One Cleaner for the Whole House

What I use

Branch Basics for everything — surfaces, floors, laundry — and a non-toxic dish soap.

Why one product rather than eight

The number of products is itself part of the exposure, and that is the part people skip past on the way to arguing about ingredients.

A cabinet of eight specialised cleaners is eight ingredient lists, eight fragrance formulations, and eight aerosols going into a small room with the door shut. Collapsing that to one concentrate I have actually read is a reduction in surface area before it is a reduction in chemistry. It is also the only version of this I can sustain — I am not going to keep track of eight labels, and pretending otherwise is how good intentions turn back into whatever was on sale.

What it does not cover

Disinfecting is a different job with different requirements, and a general cleaner is not a disinfectant. I would rather be clear about that than imply one bottle solves every case.