Most of the tips here make sense. I’ll add on that hot waxing your chain if you have the option works well for where I live, and makes everyday cleanup much easier. A waxed chain picks up a lot less shit on it each ride since there’s nothing to stick to, and you just lightly spray off then dry it with a towel to keep it clean. Not for everyone and every locality though, works for me in New England.

If you want a non-hazardous (to humans) degreaser, d-limonene can be purchased food grade. It’s just orange oil, has similar properties to kerosene, but is “generally recognized as safe” by the FDA and EFSA. Commonly found in liquid hand soap.

Basically, it’s paint thinner you can drink.

It can also be used as an additive in petroleum based cleaners, in which case, definitely not a good idea to drink!

More to your question, I usually start with hot soapy water as a first pass, but it probably won’t get your chain looking like new–need the degreasers for that.