Most of a cleaning spray is water. A typical ready-to-use bottle is around 90% water, a small percentage of active cleaning agents, and a plastic bottle. When you buy refillable tablets instead, you are buying the part that cleans and adding the water yourself.
How to read a cleaning label
Ingredients are listed roughly by amount. Water is almost always first. After that you will see surfactants that lift dirt, a solvent or two, sometimes a fragrance, and a preservative. "Non-toxic" is not a regulated term, so look at the actual ingredient list and any third-party certifications rather than the word on the front.
What you are really paying to ship
When a bottle is mostly water, shipping it means trucking water across the country and selling you another plastic shell. Concentrated tablets remove both. You keep your bottle, add tap water, and skip the weight. It is cheaper per clean and lighter on the planet.
Choosing better cleaners
Pick formulas matched to the surface, prefer refillable or concentrated formats to cut plastic, and keep the routine simple so you actually stick with it. A tab that makes up to 32oz for $6.99 covers most household jobs without a cabinet full of half-used bottles.
See how the refill model compares on our sustainability page, or shop the tabs.