Trib Tested: Pledge Lemon Clean

The claim: Pledge Lemon Clean does a lot more than you expect. In addition to shining wood surfaces, Pledge Lemon Clean safely and easily can clean stainless steel, granite, marble, laminate and leather surfaces without leaving a waxy buildup. It dusts, shines and protects your furniture while leaving behind that fresh lemon Pledge scent -- for a noticeable clean you can smell, see and touch.

Cost: $4.49

Where: Mass-merchandise store, such as Target and Walmart

Anything that makes cleaning and dusting easier gets my vote. So I'm a big fan of Pledge Lemon Clean. Once sprayed on a dust rag, it's my quicker-picker-upper choice for those emergency situations where you need to clean multiple kinds of surfaces before guests arrive.

Most of us know Pledge for its ability to dust and bring a shine to tables, chest, bookcase shelves and wooden objects. But its no-wax ingredients make it easy to remove dust, fingerprints and light grime from almost anything. That means you need only one rag and one product to restore a room's marble hearth, ceramic lamp bases, leather ottoman, anything made from stainless steel or granite, and laminate surfaces.

In a moment of desperation, I have even used it to swipe the dust off of the television screen without causing any visible harm. The anti-dust formula holds the promise of picking up pet dander and other allergens. If only Pledge would invent a similar spray-on product that dissolves clutter.

— Alice T. Carter

The makers of new Pledge Lemon Clean say it can be used to clean anything, but it shouldn't. Despite the claim that it can clean stainless steel, glass and mirrors without leaving streaks, it does. And, sadly so.

The new formula successfully has blocked dust and dog hair from building up around the house so well that I had to dust only once in the past three weeks.

It would be my go-to cleaning product if my wife didn't notice the streaks it left behind on stainless-steel kitchen appliances, granite countertops, mirrors and even the side of a wood-laminate bookcase.

I'd use it again on bookshelves, but Pledge Lemon Clean doesn't deserve to be the only cleaner in the house.

— Adam Brandolph

I can remember dusting my parents' end tables with Lemon Pledge as a kid. I remember the wonderful fresh, clean smell; and I remember being told not to use it on anything except wood. I think it's great that the new Pledge Lemon Clean can be used on different surfaces. Thing is, though, many of the places it is suggested for use don't need dusting -- they need cleaning.

Kitchen cabinets• Appliances• These mostly vertical surfaces don't collect dust the way they might collect dirt and grease. I love the clean smell, but Pledge Lemon Clean does nothing for cleaning, so it really just adds a step.

In my house, where the end tables constantly need to have kiddie fingerprints wiped off, Pledge doesn't do the job. It did work wonders on the back of my television and collected the dust off of my stainless-steel light fixtures.

Overall, PledgeLemon Clean does its job for dusting (and smells great while doing it) but isn't likely to become a staple in my cleaning cabinet.

— Melanie Wass