes the ratio a safety instruction rather than an economy tip. Across four current products, every one is described as concentrated and every one leaves the ratio out.

Adam's Polishes

All Purpose Cleaner

Buy it

The only bottle here that tells you what it does at full strength and what it does diluted, and which surfaces belong to each.

Best for: One bottle that has to cover engine bays, wheel wells, door jambs, carpets and interior trim, where knowing the strength matters more than the price.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Describes full strength use for cutting heavy grease and buildup, and diluted use for body panels, interior components and leather.
• Explicitly described as dilutable for delicate surfaces, which frames dilution as a control rather than a saving.
• Sizes from 16 ounces to five gallons, so it works for a single car or a fleet.
• The brand states it is safe for use in full sun while recommending cool surfaces and shade, which is a useful caveat rather than a blanket claim.

Know before buying

• No dilution ratio published for any of the uses described.
• No pH figure given anywhere on the page.
• Heavily dyed neon yellow and citrus scented, which some people would rather not put on a headliner.
• The brand warns to rinse immediately and dry to avoid water spots or damage, which means it is not a wipe-and-walk-away product.

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P&S Detail Products

All Purpose Cleaner

Buy it

The trade bottle, with the longest published surface list here and biodegradable detergents behind it.

Best for: Anyone cleaning several vehicles, or refilling spray bottles regularly, who wants one concentrate covering interior and exterior.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Names the surfaces directly: vinyl, rubber, carpet mats, tires, rims, upholstery, wheel wells and motor compartments.
• High efficiency biodegradable detergents stated, which matters if you rinse onto a driveway.
• Gallon and five gallon sizes, the right economics for anyone cleaning more than one vehicle.
• Formulated to break down grease and cut through dirt across both interior and exterior surfaces.

Know before buying

• No dilution ratio published despite being a trade concentrate meant to be proportioned.
• No pH figure and no pH claim.
• No smaller size, so the entry point is a gallon.
• The surface list includes both upholstery and wheel wells with no guidance on using different strengths for each.

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Chemical Guys

Nonsense Invisible Super Cleaner

It depends

Colourless and odourless, which is the whole reason to own it and the reason it is a second bottle rather than a first.

Best for: Interior work on light or delicate materials where a dyed, fragranced cleaner would leave evidence of itself.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Completely colourless and odourless, which is genuinely useful on light headliners, alcantara and pale upholstery where a dyed cleaner can stain.
• Described as safe for just about any surface including wheels and tires.
• Super-concentrated, with 16 ounce, 32 ounce and gallon sizes.
• No fragrance means no lingering smell in a closed cabin, which matters on interior work.

Know before buying

• No dilution ratio published, on a product whose whole pitch is being super-concentrated.
• No pH figure and no strength guidance for different surfaces.
• Being colourless makes overspray harder to see and therefore harder to rinse off completely.
• The safe on just about any surface framing is broad enough to be unhelpful on the surfaces that actually need care.

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We'd skip it

Chemical Guys

All Clean+ All Purpose Cleaner & Degreaser

Skip it

A citrus degreaser wearing an all purpose label, which is the combination most likely to end badly on interior trim.

Best for: Engine bays, wheel wells and greasy shop surfaces, used deliberately as a degreaser. Not the bottle to reach for on a dashboard.

$$ · mid-range

Why we like it

• Citrus based, which is effective on sticky grease and oil stains that a milder cleaner leaves behind.
• Concentrated, with 16 ounce and gallon sizes.
• Named as a degreaser in the product title, which at least tells you what it really is.

Know before buying

• Sold under the all purpose label while being a degreaser, and the two are not interchangeable on interiors.
• The page lists plastic, vinyl and carpets among the surfaces with no dilution ratio for any of them.
• Citrus solvents can soften and dull automotive plastics and dry out leather and vinyl at full strength.
• No pH figure or claim, on the strongest chemistry in this comparison.

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How we judged the field

Five things decide an all purpose cleaner. Dilution guidance comes first, because on a concentrate the ratio is a safety instruction and not a cost tip, and it is what separates cleaning a wheel well from ruining a dashboard. Second is the chemistry type, since a citrus solvent degreaser and a detergent-based cleaner behave very differently on plastics and leather even when both are sold under the same label. Third is the stated surface list, which is the only place most brands hint at what the product is really for. Fourth is dye and fragrance, which sound cosmetic and matter a great deal on a light headliner or in a closed cabin. Fifth is size range, because a concentrate is only cheap if you can buy it in a size that reflects how much you use.

The field splits by what does the cleaning. Detergent-based cleaners lift soil with surfactants and are the safer default across a car. Solvent-based cleaners, usually citrus, dissolve grease and are far more effective on engine bays and much riskier on trim. A third group markets itself on what it lacks, being colourless and odourless for delicate interiors. We took one of each plus a second detergent concentrate in trade sizes, which is how the same job gets done by someone cleaning cars for a living.

Adam’s Polishes All Purpose Cleaner - buy

Adam’s All Purpose Cleaner is the one that treats dilution as information rather than an afterthought. The page describes the product working at full strength to cut heavy grease and buildup, and being gentle enough when diluted to clean body panels, interior components and even leather. No other page in this comparison connects strength to surface like that, and it is the connection that decides whether an APC is a useful tool or an expensive mistake. There is a further useful caveat: the brand says the product is safe in full sun but recommends surfaces that are cool to the touch, and to rinse immediately and dry to avoid water spots or damage. Both are the kind of qualification that makes the rest of the page more credible. Sizes run from 16 ounces to five gallons. What is missing is the arithmetic, because there is no ratio for any of the uses described, and the neon yellow dye and citrus fragrance are not what you want on a light headliner.

