Testing some new products from the E-Cloth range.

I am a big fan of e-cloth. I love their range of environmentally friendly cleaning cloths and products for the home and for personal use (the hair turban is still one of my favourite beauty must-haves!)

I have been trying out two new products in the range, the Kitchen Whizz and the Natural Mineral All Purpose Cleaner.

The Kitchen Whizz is a handy little pad made with long fibres and scrubbing stripes that is ideal for a quick clean in and around the kitchen sink, taps, draining board and work surfaces. You simply dampen it, wring it out and then give it a whizz around the surface that needs to be cleaned. Like other products in the range, you don't need any harsh chemical products as the fibres pick up dirt and residue and remove 99% of bacteria using just water. It can be machine washed to keep it hygienically clean and is guaranteed for three years.

The Kitchen Whizz resembles a scouring pad but it much softer and nicer to use. It really does a good job of cleaning, and gets into hard to reach areas. I love how it brings stainless steel up to a lovely shine. It was also great for whizzing over the hob, bringing it up clean and shiny.

At just £2.99 it is a real bargain.

Sometimes, you get a tough stain that nothing seems to shift. I sometimes find such marks on my work surface made by a rusty can that has been put down for recycling or a glass ring stained with red wine. There are also sometimes hard to shift stains on PVC door or window surrounds or water marks in the enamel sinks. When you need a little extra cleaning power, the new Plus by e-cloth Natural Mineral All Purpose Cleaner is a natural and bio-degradable product with the power to remove grease, stains and stubborn dirt with ease.

The tub of cleaner comes with a sponge and a red general purpose e-cloth to make cleaning up really simple and effective. You simply clean with the damp sponge, making a foam with the paste and rubbing in a circular motion, wipe away the residue and then buff dry with the cloth to get a sparkling finish. The cloth also removes over 99% of bacteria.

The product dissolves and lifts away stubborn stains brilliantly and impressively. It's great on stainless steel, enamel, ovens, pots and pans, showers, bathrooms, BBQ's, garden furniture, cars, caravans, trainers, plastic...in fact it'll tackle loads of household cleaning jobs.

The paste cleaner lifted some really stubborn stains from my outdoor PVC window sills. Ian had tried to use a spray cleaner before with no effect, but the paste and cloth worked a treat. I powered through the water marks and limescale build up around the sink and on the shower screen and tray and even shifted some pen from a doll's face. This cleaner really works.

At £9.99 for the 300g tub of cleaner, the 32cm x 32 cm general purpose e-cloth and the sponge, it is a great value buy, which will last for ages and make your chemical kitchen cleaners redundant!

Both products along with the full range of excellent e-cloth products can be found at
www.e-cloth.com where postage and packing is free on UK orders over £10.

We're Ready for our #ChristmasClean with Astonish

Throughout Christmas, my grown-up children and their plus ones, my grandson and my parents will all be visiting to enjoy some festive family fun.  Before they arrive, I will do my best to get the house sparkling clean and looking its best.  From scrubbing the sinks to cleaning the floor, I want things to look spotless and inviting for my visitors.

Thankfully, Astonish have sent me a selection of their products to help me get my house as gleaming as the star on top of my Christmas tree! 

I am a big fan of the Great British brand that is Astonish, in particular the Oven and Cookware Cleaner.  Not only does it do a great job on oven doors, shelves and hobs, it is also amazing at getting rid of water marks in the sink, stains from my worktop and felt tip marks from my table. It cleans deeply, lifting away stains gently but efficiently.  It's my must-have cleaning product that I use for all tough jobs in the home.

The Bathroom and the Anti-Bacterial Cleansers are good all round products.  The Bathroom Cleanser removes grease and soap scum and cleans to a shine.  It's great for tiled surfaces, baths and taps. The Anti-Bacterial Cleanser cleans and protects, killing 99.9% of germs.  It helps keeps surfaces clean and safe. The Floor Cleaner is great for tiled floors and we use it on our laminate too.  It has a no rinse formula and a nice, light fragrance.

The Cranberry and Cinnamon Handwash is absolutely wonderful.  It literally smells of Christmas!  It is lovely to have in our downstairs bathroom for all our Christmas visitors to use.  So many people have remarked on how lovely it is already.

