All Purpose Cleaner vs Simple Green

[Cwilliams]

Changed my oil and fuel filter on my Cummins today, on the frame I got a little bit of oil and diesel on it. I have a bottle of simple green and a lot of all purpose clean. How would y'all compare the two?

[chops1sc]

I have both but I have never compared them. I can say I don't use Adam's APC on my toughest greased messes like lawnmower care and oil changes. I guess I just want to save Adam's for my detailing activities, lol!

[Ricky Bobby]

Spray them both and find out. I think apc is stronger than Simple Green to be honest.

 

I do still use Simple Green to power wash my house though because it's cheap lol

[James__]

^^same. I use APC when detailing and doing some cleaning where I won't be using a ton of product. When really soaking something, like the underside of my truck when doing an oil change that gets messy, I use simple green because I know it's environmentally friendly and I'm not wasting a ton of good product.

[Audog]

Thanks to mystery boxes, I have plenty of APC and do use it on things like lawn mower. I like it better than Simple Green which I use on things like lawn furniture.

[Odds and Ends]

When I first became an Adam's dealer, I thought APC would be something that I wouldn't use a lot of, sell much of, or be concerned about recommending it.  Quite the contrary.....I use a ton of it in my shop, always recommend it and it is a good seller on my retail side.  

 

I have no scientific evidence to back this up, but I would guesstimate that it compares more to the purple version....I think it was Simple Green HD?  Do they even still make that?  It's been that long since I've bought another degreaser!  I use Purple Power for mopping my shop floor but I have used APC in an emergency.  It's a great product and if you spray it on an oily mess of an undercarriage, it will break it down pretty good.  It is, however, no substitute for brake cleaner or Gunk engine degreaser, but now we're talking slightly different categories of cleaners.

 

- Darryl

[pirahnah3]

The one thing I will say for Simple Green is that it is bio degradable which is always great working outside. 

[Audog]

The one thing I will say for Simple Green is that it is bio degradable which is always great working outside.

 

Is APC bio degradable, I don't think I have ever seen it mentioned.

[jeffo65]

I have both as well and stay away from using APC.  There must be something in the APC that causes an allergy attack for me because everytime that I have used it, my eyes burn and turn red.  This does not happen when using Simple Green.  So APC has been mainly used by my wife now and I use the Simple Green.

 

I don't see a difference in their cleaning abilities.

[chops1sc]

Dang, that sucks! I do get some lung irritation if I breathe in some of my stronger degreaser. Happens mostly on windy days while cleaning my tires, lol!

[Ricky Bobby]

I have both as well and stay away from using APC.  There must be something in the APC that causes an allergy attack for me because everytime that I have used it, my eyes burn and turn red.  This does not happen when using Simple Green.  So APC has been mainly used by my wife now and I use the Simple Green.

 

I don't see a difference in their cleaning abilities.

 

Simple Green MSDS shows Ethoxylated Alcohol and Sodium Citrate as the main cleaning agents - IIRC when Adam posted the MSDS a couple years ago for APC, it was Glycol Ether DB, Triethanolamine, and Sodium Metasilicate - you probably have an allergy to one of those 3 ingredients -

[stripesace]

 

 

[TheWolf]

Simple Green is a moderate cleaner at standard dilutions but not a heavy degreaser even at a 1:1 dilution. Since the pH is only 8.5-9.5 in the concentrate form, and then less than that using standard dilutions of 10:1 to 30:1, it will clean some oil and grease but may not get all of it.

All Purpose Cleaner is a professional strength degreaser, with a pH of about 12.

Keep in mind that any moderate-to-high pH cleaner can damage raw aluminum. This is typically only a concern with raw, polished aluminum. Cast aluminum on a engine block is not a big concern, but polished aluminum valve covers would be a concern, as would raw, polished aluminum wheels. For any surface, aluminum or painted, do not let the cleaner sit more than 5 minutes, do not allow to dry, and rinse thoroughly.

Factory aluminum wheels are clear-coated, so there is not an issue using All Purpose Cleaner on them.

Also, the All Purpose Cleaner can be diluted with distilled water to make a gentler cleaner, and also to reduce the cost-per-ounce for use with lighter levels of cleaning, where you don't need the full-strength cleaning power.

Some dilutions used with All Purpose Cleaner:
8:1 - delicate aluminum wheels or trim
4:1 - bug or tar pre-treatment, door sills, kick panels
1:1 - coated/painted wheels

For each of these dilutions, the bigger number is the ounces of distilled water, and the smaller number is the ounces of All Purpose Cleaner. These dilution ratios do not need to be exact. For example, the fist dilution is often just 2 ounces of APC in a standard 16ox spray bottle, then fill teh rest of the bottle with distilled water. That ratio is technically 7:1 (14oz of water and 2oz of APC), but it is close enough. Always mix product dilutions with distilled water, as regular tap or well water can have minerals or other stuff in it that negatively affects the product.

Lastly, never allow any cleaner to get on any hot surface, never use in the sun, and never allow to dry on any paint or clear coat, even the painted parts in the engine bay. This is important for engine cleaning, that you don't just spray the cleaner all over the engine and also get it all over the outside of the vehicle (fenders, bumper, hood, etc). If you get overspray outside the engine bay, rinse immediately, and then remember to re-apply sealant or wax to the paint, since the cleaner will strip these off.


 

[pirahnah3]

Now thats a description of a product. wow. 

[James__]

I absolutely never would have thought that there was that much info on the APC... All I knew was 'it works'.