We get a lot of questions about KOH cleaning products so here it is, our KOH cleaning review.
As a professional eco-friendly cleaning company, what we look for when choosing a cleaning product may be different to people just cleaning their own house. We’ve formulated our KOH cleaning review to give as much information as we can so that you can make up your own mind.
KOH is made up of water and potassium mineral salts. The potassium ions lift, suspend and bind to dirt and grime and then convert them to an inert carbonate mineral water. KOH is marketed as a universal cleaner that you can use on absolutely anything from glass, to ovens and anything inbetween with fantastic results. So a lot of people are wondering, does it live up to the hype? Can one product really be great for everything?
The Positives
Eco-Friendly/ Non-Toxic
KOH is GECA (Good Environmental Choice Australia) certified. An independent not-for-profit environmental certification program. After it reacts with dirt, the result is an inert, odourless, almost Ph neutral liquid that is safe for grey water and septic systems, and non allergenic. It’s safe for all surfaces.
This is really how it feels when you’re using it. It has no smell, doesn’t foam and has no stickiness or viscosity so it feels just like water on your skin. It’s hard to believe that it’s actually a cleaning product at all. So it really ticks this box and if skin sensitivity or allergies are something that stop you from using regular cleaning products this might be perfect for you.
One Single Product
KOH is very versatile and can be used as a glass cleaner, surface cleaner, and even used as an oven cleaner. So if it’s handy for you to just have a single product that you use for everything that might be a plus.
Online Delivery
KOH don’t stock in stores so the only way you can get it is online. Which means delivery to your doorstep. It’s Australian based so it arrives quickly. Their staff are very friendly and helpful so ordering is a breeze.
Effective
KOH kills 99.9% of germs and bacteria. It reacts differently to detergent (which is the active ingredient in most surface sprays) but uses the same principle. It traps dirt and grease particles for you to remove and wash away.
It’s effective as a surface cleaner.
Because there is no foam and we’re so used to cleaning products foaming, it can be hard to see where you’ve sprayed it.
KOH requires more wiping than a detergent based spray, and the microfibre cloth is really doing most of the work.
Using the cloth with water gets you almost the same result. If a surface is very dirty, you will probably need to spray it twice.
The active ingredient is less than 0.5% potassium salt, so it’s not that powerful and I would’t recommend it for most heavily soiled surfaces.
KOH does leave surfaces, especially stone, with a nice finish. Detergent based sprays leave a slight sheen behind whereas KOH leaves a very natural looking matte finish.
KOH requires more wiping than a detergent based spray, and the microfibre cloth is really doing most of the work.
Using the cloth with water gets you almost the same result. If a surface is very dirty, you will probably need to spray it twice.
The active ingredient is less than 0.5% potassium salt, so it’s not that powerful and I would’t recommend it for most heavily soiled surfaces.
KOH does leave surfaces, especially stone, with a nice finish. Detergent based sprays leave a slight sheen behind whereas KOH leaves a very natural looking matte finish.
Eco-Friendly Oven Cleaner
Ovens get very dirty and a heavy duty product is usually what’s required. Caustic oven cleaners make quite short work of even the worst ovens, but they’re not great for the environment or your health.
There are several non-toxic ways to clean an oven but all of them require a bit of hard work and the right tools.
Baking soda can be difficult to apply, messy and not always reliable.
As far as eco-friendly ways to clean an oven go, KOH is my favourite. You do need the right tools, a few applications and a fair bit of elbow grease, but it works. It’s a case of spraying it thoroughly, leaving it for as long as you can, scrubbing and scraping clean, reapplying and then scrubbing again. For heavy buildups of carbon on an oven you’ll find that your scraper blade or steel wool is doing most of the work but there is no eco-friendly product that I know of that will remove it easily. It feels good to clean an oven without having to wear gloves or worry about breathing in fumes. KOH works really well as an eco-friendly oven cleaner, as long as you have the right tools. It comes with a diamond sponge for heavy duty cleaning such as ovens. I wouldn’t use this at all. Throw it out. There are a lot of reports of it scratching and damaging glass and stainless steel. A scraper blade is a much safer alternative for stubborn buildups.
