I tested out both Branch Basics Concentrate and Thieves Cleaner. I will compare them on their ingredients, cost, eco-friendly specs, and more.
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I prefer Branch Basics even though it’s about twice the cost of Thieves Cleaner because the ingredients are safer and “cleaner” based on Environmental Working Group (EWG) ratings.
It’s also more versatile and can be used in more areas around the house.
Thieves Cleaner also displays two “certifications” that are not third-party certifications, just internal judgments or claims about the product, while Branch Basics has third-party certifications.
If I needed the anti-microbial benefits of the essential oils in Thieves Cleaner I would prefer to add essential oils to Branch Basics. I will talk about that as well.
However, if you prefer the low cost and integrated antimicrobial properties of Thieves Cleaner it can also be a good biodegradable, plant and mineral-based choice for some people.
Here’s the comparison table before we get into each product in more detail:
| Branch Basics Concentrate | Thieves Cleaner | |
| Cost | These prices are from Green Design Center and other retrailers: $4.89 for 33 ounces of All Purpose dilution $11.41 for 35 ounces of Bathroom dilution (Same concentrate) Averages out to: $16.30 for 68 ounces (24 cents per ounce) | I’m going to use the “membership pricing” here + shipping from their website: General cleaning dilution $2.64 for 30 ounces Heavy Degreasing dilution $5.28 for 30 ounces Light Degreasing dilution $1.58 for 30 ounces Averages out to $9.50 for 90 ounces (11 cents per ounce) |
| Shipping | Free shipping from GDC and Amazon. | $10 shipping on their website (for one bottle), free shipping from Amazon with Amazon Prime. Overall less expensive to buy one bottle on Amazon if you are not a member of the MLM program or if you are a member it still comes to around the same price on Amazon (depending on fluctuating Amazon prices). |
| Bio-Based | 100% plant and mineral based ingredients. | 100% Plant and mineral-based ingredients. |
| Biodegradable | Yes | Yes |
| EWG Ratings | All ingredients 1 or 2 on EWG. One product has a B rating and one has a D rating on the cleaning product side. | All ingredients EWG 1 for cosmetics but three ingredients have a C rating under cleaning products for environmental and carcinogenic concerns. |
| Scent | Soapy, no fragrance | Thieves oil scent, fairly strong. |
| Uses | Kitchen, bathroom, floors, laundry, hands, body, pets, glass, dishes, stainless steel, carpet (in other words one product for everywhere). | Kitchen counters, walls, hard floors and carpets, mirrors, highchairs, appliances, and more. Not for laundry (they have a separate product for that), not for dishes, not for body. |
| Packaging | One box was the packaging and shipping box in one. The bottle of Concentrate is plastic. They sell either glass or plastic cleaning bottles. | The Thieves concentrate bottle is plastic. It came in a box with minimal packaging. |
| Certifications | Certified Made Safe EWG-Verified Cruelty-Free Verified Independently tested as a non-skin or eye irritant | They say it’s certified “Cruelty-Free” and “Non-GMO” but the logos are not official certification logos from any third-party certification body. |
Branch Basics
Ingredients:
Branch Basics Concentrate is their all-purpose cleaner and it is made from:
- Purified Water
- Decyl Glucoside – a surfactant naturally derived from coconut and/or corn, free of impurities like ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane. B rating on EWG cleaning products.
- Organic Chamomile Flower Extract – organic flower extract with Allergen (IFRA) Certifications, which certifies it is nonallergenic and is not a fragrance.
- Coco-Glucoside – a surfactant naturally derived from coconut, free of impurities like ethylene oxide and 1,4-dioxane.
- Sodium Citrate – a plant-derived, biodegradable sodium salt that acts as a water softener.
- Sodium Bicarbonate – baking soda.
- Sodium Phytate – a natural chelator used as a preservative. D rating on EWG cleaning products. While this ingredient could cause algae blooms this amount used is too low a concentration to have this effect. It’s also removed in sewage plants.
It’s 100% bio-based and biodegradable.
Sniff test:
Branch Basics Concentrate has a soapy smell, it reminds me of most natural brands of laundry soap. It does not have a fragrance component but it is not odorless.
Where you can use it:
Branch Basics Concentrate is an all-purpose cleaner that can be used in different concentrations on surfaces in the kitchen and bathroom, to wash dishes, to wash clothes, to clean carpeting, wash most types of floors, wash hands (and even as a body wash), to clean stainless steel, to clean glass and mirrors, and more.
This covers everything in the house (and if you like you can add their Oxygen Boost to laundry).
Cost:
33.8 fl oz of the concentrate is $55. $1.63 per ounce of concentrate. (Based on prices from Green Design Center).
It’s $4.89 for 33 ounces of All Purpose Cleaner (not including buying the bottle). (Based on prices from Green Design Center).
It’s $11.41 for 35 ounces of Bathroom Cleaner (not including buying the bottle). (Based on prices from Green Design Center).
- All-Purpose Bottle (1 part concentrate: 11 parts water) – Everyday cleaning including countertops, dishes, and stains.
