Fabuloso and Pine-sol are both popular go-to cleaners for removing dirt, grime, scum, limescale, and grease from hard non-porous surfaces.
With their similarities, what would make you choose one product over the other? in this article, we will be looking at Pine sol versus Fabuloso.
Fabuloso vs Pine Sol
1- Fabuloso vs Pine Sol (Range of products)
In terms of the range of products, fabuloso has a wider range of products as compared to pine sol. Fabuloso has 14 products in total, 9 regular fabuloso, 3 fabuloso complete products, and 2 types of scented disinfectant wipes.
Pine sol on the other hand has a line consisting of 4 products. The original pine sol is the only disinfectant product they have while the other 3 are multi-surface cleaners.
2- Fabuloso vs Pine Sol (What is it made of?)
Fabuloso Multi-Purpose Cleaner vs Pine-Sol Multi-Surface Cleaner
The main ingredient in most fabuloso multi-purpose cleaners is sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate, which reduces surface tension when cleaning and easily lifts dirt from surfaces. Other ingredients are Water, Fragrance, C9-11 Pareth-8, Sodium C12-15 Pareth Sulfate, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Glutaral, Citric Acid, and Colorants.
For pine sol, the main active ingredient in their range of products is glycolic acid. It enhances the effectiveness of other organic and inorganic ingredients to make an effective cleaner. The other ingredients are Water, PEG/PPG Propylheptyl Ether, C10-12 Alcohol Ethoxylates, Sodium Secondary C13-18 Alkyl Sulfonate, Xanthan Gum, Caramel, Sodium Sulfate, Methoxyacetic Acid, Formic Acid, and Fragrance.
Although both these multi-surface cleaners are marketed toward hard non-porous surfaces, you can also use them to get rid of stains and soils on your laundry. It will provide an effective clean while leaving your laundry with a sweet scent.
Fabuloso Disinfectant Wipes vs Pine-Sol Original Disinfectant Cleaner
Fabuloso has a range of disinfectant wipes that kill 99.9% of disease-causing viruses and bacteria such as coronavirus. These wipes also offer deep cleaning while also deodorizing surfaces, leaving behind a fresh lemon or lavender scent, depending on the wipe you purchased.
The active ingredient in the fabuloso disinfectant wipes is chlorine in various forms such as demethyle benzyle sodiumchloride, Octyl decyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, Dioctyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, Didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride that have antimicrobial properties that stop the growth of bacteria. They can only be used on hard non-porous surfaces.
Pine sol original multi-surface cleaner is the only disinfectant product in the pine sol line. The active ingredient in the disinfectant cleaner is glycolic acid, which is the main anti-bacterial agent used in pine sol. This product kills 99.9% of disease-causing bacteria.
It is effective at killing SARS-CoV-2, salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus, Influenza A virus on hard non-porous surfaces if used as directed.
You have to use it in its concentrated form for you to get the full disinfecting power. The product also has to be rinsed from the surface after use.
3- Fabuloso vs Pine Sol (Surfaces Cleaned)
Pine-Sol
Pine sol is marketed to be used on hard non-porous surfaces such as glass, granite, copper, finished wood, stainless steel, linoleum tiled surfaces, aluminum, and other surfaces. Pine sol can also be used to clean fabric.
Mix ¼ cup of pine sol in one gallon of water and wipe down surfaces or use this mixture to soak your fabric. For heavy soil, try rinsing off the excess dirt first then use pine sol in its concentrated form to get rid of the dirt, grime, or grease that remains.
Pine sol can also be used to deodorize your home. Mix ½ a cup of pine sol with ½ a cup of water and spray a thin layer in your home. It will leave behind a clean scent that will last.
Fabuloso
Fabuloso cleans hard non-porous surfaces such as bathrooms, floors, living spaces, kitchen areas, toilet bowls, tiled surfaces, and others. The company does not specifically mention if it should not be used on Granite countertops but frequent use may damage those surfaces.
Mix ¼ cup of fabuloso in a gallon of water and use it to mop your floors and wipe down surfaces in your home.
Unlike Pine sol, Fabuloso should not be used to clean fabrics or couches. Doing laundry with Fabuloso (once in a while) is alright but regular use will damage the fabric.
Just in case you plan to use Fabuloso on your sofas and couches, Just dilute ½ a cup of fabuloso with ½ a cup of water and spray a thin layer on the sofas and wipe them down.
