For years, I used the cheapest unscented nappy wash powder I could find - usually from the supermarket. Containing Sodium Percarbonate, these things work really well at removing the various kinds of brewing/fermentation deposits from equipment.
Then, I discovered Five Star Chemicals' PBW. It's hideously expensive, but not so bad if you buy it in the Really Big Containers and works so much better than nappy wash. A mate of mine keeps a solution in a keg/cube and reuses it again and again.
The manufacturers claim it is safe to use on soft metals, which nobody does with sodium percarbonate and aluminum - although I used to use it routinely on my kettle ensuring I was quick and gave it all a good rinse afterwards.
The thing about the supermarket nappy washes is that they contain no more than 35% sodium percarbonate - the balance is fillers, surfactants and who-knows-what-else. If you buy pure sodium percarbonate, you don't have to carry home all that extra stuff that might be good for clothes, but is irrelevant to brewers.
My last 1kg container of nappy wash was purchased from the local supermarket for $4.99 and claims to comprise 34% active ingredient. Yesterday, I purchased 1kg sodium percarbonate from a not-so-local home brew shop for $7.95. I reckon that is 1.85 times better value.
So, my new cleaning regime is to use the sodium percarbonate for general cleaning and the PBW for the occasional clean or when the former doesn't work (or on my aluminum things).
Lots and lots of rinsing goes on after this - usually more with the nappy wash to get rid of the surfactants - and then Sanitation takes place.
No rinse sanitisers all round. Usually Star San, but sometimes Iodophor. I particularly like Iodophors, because they come with a built-in indicator they are still good to use.
The decay products of all these things are essentially benign (unless you're very, very small); I've been draining mine onto a particular patch of garden for over two years and cannot see any change. Apart from the three-eyed frog of course.
