Straightforward Disk Cleaning Freebie

very good
key review info
application features
  • Simple operation: read the descriptions, check the boxes you want, click preview, and click delete
  • (6 more, see all...)

There is definitely no shortage of Windows applications created especially for the purpose of cleaning the operating system of clutter and thus claim more free space.

BleachBit is also part of this category, but a tad different from the popular programs you might be accustomed to. This is mostly because of its minimalist interface, but the fact that it is straightforward, moves very fast and requires very few steps to complete the cleaning process also plays an important part.

The application is open-source, which means that it can be used freely both at home and at the office. There are two versions available: one that requires installation and a portable one that only requires unzipping and running the executable.

Looks are very far from appealing, but this is the less significant part of the program, because it is built with functionality and accuracy in mind. As such, you won’t get any bells and whistles, but instead, you will have a simple interface that shows the set of items it can clean up.

These are either names of applications it can sweep after or general system areas. For most of the entries, there are multiple elements it can clean, while in other cases, there may be only one subcategory available. With web browsers, for instance, the sub-divisions include items like cache, cookies, history, passwords or browsing session.

By default, BleachBit supports all major browsers on the market as well as a hefty set of applications more or less popular. However, the list can be increased considerably by appending a file that contains information about cleaning locations for more than 1,200 programs.

The cleaner lists only the apps that are already on the system, based on information from Windows Registry. In some cases, apps may be available in the list, although they are no longer available on the system. This can happen because of a faulty uninstall procedure.

As far as system cleaning is concerned, BleachBit can effectively get rid of temporary files, logs, clear memory dump, MUICache or information in the clipboard.

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There is also the possibility to remove prefetch data, although this is quite important for the performance of the computer since it contains information about the programs you commonly open and helps speed up the start process. Since this folder is self-maintaining, there is no need to empty it.

Despite being minimalist as far as looks are concerned, details about the locations it affects are available as each subcategory is explained as soon as you make your choice.

Also, before proceeding to action, you can preview what is about to be eliminated by hitting the “Preview” button (highly recommended). This way, you can also check the amount of space gained as a result of the operation or the number of files deleted.

Unfortunately, the application proves to be less flexible when it comes to saving an entry from being destroyed because there is no possibility to make a selection after the analysis is conducted and all entries listed have the same fate.

Some users may need to purge data in custom locations on the computer and BleachBit has this covered, allowing you to define these paths in the configuration panel, as well as create a whitelist with locations that should remain untouched during the cleaning procedure.

During our tests, BleachBit successfully managed to clean data in almost all browsers included in the evaluation (Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox and Google Chrome), but cookies still remained in IE.

The functionality of the application is not limited to cleaning files resulting from using various applications. Shredding data beyond recovery and wiping free space are also available on the list of features.

BleachBit does not come with any options for these, and uses a single overwrite for the job, with blank data. But before doing so, it renames the file with a long string and then again, with a short one, to make sure the data is not recognized. We tried to recover items deleted this way but our attempts remained unsuccessful.

If cleaning up the clutter and shredding files and folders is a pretty fast job, in the case of wiping free disk space, it may seem like the job is taking forever to complete. However, keep in mind that this also depends on the size of the target drive; a progress bar and time estimation keep track of the completion level.

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The Good

It is easy to install, while its portable version ensures you don't have to go through the installation procedure. The minimalist interface makes working with it a real breeze.

It moves fast and has support for the most popular applications on the market, but not limited to these. There is the possibility to shred both files and folders, as well as to wipe free space.

The Bad

Looks are far from impressive, but more important is the lack of flexibility when previewing the files that are about to be deleted because there is no option to exclude an entry from the list.

The Truth

BleachBit is a straightforward application that relies on strict rules during the cleaning operation and affects only locations that should be purged. But lack of flexibility in options makes it less suitable for experienced users, although they should have no problems working with it.

user interface 3
features 4
ease of use 5
pricing / value 4


final rating 4
Editor's review
very good
 
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