Simple Green

Simple Green is the green-jug cleaner and degreaser that ends up in the shop, the truck and under the kitchen sink, because one concentrate handles grease on tools, grime on garage floors, stains in carpet and dirt on AC coils. The All-Purpose Cleaner goes on any washable surface, it’s biodegradable, non-toxic, non-flammable and non-abrasive, and a single jug mixes up to 30 times its volume in cleaner. That’s why one jug outlasts a shelf of ready-to-use sprays.

Simple Green is made by Sunshine Makers, Inc. of Huntington Beach, California, which has been developing cleaning products since 1975. Bruce FaBrizio founded it, still owns and runs it, and started out selling it from a single van to strip tannic acid off coffee-roasting machinery. From there it went to automotive and industrial shops in 55-gallon drums, so the mild-looking green jug was cutting industrial grease long before it went under anybody’s sink. The line now runs past 50 products for home and professional use.

Mix it to the mess

The concentrate is what makes a jug last, and Simple Green prints the ratios. For heavy grease, use it full strength or cut it one to one with water. For general cleaning, go up to 1 part cleaner to 10 parts water, about an ounce to a cup. For light cleaning on walls, counters and windows, go up to 1 to 30, about an ounce to a quart. Mixing it down isn’t just thrift: on light dirt, full strength leaves a film that grabs the next round of dust, where the right dilution rinses clean.

Come spring, the general mix takes a winter of mag chloride road film off the truck’s wheel wells, the running boards and the floor mats, and the heavy mix goes after the grease under the tractor and on the parts bench. The All-Purpose Cleaner also runs in pressure washers, floor scrubbers, carpet machines and parts washers, so the same jug covers the hand job and the machine job.

Carpet, grills and AC coils

The All-Purpose Cleaner is labeled for carpet and fabric and works by hand or in a carpet machine, and it deodorizes as it cleans, so a pet spot loses its smell along with the stain. For carpet that needs a formula of its own, the Simple Green Carpet Cleaner is made for spots and traffic lanes. The BBQ and Grill Cleaner takes baked-on grease off grates and grill bodies without the harsh fumes of an oven cleaner.

Simple Green’s own method for an air conditioner’s outdoor condenser uses the All-Purpose Cleaner: power off, soak the coils 10 to 15 minutes, and hose them out from the inside, keeping water off the electrical side. A clean coil lets the unit shed heat the way it’s built to on a hot July afternoon.

Lemon Industrial Cleaner & Degreaser

For the shop floor, the equipment and the heavy greasy jobs, the Industrial Cleaner & Degreaser in lemon scent comes in 24-ounce spray bottles and gallon jugs. It does the same cleaner-and-degreaser work with a fresh lemon smell, which is welcome in a closed shop in January.

Why Simple Green

One concentrate that degreases the engine, washes the truck, cleans the carpet and runs through the pressure washer replaces a shelf of single-purpose cleaners. It’s EPA Safer Choice recognized and breaks down within six months in a typical septic system, which matters on a rural place where everything down the drain ends up in your own tank. Keep a gallon of the All-Purpose in the shop and a spray bottle in the house, and there’s not much left that needs another cleaner.

All-Purpose Cleaner at a glance

Spec	Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner
Heavy-duty mix	Full strength to 1:1
General cleaning	Up to 1:10
Light cleaning	Up to 1:30
Machines	Pressure washers, floor scrubbers, carpet cleaners and parts washers
Environmental	EPA Safer Choice recognized; breaks down within six months in a typical sewer or septic system

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Simple Green a degreaser?

Yes. The All-Purpose Cleaner is a degreaser in its own right, made to stand in for separate degreasers, detergents and laundry pre-soaks, so the jug you use on the shop floor can also go on greasy work clothes before they hit the wash. For the heaviest shop grease, use it full strength.

What is the Simple Green dilution ratio?

Full strength to 1:1 for heavy-duty grease, up to 1:10 for general cleaning and up to 1:30 for light cleaning. That’s about an ounce per cup of water for general work and an ounce per quart for light work.

Can you use Simple Green in a carpet cleaner?

Yes. The All-Purpose Cleaner is labeled for carpet and runs in a carpet-cleaning machine, and Simple Green also makes a Carpet Cleaner for spots and traffic lanes.

Is Simple Green a good engine degreaser?

Yes. On a cooled engine with the electrical parts covered, spray on the All-Purpose Cleaner or the lemon Industrial Cleaner & Degreaser, let it soak and rinse it off with a hose, and rinse bare aluminum before it dries.