2023 test13 productsShop Chemicals & Lubricants
Which Degreaser Brand Wins?
A head-to-head test of 13 degreaser options with the measured results for each. See how they ranked and watch the full test video.
Ranked first
OxiClean
Price shown in test: $23
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The measured results
Every number below is read straight from the test. Scroll sideways to see all measurements. Products are listed in the order they finished.
| Product | Cloth oil-dissolving test placement | Grease-dissolving test placement | Concrete block oil-stain test placement | Mildew test | Overall average finish across all 4 categories | Overall average finish excluding the cloth category |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1OxiClean$23 | 2nd of 13 | 6th of 13 (brand name garbled/dropped in the transcript at this point; placement inferred by process of elimination since all other 12 brands are verbatim-accounted for in this ranking) | 1st, described as doing the best in the lineup | outperformed Simple Green Pro HD and Simple Green Aircraft in direct pairwise comparison; not given a numeric rating | 1st place, average finish of 3.25 | not tested |
| 2Zep$12 | 1st of 13 | 5th of 13 | not in the top 5 named finishers | rating of 1.5, tied with Oil Eater | 2nd place | not tested |
| 3Super Clean$6 | 7th of 13 | 1st of 13 | not in the top 5 named finishers | rating of 1, tied with Spitfire, the best rating given | 3rd place | 1st place, average finish of 2.67 |
| 4Spitfire$17 | 8th of 13 | 4th of 13 | 4th | rating of 1, tied with Super Clean, the best rating given | not tested | 2nd place, average score of 3 |
| 5Oil Eater$14 | 6th of 13 | 2nd of 13 | not in the top 5 named finishers | rating of 1.5, tied with Zep | not tested | 3rd place, average score of 3.33 |
| 6Simple Green Aircraft Extreme Simple Green Aircraft Cleaner$22 | 5th of 13 | 12th of 13 | 2nd | outperformed by OxiClean in direct pairwise comparison | not tested | not tested |
| 7LA's Totally Awesome$20 | 9th of 13 | 3rd of 13 | 5th | outperformed Goof Off and Simple Green Pro HD in direct pairwise comparison | not tested | not tested |
| 8Purple Power$7 | 10th of 13 | 11th of 13 | 3rd | about the same as Krud Kutter, outperformed by Super Clean | not tested | not tested |
| 9WD-40 WD-40 Specialist grease remover$14 | 4th of 13 | 9th of 13 | not in the top 5 named finishers | performed slightly worse than Spitfire in direct pairwise comparison | not tested | not tested |
| 10Simple Green Simple Green Pro HD$22 | 3rd of 13 | 8th of 13 | not in the top 5 named finishers | outperformed by LA's Totally Awesome and by OxiClean in direct pairwise comparisons | not tested | not tested |
| 11Krud Kutter$9 | 11th of 13 | 7th of 13 | not in the top 5 named finishers | about the same as Purple Power, outperformed by Zep | not tested | not tested |
| 12Dawn Dawn Ultra Platinum dish soap$6 for 32.7 oz | 12th of 13 | 10th of 13 | not in the top 5 named finishers, described as very little oil washing off the blocks | outperformed by Super Clean in direct pairwise comparison | not tested | not tested |
| 13Goof Off$18 | 13th of 13, last place | 13th of 13, last place | not in the top 5 named finishers | outperformed by Spitfire and LA's Totally Awesome in direct pairwise comparison | not tested | not tested |
How it was tested
- diesel-oil-soaked cloth dissolving test: cloths cut into quarters, saturated with drained diesel engine oil, each product mixed per its own label instructions, shaken and soaked, rinsed, dried overnight, then ranked worst-to-first by the narrator and friends
- grease-dissolving test: a small amount of grease placed in each product for 24 hours, then judged and ranked worst-to-first
- concrete block oil-stain removal test: concrete blocks soaked in motor oil for 24 hours, drained 24 hours, coated with each degreaser, pressure washed with a driveway cleaner attachment, dried, and the top 5 finishers ranked
- mildew removal test on siding: each product sprayed on mildew-covered siding, left to work about 10 minutes, then rinsed with a single pass of an 1,800 PSI pressure washer at an 18-in standoff, judged via direct pairwise comparisons with a 1 to 1.5 subjective rating scale for the top performers
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