Not only are the Astonish products great quality and effective, they are also cruelty free, approved by both the Vegetarian and Vegan Societies.  This means my conscience can be as clean as my house when using them.  I love that the range doesn't rely on harsh chemicals, instead, where possible, using ingredients that are less harmful to ourselves and to the environment.

Another brilliant fact about Astonish is the price...just £1 RRP. That is great value for such good products.

Find out more about Astonish and prepare  for your own Christmas clean: www.astonishcleaners.com

Greener Cleaning with Method

Cleaning is not a glamorous job, but it is an essential part of everyday life.  Although not an exciting chore, it can be made so much more pleasant by choosing the right products.  Products that work for you and for the planet, which are non-toxic, safe and environmentally friendly.  Products that smell delicious and which are packaged in beautifully designed bottles.  Products that are efficient, effective and which fight dirty!  Products that help you to clean happy!

method products fit the bill!

Harnessing Powergreen Technology, using plant-based solvents and surfactants which tackle tough soils, each product is specifically designed to deliver a mighty cleaning punch.  They are bio-degradable and non-toxic and leave behind no nasty residue.  This makes method super safe in households, especially important where there are young children present.

I was sent some method products to try out. At first glance you can see these products are different.  They look gorgeous, colourful and modern.  You won't want to hide them away under the sink that's for sure!  As soon as you open the bottles to use them, the natural fragrances come flooding through.  Using them shows that they are efficient and effective.  Knowing that they are safe and non-toxic is a real added bonus. Green cleaning has never been so attractive.

method Ultra Concentrated Washing Up Liquid - Cucumber
The crisp, cool and refreshing fragrance of cucumber with a hint of citrus is the perfect scent for a summer's day as you wash up after a barbecue!  The pump action dispenser makes it easy to squirt out the exact dose onto a sponge or into the sink, mess free!  I love the tapered bottle showing the crystal clear green liquid inside.  The washing-up liquid tackles greasy dishes in a natural way and is kind to your hands, especially important to me as I get dermatitis from using harsh chemicals.  I absolutely love the scent of this product, it's so unlike the harsh chemical, lemony fragrances of some of the market leaders.  It bubbled up brilliantly well on my sponge and did a great job.  (Approx £3)

method Daily Kitchen Cleaner - Clementine
The citrus fresh, clementine scent is a delight to your senses from the very first squirt.  It's bright and cheery and makes cleaning the surfaces a far more joyous experience.  I love its orangey smell and the way it cuts through the greasy spills.  Knowing it leaves nothing toxic behind is reassuring when preparing food for the family. (Approx £3)

method Gel Hand Wash - Sweet Water
Naturally derived, paraben free and heavenly scented with the fragrance of grapefruit, lemon leaves, jasmine and lily of the valley, this hand wash comes in a gorgeous teardrop shaped bottle with a pump dispenser. It looks so attractive in the bathroom!  The kids absolutely love this and are washing their hands more often than usual just to get a dose of this gorgeous smelling hand wash! (Approx £2.49)

So now I can clean happy and join in the fight against dirty with method!

method's range includes surface cleaners, washing-up liquids, bathroom products, laundry products, handwashes and some specialty products all designed to do their job brilliantly and naturally.

You can find method products at Waitrose, Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Ocado, John Lewis, Homebase, B&Q, Co-op, Booths, Superdrug, Amazon and independent stores.

Join in the method revolution for people against dirty:

 facebook.com/methoduk 

@methodUK

 www.methodproducts.co.uk

Ecover Adds To Award-Winning Range

Ecover is a favourite cleaning brand in our home with its plant-based products which make sustainable living easier and more convenient.  They tackle tough jobs by the power of green cleaning!

They have added three new products to their range: Non-Bio Laundry Gel, Multi-Action Wipes and their revamped Oven and Hob Cleaner.  They also have a Festive Cookie limited edition Washing Up Liquid.  I was sent all four to try out!