P&S Detail Products All Purpose Cleaner - buy

P&S All Purpose Cleaner is the same job for a working detailer. The strength of the page is its surface list, which is unusually specific: vinyl, rubber, carpet mats, tires, rims, upholstery, wheel wells and motor compartments. That covers the whole car, inside and out, and telling you the intended surfaces is the closest thing to guidance you get in this category. The formulation is described as high efficiency biodegradable detergents that break down grease and cut through dirt, and biodegradability is worth having if you rinse onto a driveway that drains to a storm sewer. Gallon and five gallon sizes make it the cheapest per use of anything here if you actually get through it. The gaps are the category’s gaps plus one of its own. There is no dilution ratio despite this being a trade concentrate, no pH claim, and the surface list puts upholstery and wheel wells in the same sentence without suggesting they want different strengths.

Chemical Guys Nonsense Invisible Super Cleaner - it depends

Nonsense is worth owning and probably not first. Chemical Guys makes a virtue of what it leaves out: the cleaner is completely invisible, colourless and odourless, and on light-coloured headliners, alcantara and pale upholstery that matters more than any cleaning claim, because dye transfer onto a headliner is close to permanent and a strong fragrance lives in a closed cabin for days. It is described as safe for just about any surface including wheels and tires, and it comes in 16 ounce, 32 ounce and gallon sizes. The reservations are real though. It is sold as super-concentrated with no ratio published anywhere, which on a product whose entire pitch is concentration is a strange omission. Safe on just about any surface is broad enough to be unhelpful precisely where care is needed. And being colourless cuts both ways: you cannot see where the overspray went, so rinsing thoroughly takes more discipline.

Chemical Guys All Clean+ All Purpose Cleaner & Degreaser - skip

All Clean+ is the one to skip as an all purpose cleaner, and the reason is that it is not really one. Chemical Guys names it accurately in the title, an all purpose cleaner and degreaser, and describes a citrus-based concentrated formula that tackles sticky grease and oil stains, then lists plastic, vinyl and carpets among the surfaces to dilute it for. Citrus solvents clean by dissolving oils, and the finish on automotive plastics and the plasticisers that keep vinyl and leather supple are oils of a sort, so used at anything near full strength on trim the result is dulling, a chalky texture and eventually cracking. Because no dilution ratio is published for any surface, the user is left to guess the line between degreasing and damage. As a dedicated engine bay and wheel well degreaser it is a good product bought deliberately. As the bottle you reach for on a dashboard it is the riskiest thing in this comparison.

Adam’s Polishes All Purpose Cleaner vs P&S Detail Products All Purpose Cleaner: which should you buy?

Adam’s and the P&S bottle are both detergent concentrates covering the whole car, and the choice comes down to whether you want guidance or scale. Adam’s gives you the most useful sentence in the category, describing what the cleaner does at full strength and what it does diluted, and naming leather and interior components as the diluted use. For someone with one bottle covering an engine bay and a dashboard, that framing prevents the mistake the category is famous for.

P&S gives you a longer surface list and much better economics. Vinyl, rubber, carpet mats, tires, rims, upholstery, wheel wells and motor compartments is a more complete account of where the product goes, and gallon and five gallon sizes mean it costs a fraction per spray bottle. It is also the only one here stating biodegradable detergents. Buy Adam’s if this is your only APC and you want the brand to tell you how to think about strength. Buy P&S if you refill spray bottles regularly, clean more than one vehicle, and already know that interior surfaces want a weaker mix than wheel wells.

What to look for

• Any dilution guidance at all: none of these publishes a ratio, so a page that at least describes full strength versus diluted behaviour is doing more than the rest.
• Chemistry type named: a citrus or solvent degreaser and a detergent cleaner are different products under the same all purpose label.
• A specific surface list: naming vinyl, leather, carpet and engine bays separately tells you more than safe on any surface ever will.
• Colourless and unfragranced for interiors: dye transfer onto a light headliner is close to permanent and fragrance lingers in a closed cabin.
• A biodegradable claim: it matters if your rinse water goes down a driveway to a storm drain rather than to treatment.
• A size that matches your use: a concentrate is only economical in a size you will get through before it separates.

Our final take

All purpose cleaner is the one detailing product where the missing number can actually cost you something, because dilution is the control that decides whether the same liquid degreases an engine bay or dries out a dashboard. Not one of these four publishes a ratio. Adam’s is the pick because it at least describes the two ends of the range and names leather and interior components as the diluted use, which is more guidance than anyone else offers. P&S is the better buy if you clean at volume, with the most specific surface list and biodegradable detergents. Nonsense earns a place as a second bottle for pale interiors where dye and fragrance are the risk. All Clean+ is a citrus degreaser under an all purpose label, which is exactly the confusion that ruins trim.

Deciding between the top two? See our head-to-head: Adam's Polishes All Purpose Cleaner vs P&S Detail Products All Purpose Cleaner.

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