The Best Low-Tox Cleaning Products in Australia, and How We Score Them

The short answer: the low-tox cleaners that score highest against our Pūrē Standard are Seed & Sprout's Lemon Myrtle Dish Soap Bar, Koala Eco's Rosalina Peppermint Hand & Surface Spray, Euclove's Foodsafe Dish Soap and Koala Eco's Laundry Wash. All of them are available Australia-wide from Pūrēly Organic. Below is how we score, our top pick for each job in the house, and where even our favourites fall short.

What makes a cleaning product low-tox?

A low-tox cleaner uses fewer, better-understood ingredients, tells you exactly what they are, and leaves out the common irritants and undisclosed extras that standard cleaners rely on. It is not the same as "non-toxic", which no cleaner can honestly promise. That is why we use the word low-tox.

In Australia, household cleaners don't have to list every ingredient on the label, so transparency is something we score rather than assume. Here's what the label is not required to tell you.

How does Pūrēly Organic score cleaning products?

Every cleaner we stock is scored out of 5 in five categories: Performance, Low-Tox and Material Safety, Sustainability, Manufacturing Transparency, and Packaging. Performance comes first, because a low-tox cleaner that doesn't do the job isn't a better choice. The scores, and the reasons behind them, are on every product page. If a product doesn't pass the Pūrē Standard, we don't stock it.

Our highest-scoring low-tox cleaners, by job

Best low-tox dish soap

Seed & Sprout Lemon Myrtle Dish Soap Bar scores 5/5 for Low-Tox, Sustainability, Transparency and Packaging. It removes the bottle entirely: a solid bar in a compostable box, made in Australia and certified palm-free by the Orangutan Alliance.

Prefer a liquid? Euclove Foodsafe Dish Soap scores 5/5 for Low-Tox, Sustainability and Transparency. It's a true coconut and olive oil soap with no preservatives, and comes in a 1L refill.

Best low-tox all-purpose spray

Koala Eco Rosalina Peppermint Hand & Surface Spray scores 5/5 for Transparency and Packaging. It has five ingredients, and every one is named on the bottle.

For refilling a bottle you already own, Murchison-Hume Australian White Grapefruit All-Purpose Refill Concentrate scores 5/5 for Sustainability and makes two full bottles.

Best low-tox kitchen cleaner

Koala Eco Multi-Purpose Kitchen Cleaner, Lemon Myrtle & Mandarin scores 5/5 for Packaging. It's food-safe, and comes as a 1L refill or a concentrate that makes three bottles.

Best low-tox glass cleaner

Murchison-Hume Fragrance Free Glass Cleaner scores 5/5 for Low-Tox and Transparency. It has two ingredients, alcohol and water, with no ammonia or dye, and a refill concentrate is available.

Best low-tox laundry liquid

Koala Eco Lemon Scented Eucalyptus & Rosemary Laundry Wash scores 5/5 for Transparency and Packaging. It names all four of its enzymes, does 100 loads, and contains no optical brighteners.

For a refill pouch, Go Nude Gentle Laundry Wash scores 5/5 for Sustainability and is a 3x concentrate.

Best low-tox wool and delicates wash

Bondi Wash Fragonia & Sandalwood Wool & Cashmere Wash scores 5/5 for Low-Tox and Transparency. It's enzyme-free, which matters for wool and silk, because enzymes break down protein fibres.

Best low-tox bathroom mould cleaner

Euclove Bathroom Mould Spray with Clove Oil scores 5/5 for Transparency. It's a bleach-free option where clove oil does the work, and it comes in a 1L refill pouch.

Best low-tox floor cleaner

Bondi Wash Sydney Peppermint & Rosemary Floor Wash scores 5/5 for Low-Tox and Transparency. One bottle does around 80 washes, and it's safe on timber.

Best low-tox toilet freshener

Bondi Wash Paperbark & Lemongrass Courtesy Drops score 5/5 for Low-Tox and Transparency. They're pure essential oils, with all 16 fragrance allergens declared.

Where do even our favourites fall short?

No cleaner gets everything right, and we would rather tell you than leave it out:

• Bondi Wash Floor Wash scores 3/5 for Packaging, because it comes in a plastic bottle.
• Go Nude Gentle Laundry Wash scores 4/5 for Transparency, because the full ingredient list isn't published.
• Koala Eco Kitchen Cleaner scores 4/5 for Transparency, because the test report behind its antibacterial claim isn't published.
• Murchison-Hume All-Purpose Refill scores 4/5 for Low-Tox, because it contains disodium EDTA.

Which low-tox cleaning products are refillable?

Of the picks above, these come with a refill or concentrate: Euclove Foodsafe Dish Soap, Euclove Bathroom Mould Spray, Koala Eco Kitchen Cleaner, Murchison-Hume Glass Cleaner, Murchison-Hume All-Purpose Refill and Go Nude Laundry Wash. You buy the bottle once, then top it up. Use the Refillable filter on any collection to see the full range.

Where can I buy low-tox cleaning products in Australia?

Every product in this guide is available online from Pūrēly Organic, shipped Australia-wide from our warehouses in Perth and Melbourne.

Not sure where to start? Our Low-Tox Home Consult goes through your home room by room and gives you a written plan, remotely anywhere in Australia or in person in Perth.