Ecover Non-Bio Laundry Gel is made from plant-based and mineral ingredients without the nasties found in conventional laundry products.  I really liked the easy to open bottle with its leak-free cap to avoid spills.  It is accredited by the Good Housekeeping Institute which inspires confidence!  It is designed to be tough on stains with its cleaning power.  The gel has a nice consistency and definitely did a good job even in  my favourite low temperature quick wash setting.  It comes in bottles containing 18 or 28 washes, helping to make your laundry greener! (Expected price £4.99 for 630ml.)

The Oven and Hob Cleaner is a powerful cleaner that doesn't use the harsh chemicals found in other similar products.  It comes in a handy trigger top bottle which is recyclable.  It cuts through grease and smells really nice!  You can use it on any cookware too to help shift baked on stains.  It is also good for cleaning BBQs (not that we are having BBQ weather at the moment!!) (Expected price £3.79 for 500ml.)

The Multi-Action Wipes are bio-degradable, anti-bacterial, multi-purpose wipes with a Pomegranate and Lime fragrance.  They are a convenient way for tackling little cleaning jobs.  Although wipes are generally not the most environmentally friendly product on the market, there is no denying that they can be very handy at times, and these ones benefit from their all-important eco-credentials. (Expected price £2.19 for 40 wipes.)

The new products are available online at Ecover Direct or from major supermarkets.

The  Festive Washing Up Liquid is definitely going to make my Christmas dishes more enjoyable to wash because it smells good enough to eat.  The cinnamon, cranberry and gingerbread scented liquid conjures up the deliciousness of Festive Cookies.  The Ecover washing-up liquid does not foam up unnecessarily as it is foam-booster free but that doesn't mean its cleaning power is reduced.  It will available at Ecover Direct and Ocado in a 500ml bottle, which is totally bio-degradable, priced at £1.85.  It'll definitely add some winter warmth to the festive period!

EcoForce Review and Giveaway

Green Cleaning

EcoForce is range of practical and effective household products made from recycled materials, that are greener, more eco-friendly and more sustainable than any other alternatives on the market.

The range includes recycled sponges, scourers, cloths and dusters for all green cleaning requirements, recycled pegs,  pegbasket and clothes line for eco-friendly laundry drying and recycled food bag grips for storing left overs.  EcoForce's award winning products do not  compromise on quality or price and offer an ethical choice when it comes to buying household goods.   All products are made from at least 90% recycled  waste here in the UK.  We all need to clean so why not do it the green way and use recycled products that are just as good, if not better, than counterparts made from virgin materials yet don't harm the environment!

There's also Dishmatic - a clever little device that comprises a hollow handle and sponge scourer head.  Simply fill the handle with washing up  liquid and it dispenses as you clean.   Dishmatic is made from recycled components and helps reduce dishwasher usage.  It's great for cleaning pots and pans, and washing up a few things when you don't want to use the dishwasher. At only £1.33 Dishmatic is good value and lasts for years. When the head is worn down simply replace with a new one.

EcoForce and Dishmatic are widely available in most supermarkets as well as Oxfam, Homebase, B & Q and on line.

Review

I was sent a selection of the EcoForce and Dishmatic products to try out.

The range is really extensive and it is great to see so many environmentally friendly products made using recycled materials.  The Pegs are made from 93% recycled plastic and are moulded in one piece.  They are hurricane safe and very tough and come in a useful peg basket!  The Recycled Washing Line can be used to air dry your laundry.  It is the greenest way to dry your clothes, using no electricity and it costs nothing!  (All you need is some good weather!)

The Bag Grips are brilliant for keeping food fresh.  Made from 93% recycled plastic they are strong, freezer safe and washable.  They are really useful for bagging up left over food ensuring no waste!


The Dishmatic is a really novel washing up tool that means your Dishwasher may become redundant.  You simply fill up the handle with washing-up liquid and use it to clean pans and dishes.  Interchangeable heads can be used for heavy duty cleaning jobs.  It is easy to use, efficient and makes short work of the dishes.  

The other scourers, sponges, cloths and dusters are all made using recycled materials.  Each product is made to be perfect for its task and work really well.  There is no compromising on quality just because they are made from recycled products, so you can have a clean house...and a clean conscience!

Giveaway

EcoForce and Dishmatic have kindly agreed to provide an amazing green cleaning hamper for one of my readers to win, worth £50!