The Negatives
Glass Cleaner
As far as a glass cleaner goes, I don’t rate it very highly. It’s recommended to spray and just wipe with the provided KOH cloth until the glass comes clean. This does work eventually, but it takes quite a long time.
What does most of the work is really the microfibre cloth. It would work equally well with a small amount of water, and better with vinegar because vinegar evaporates very quickly. Vinegar is also much cheaper than KOH.
The cloth is not amazing. Because it’s a multipurpose cloth it does an okay job for both glass and surfaces, but not great. A dedicated microfibre glass cloth has a tighter weave to avoid leaving streaks and lint behind. While a microfibre cleaning cloth has dangly bits to increase the surface area and trap more dirt. So I really feel that KOH underperforms as a glass cleaner. You would get a better result and save money with a glass cloth and vinegar. Or better still a squeegee.
Time
KOH needs a bit of time to work. It needs to be sprayed and then left for about 30 seconds to work, and longer for dirty surfaces. Often you’ll need to reapply it. As a professional cleaner, working quickly is very important, and although you can spray it and do something else before wiping it, that will slow you down. It also needs a few wipes with the cloth to get rid of it. KOH behaves a bit differently to traditional cleaning products so you have to change how you clean slightly. To me it feels slower. Not hugely but when you’re cleaning professionally, every minute counts. If you’re just cleaning your own home and happy to take your time, it probably doesn’t matter.
Price
For $45 you get 4L of product, a spray bottle, 4 Microfibre Cloths and, 4 Diamond Sponges, it’s not ridiculous but it is more expensive than many alternatives The spray bottles are cheap and break easily, and you do have to use more of KOH than you would most other products. Because the solution is very dilute. I wouldn’t call it a rip-off. If you like it and price isn’t a sticking point for you, it may be worth it. In my opinion it’s not particularly worth it as an all-purpose cleaner because…
It’s not necessary
We’ve been conditioned to think that cleaning products are necessary for everyday cleaning tasks. But for most tasks they’re not. Now a new wave of cleaning products are coming through that are eco-friendly. While that’s an improvement, we’re still overdoing it.
A quality microfibre cleaning cloth and some water will suffice for most everyday cleaning tasks in your house.
Vinegar is amazingly effective for cleaning bathrooms and for anything oily or greasy like stovetops or rangehoods, a small squirt of detergent in a spray bottle of water does the job. KOH just isn’t necessary for the vast majority of cleaning tasks in your house.
Vinegar is amazingly effective for cleaning bathrooms and for anything oily or greasy like stovetops or rangehoods, a small squirt of detergent in a spray bottle of water does the job. KOH just isn’t necessary for the vast majority of cleaning tasks in your house.
Summary
KOH works as a surface cleaner, but really the cloth is doing most of the work.
It’s below average as a glass cleaner, because the cloth isn’t a tight enough weave for cleaning glass. I find KOH to be quite good as a non-toxic oven cleaner but you will need several applications and tools like a scraper blade and steel wool if your oven has buildup.
If you have allergies or very sensitive skin and even mild surfactants are too much for you, then KOH may be a great all-purpose cleaner.
I keep some on hand for cleaning ovens but that’s it. A good microfibre cloth and a bit of detergent or vinegar is my go to.
It’s below average as a glass cleaner, because the cloth isn’t a tight enough weave for cleaning glass. I find KOH to be quite good as a non-toxic oven cleaner but you will need several applications and tools like a scraper blade and steel wool if your oven has buildup.
If you have allergies or very sensitive skin and even mild surfactants are too much for you, then KOH may be a great all-purpose cleaner.
I keep some on hand for cleaning ovens but that’s it. A good microfibre cloth and a bit of detergent or vinegar is my go to.
We hope you’ve found our KOH cleaning review useful. If we’ve missed anything or you have a different opinion, let us know it the comments!
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