- Bathroom Bottle (1 part concentrate: 5 parts water) – Tackles tiles, toilets, grout, sinks, and showers.
- Streak-Free Bottle (1 drop concentrate: 24 oz distilled water) – For mirrors, windows, and glass.
- Foaming Wash Bottle (1 part concentrate: 4 parts water) – For handwashing, dishes, pets, and bubble bath.
- Laundry Bottle (1 part concentrate: 2 parts water – use one tablespoon per load) – Works for standard and HE washing machines.
You can buy their plastic or glass bottles.
Effectiveness:
The all-purpose dilution is fairly light, it took a few passes to clean up sticky food residue but it’s overall a good multi-purpose cleaner.
One large drop of coconut oil, plus one large drop of castor oil, plus one capsule of vitamin E cleaned up easily with 3 sprays and just a few passes.
Minimal effect on sticker residue.
Cleaned up dried toothpaste scum easily.
The bathroom solution has more cleaning power.
Thieves Cleaner
Ingredients:
- Alkyl polyglucoside – a surfactant derived from plant starch and fatty alcohol from coconuts (EWG 1).
- Sodium methyl 2-sulfolaurate – a surfactant derived from coconut fatty acids (EWG 1 for cosmetics, EWG C rating for cleaning products due to concerns about acute aquatic toxicity and chronic aquatic toxicity.
- Disodium 2-sulfolaurate – a surfactant derived from coconut (EWG rating of 1 for cosmetics, and a C rating for cleaning products).
- Thieves oil: Natural essential oil mix of Eugenia caryophyllus (Clove) bud oil, Citrus limon (Lemon) peel oil, Cinnamomum zeylanicum (Cinnamon) bark oil, Eucalyptus radiata leaf oil, Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) leaf oil.
- Tetrasodium glutamate diacetate – a vegetable-based chelating agent (EWG 1 for cosmetics but it has a C rating by EWG for cleaning products for suspected carcinogen and other concerns here).
They say it’s plant and mineral-based and biodegradable.
Sniff test:
It certainly has a strong essential oil scent, like their Thieves oil blend, but even sniffing the concentrate was not bothersome for me so I wouldn’t say the scent is overpowering.
It does leave some of the essential oil scent lingering after cleaning though, so make sure you do well with this scent at the diluted levels needed.
Where you can use it:
You can use it on kitchen counters, walls, hard floors and carpets, mirrors, highchairs, appliances, and more.
The main appeal of the Thieves cleaner in my view and from what I’ve seen from others is that the essential oils are anti-microbial and so it is often used to clean up surface mold in the home (like on grout, around windows, etc).
To clean, use diluted Thieves Cleaner with a scrub brush.
You can see Dr. Close show his experiment with a moldy patio in Cheryl’s recorded webinar with him (I do consider this webinar series essential if you want to learn how to safely clean mold yourself).
If you have superficial mold on wood, or after you have sanded it, Cheryl Ciecko recommends scrubbing with a stiff scrub brush using Thieves cleaner only slightly diluted or undiluted to not add much water. Then dry the area well.
You can use it to clean mold in grout (more info on that here).
For carpet in a car, Cheryl Ciecko recommends using diluted Thieves cleaner to clean and scrub, then blot out moisture with towels moving on to using paper towels until no more moisture comes out.
For more information and examples of how to clean mold in a house please see this article.
Please be aware that cleaning mold requires proper personal protection equipment (PPE). This article does not cover those requirements. Please consult with an expert on those requirements.
Cost:
I’m going to use the “membership pricing” here + including shipping from their website.
General cleaning dilution $2.64 for 30 ounces
Heavy Degreasing dilution $5.28 for 30 ounces
Light Degreasing dilution $1.58 for 30 ounces
Averages out to $9.50 for 90 ounces (11 cents per ounce)
Effectiveness:
The surfactants are certainly effective at any kind of everyday cleaning that you would expect them to work well on.
There definitely is evidence that these essential oils help to “digest” mold and it has been used by many mold-sensitive folks to clean up light surface mold with success.
Can You Add Essential Oils to Branch Basics?
If you want to use the Branch Basics cleaning formula but add essential oils to make it anti-microbial and anti-fungal you can do that.
Branch Basics with added antimicrobial essential oils can act as an alternative to Thieves Oil Cleaner.
Start with 5-10 drops of one of the essential oils below and then add one drop at a time until you reach your desired scent/potency.
Thieves Cleaner Alternatives/Dupes
You could add the following essential oil blends to Branch Basics or any scent-free dish soap to make a Thieves Oil Cleaner alternative:
Germ Fighter by Plant Therapy – Cinnamon Cassia, Lemon, Eucalyptus, Clove, Rosemary. This is a well-priced non-MLM brand that is high-quality and legit (they produce GC-MS testing by several third-party laboratories).
On Guard by doTerra – Wild Orange Peel, Clove Bud, Cinnamon Leaf, Cinnamon Bark, Eucalyptus Leaf, and Rosemary Leaf/Flower.
Thieves Oil by Young Living – Clove bud oil, Lemon peel oil, Cinnamon bark oil, Eucalyptus leaf oil, Rosemary leaf oil.
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