No, Saint Olio Nº 2 Isn’t a Perfume. It’s a Cleaner That Smells Like One

This is Highly Recommend, a column dedicated to what people in the food industry are obsessed with eating, drinking, and buying right now. In this case, an all-purpose cleaner.

If my apartment had its own signature fragrance, it would be Saint Olio Nº 2. No, that’s not the name of a perfume—it’s an all-purpose cleaner that smells so good I could use it as a scent. I love hosting people, whether for dinner or overnight stays by out-of-town friends, and this cleaner is the aroma that welcomes people in. I first discovered the product when I stepped inside a friend’s apartment and immediately asked, “What candle are you burning? It smells so good.” I was shocked to find out that it wasn’t a candle at all—she had just wiped down her surfaces with Saint Olio’s Nº 2 Neroli Aromatic Cleaner.

This product actually makes me excited to clean my apartment. Constant hosting requires constant cleaning, which means I’ve gone through many an all-purpose cleaner over the years. I want a cleaner that’s gentle on the skin and has an uplifting scent. My personal favorite of Saint Olio’s cleaners, Nº 2, is a mélange of geranium, rose, and orange blossom. But you really can’t go wrong with any of their other original scents: Nº1 Citron with uplifting scents of grapefruit and lemongrass or Nº3 Sitka that combines spruce, juniper, bergamot, and orange.

I must admit—I was initially skeptical of how well a natural cleaner with such an elegant smell could really clean surfaces. I work in a professional kitchen, and to my surprise, Saint Olio’s cleaners are just as effective as the high-power, commercial cleaning chemicals I use to scrub down the stainless steel countertops. After deep-cleaning the lowboy refrigerators with a red sanitizing bucket and abrasive green scrubber at work, Saint Olio’s cleaners are exactly what I want to reach for when it’s time to clean my own apartment kitchen. It gets the job done in the hardest-to-clean places, like my wooden dining table after a big baking project, and my tiny oven, just barely big enough to fit a half-sheet tray. It doesn’t hurt that Saint Olio’s products make the otherwise dreadful cleaning process that much more enjoyable.

My friends affectionately called my last apartment “the hotel” for how frequently it was the place for out-of-towners to stay over. I’ve now moved to a new apartment on the other side of the city, but no matter where I live or who I host, Saint Olio still gives my place that soothing, staycation-like scent and cleanliness.