Are Blueland's Cleaning Products As Effective As They Are Eco-Friendly?

Blueland’s Cleaning Products Can Be Refilled To Eliminate Plastic. Will We Be Ordering Refills?

This review is not sponsored and contains the author’s personal experience. The Good Trade was gifted this product.

Cleaning calms me. I make a point of tidying my apartment every evening to ensure I start the next morning with a clear head. And working from home the last 19 months, I’ve noticed that I can only truly focus when I clear the dog-haired dust bunnies from their corners; having them in my periphery only distracts me!

I’ve swept, shampooed, and Swiffered my floors and rugs, taken soft sponges and bristled brushes to my dishes, and wiped my space’s surfaces with paper towels, upcycled T-shirts, and reusable cloths made of viscose. While my place may be left sparkling, the end result is often a lot of plastic spray bottles, capped containers, and resealable pouches. So it’s unsurprising that I was drawn to Blueland’s business model.

“The cleaning supplies company makes eco-friendly products that save space and create less waste. You buy the packaging once and refill it forever.”

The cleaning supplies company (with options to subscribe) makes eco-friendly products that save space and create less waste. You buy the packaging once and refill it forever.

Wanting to try all Blueland had to offer, I ordered the Clean Suite ($83 once, or $74 with subscription). The comprehensive collection includes the containers and dissolving tablets for Blueland’s hand soap, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, bathroom cleaner, glass and mirror cleaner, and multi-surface cleaner. I also got the Cleaning Companions, a sponges-and-cloth combo, for $14. (The brand has since launched toilet cleaning tablets, too. One of our editors has tested, and she can vouch that they are great.)

Delivery day took me right back to science class. The products arrived in a recyclable box printed with water-based inks and secured with paper-based tape. The pastel-colored containers included glass and BPA-free Tritan bottles, humidity-free steel tins, and a slip-resistant silicone shaker. The refill tablets came wrapped in compostable paper, and everything was clearly labeled and color-coordinated so as not to mix them up.

For the hand soap (nine oz.) and spray cleaners (24 oz.), you simply fill the bottles with warm or hot water, drop the tablet, wait for it to dissolve and start cleaning. (I missed the note about the water temperature and used cold; I don’t think this had any effect on the product itself, but the dissolving did happen much slower than I expected, so I get an ‘A’ for effort.) The laundry and dishwashing detergents—60 and 40 tablets, respectively—require nothing but a toss in their machines!

The dish soap, however, gave me the most pause. Having never used a powder before (this one is naturally derived and fragrance-free), I wasn’t sure what its ratio to water was in order to create a substantial amount of suds. I found that I had more luck shaking the product directly onto my dirty dishes than onto the sponge (where adding water to the powder simply turned it into a mound of paste).

“Still, as tough as Blueland’s loofah-sponge might be, it’s no match for hardened tomato sauce and the like.”

Though it’s not nearly as concentrated as liquid soap and has a bit of a learning curve, the powder did what it’s supposed to! Still, as tough as Blueland’s loofah-sponge might be, it’s no match for hardened tomato sauce and the like, so I’m glad I had a bristled dish brush on hand.

Things didn’t necessarily soar from there. The dishwashing detergent tablets sometimes left little white flecks in my cups, though I found I had more success when I put the cycle on ‘heavy’ instead of ‘normal.’ The glass cleaner sometimes left streaks on my bathroom mirror. However, I wasn’t sure if that was because I used one of my own cloths instead of Blueland’s. (Hey, the Cloud Cloth isn’t a pretty sight after a few uses, and I wasn’t sure if it could be thrown in with the laundry!)

I also didn’t love the scent of the multi-surface cleaner that purports to be lemon, and because of where your index finger naturally sits when holding a spray bottle, the caps begin to spin and loosen while in use.

“The hand soap, laundry tablets, bathroom and multi-surface cleaner all did as promised, clearing stains and grime from wherever applied.”

But the hand soap, laundry tablets, bathroom and multi-surface cleaner all did as promised, clearing stains and grime from wherever applied. And Blueland’s mission is one I can’t help but support.

Since 2019, its products have helped eliminate nearly two billion single-use plastic bottles from landfills and oceans. They’re made without parabens, ammonia, VOCs, and other toxins, and formulas are sourced from vegan, gluten-free, and soy and nut-free ingredients. (It also has all the certifications a conscious consumer could ask for: B Corp, Cradle to Cradle, Leaping Bunny, Climate Neutral, EWG Verified, and more.) Plus, with refills starting at two dollars, it’s a truly affordable essential.

But for me, the formulas need a bit of work before I can click “subscribe.”

Key Takeaways:

Blueland’s product line feels comprehensive and complete: full of essentials, no more, no less.
I love the option to subscribe to certain product sets, rather than making it a requirement.
The business model—”Buy the bottle once. Refill forever.”—is legitimately eco-friendly, having diverted 1 billion single-use plastic bottles since 2019.
The glass cleaner left streaks on my mirror and the dishwasher tablets left little dried flecks on my dishes, so the formulas might benefit from a bit of improvement.

Are Blueland’s Cleaning Products As Effective As They Are Eco-Friendly?

Blueland’s Cleaning Products Can Be Refilled To Eliminate Plastic. Will We Be Ordering Refills?

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