Why Cheaper, Generic Cleaners May Cost You More in the Long Run

01 September 2024

Your budget is tight, and the costs of maintaining a business seem to be growing. Reaching for a cheaper, generic cleaning product seems like a good way to save a few dollars. While they may make this purchase a bit less, they could lead to longer-term problems and ineffective results. The bottom line is you don't need the most expensive cleaners. You need the best quality for the tasks at hand from a reliable brand.

To save money, skip the generic, watered-down, and overly chemical-laden products and choose cleaners that work with less effort (often less product) and don't lead to plumbing issues. Here's why that's important.

1. Generic Cleaners Do Not Give You the Same Cleaning Power

To keep costs low, manufacturers will dilute these generic cleaners, which makes their ingredients go further. However, when you choose a product with lower concentrations of the active ingredients doing the actual scrubbing and cleaning, you're really not saving any money at all. In fact, it can quickly become more expensive than the higher quality products. Cheaper cleaners ultimately cannot meet the same goals as the higher quality products.

2. Damage to Your Surfaces

Another way generic cleaning product manufacturers keep prices low is by using inferior ingredients. This may include chemicals or additives that try to make up for the lower-quality active ingredients. The problem is, when you apply them to the surfaces in your home or business, they can eat away at the top, leading to significant damage in many cases.

Consider the use of a product like this on your natural stone countertops. These are incredibly valuable, but they are porous surfaces that are subject to deterioration over time. Those chemical additives speed up that process, creating pot marks where germs and bacteria can hide.

3. They Are Inefficient

You may not want to spend your time cleaning. If you're using a product that's generic and filled with less-than-quality ingredients, chances are good you will be spending more time doing the same task. Your time is valuable, and with the help of a quality cleaner, you can power through the dirt and debris more easily and not even have to worry about the time spent on these projects.

Consider, for example, a general laundry cleaner. The process is the same for using these products, but the clothes may not come out smelling clean or have all the debris removed. That means you need to rewash them, spending more money on cleaners, water, and electricity. You may even have to toss the clothing if the detergent stains it.

4. What Really Is in That Product?

Chemical cleaners must list out the ingredients in the product, but as they do, they use scientific names that you probably would not recognize unless you studied chemistry. In other words, the inferior products used in generic products may not be what you think they are. Many contain high volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that pollute the air quality in your home. They may also contain chemicals your family is allergic to or may react to over time.

5. You Cannot Ignore the Environmental Impact

When you purchase a higher-quality product made with clearly described ingredients, you know exactly what you are getting. Some of the best products on the market today are actually both powerful and eco-friendly. Protect your home but also your family. You don't have to use products that are going to harm the planet while doing so.

Finding the Right Cleaning Products for Your Needs

Avoid the purchase of cheap, generic cleaning products that simply cannot do the work you need them to and potentially put your family, home, and health at risk. Instead, choose a quality product you can rely on for consistently excellent results.