If you do not plan to wash the surface of your sofa and only want to deodorize it, ensure you spray a very thin layer on the sofa and wipe it off after not more than 5 minutes to avoid damaging the fabric of your sofa.
4- Fabuloso vs Pine Sol (Scents)
The scents in fabuloso include lavender, lemon, passion of fruits, ocean paradise, citrus and fruits, tropical spring, spring in bloom, spring fresh, cool mist, sparking citrus, and floral burst. Their disinfectant wipes come in lemon and lavender scents.
Pine sol has a range of 3 scents including the original pine scent, lemon fresh, lavender clean, and sparkling wave.
Fabuloso has more scents in its range of products as compared to pine sol.
5- Fabuloso vs Pine Sol (Costs)
Pine Sol costs about 2 times Fabuloso per fluid ounce.
This means that you will need to spend more when opting for Pine-sol. If you want to go with just a cheaper cleaner, then fabuloso will be just fine for you.
Pros & cons of Fabuloso
Fabuloso has its own strengths and weaknesses.
Pros
1- Compared to pine sol, fabuloso has a wider range of scents that will cater to a wider variety of customers. If you do not like a specific scent they offer, they have others for you to try out.
2- It is a powerful cleaner. Fabuloso cuts through grease, grime, limescale, dirt, and soil easily without leaving behind any residue.
3- Fabuloso has more products in their range. Fabuloso comes in regular fabuloso for an everyday clean, fabuloso complete for a more powerful and deeper clean and disinfectant wipes which disinfect and deodorize your home.
4- Fabuloso is cheaper than Pine sol per fluid ounce.
Cons
1- The wide range of multi-surface cleaners may confuse potential customers.
2- Fabulso does not disinfect, whereas Pine sol does.
Pros & Cons of Pine Sol
Here are the positives and negatives of Pine-sol:
Pros
1- Less Overwhelming Scents: Pine sol has a range of scents that include pine, lemon, lavender and sparkling wave. Some people may find Fabuloso scents to be too strong, which makes Pine sol a better choice for them as the scents are pleasant.
The product also deodorizes your home by providing a lasting clean fragrance.
2- Pine sol offers cleaning for a wider range of surfaces. The variety of surfaces that you can use pine sol on is ceramic tiles, linoleum, glass, granite, aluminum, and copper. In fact, this cleaner can also be used on fabrics.
3- Pine sol can disinfect surfaces. It claims to kill 99.9% of germs.
Cons
1- Pine sol is relatively expensive: If you compare the price of pine sol with fabuloso, you’ll find that pine sol costs about twice per fluid ounce.
2- Fewer scents to choose from: Pine sol only offers 4 scents in their entire range. If you are a customer who prefers a wider range of scents from your products, pine sol may limit you with their smaller selection.
3- Only one disinfectant: The original pine sol multi-surface cleaner in pine scent is the only disinfectant cleaner that pine sol offers. If you purchase any of the other multi-surface cleaners, you will get the cleaning properties with none of the disinfecting properties.
This may be confusing if you are not familiar with their range of products as you may assume that all their products have disinfectant properties.
Comparison Table
| Fabuloso | Pine-sol | |
| Cost | Fabuloso is relatively affordable and costs less than Pine-sol. | Pine sol is more expensive per fluid ounce than Fabuloso. |
| Effectiveness | Fabuloso is very effective in cleaning usual surfaces. | It is very effective, especially in removing stains such as grease and limescale. Better for removing soap scum, hard water, and rust. |
| Scents | Deodorizes surfaces and has a wider selection of scents than pine sol. | It Deodorizes surfaces but has a smaller selection of scents. |
| Range of products | Range of products Fabuloso has a wider range of products as compared to pine sol. | Pine sol doesn’t offer a wide range of products, which would put off their customers. |
| Disinfecting | Cannot be used to disinfect surfaces. | Kills 99.9% of germs. |
| Fabrics & Laundry | Not recommended to be used on Fabrics and Laundry. | The manufacturer recommends using on Laundry as well as fabrics. |
Final Verdict!
If you need stronger scents and a cheaper option, you may want to consider Fabuloso but if you want a twin action of cleanig as well as disinfecting with less overwhelming scents and you don’t mind spending some extra money, you shoud consider Pine-sol.
We have also made comparisons between Fabuloso and Mr. Clean, Fabuloso and Simple Green, Fabuloso and Pinalen, and others.