It includes:

EcoForce peg basket and clothes line

EcoForce sponges, scourers, duster, cloths

EcoForce pegs

EcoForce Food Bag Grips

Dishmatic original and refills

Dishmatic Steel Scourer and refills

Simply enter by leaving a comment below and filling in the Rafflecopter entry form to say you've done so.  Additional entries can be made giving a maximum of ten chances to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
ThePrizeFinder - UK Competitions
Loquax Competitions

My Green Clean Challenge Round Up

I Went Green With E-Cloth...And I'm Impressed!

Throughout the month of June I have gone greener than I've ever gone before!  Thanks to the lovely people at e-cloth, who provided me with a selection of their cloths and natural cleaning products, I have not had to use any nasty household chemicals in my home at all!  I am so surprised at how easy it has been to say bye-bye to bleach and ta-ta to toilet cleaners.  E-cloth unleashes the ionic cleaning power of water which is perfect for lots of household tasks.  The concentration of special fibres make the cloths able to pick up and hold grease and grime more effectively than other cloths. 480,000 fibres per square cm provide a huge surface area of cleaning edges, picking up germs as well as visible dirt.  Other jobs can be taken over by using environmentally friendly alternatives, whether that is a purpose made cleaner or by using salt, vinegar, bicarbonate of soda or lemon juice.  I've learned tricks and tips to save time, money and the planet.  I have revolutionized my housework!!

One of the most impressive cleaners that I discovered over the four weeks is vinegar.  It has disinfectant and deodorizing properties so is useful for drains and toilets when used neat.  In a solution, it makes an excellent spray cleaner for most surfaces, windows, mirrors, taps and sinks.  It is as good as anything I've ever used before, and that includes the top brand sprays that claim to clean everything in a single spray.  The best bit though is just how cheap it is.  Economy Malt Vinegar works just as well as the more expensive vinegars and  it costs pennies.  The smell disappears as soon as it is dry.  Using it with the e-cloth makes surfaces smear-free clean with ease.  I can't recommend the General Purpose e-Cloth and the Glass Polishing e-cloth enough when used in conjunction with a light spray of vinegar solution for surfaces and windows.


Oven Cleaning is a horrible job but using the Hob and Oven Pack and a bicarbonate of soda and vinegar paste certainly did the trick.  I found it actually worked better than a top brand chemical oven foam cleaner that I had previously used.  Not only was the end result better, the green way also did not smell for hours or destroy the skin on my hands.  In fact, when my son Joe and his girlfriend Jade moved house last weekend, I used my new found green oven cleaning technique to get their oven clean.  I used environmentally friendly Astonish and the oven cloth to scrub the oven after scraping off the layer of grease with a plastic pan scraper.  Jade had actually bought an expensive chemical oven cleaning kit, but it went unused...I am that much of a convert to going green!  Glass doors on ovens and microwaves polish up a treat with the glass cloth.

Laundry products have been replaced by environmentally friendly versions that are readily available and similarly priced to top selling brands.  They are just as good yet kinder to the planet.  Vinegar can even be used as a fabric softener, although I didn't try this myself.


We have laminate and stone tiled floors in our downstairs rooms.  The e-cloth Deep Clean Mop is excellent for both surfaces using just water.  The large mop head is very absorbent and works quickly and easily to clean hard surfaces.  It breaks down, picks up and holds the dirt and grease which can then be rinsed away. It worked really efficiently and the telescopic handle made it height adjustable to avoid back breaking mopping issues!

Washing-up is so easy with the Washing-Up Pad which at £2.99 is a real must have.  It is big, thick and has two different textured sides to tackle both grease and dried on food.  It is very robust and after a few weeks shows no sign of deterioration at all.  For lightly soiled washing-up I use just water and the pad.  For greasy dishes I do like to use a squirt of environmentally friendly washing-up liquid.  A dash of lemon juice or a sprinkle of salt in hot water can also be used to assist in washing-up the green way.  The E-Towel is a drying up phenomena, drying four times better than ordinary cotton.  I love how efficient it is to use, no more smearing damp cloths over my plates!  And glassware comes up streak free and sparkling.  It is an excellent addition to my kitchen.

Overall, going green was not difficult at all.  In fact some jobs were much easier and quicker thanks to the brilliant e-cloth products that are designed for specific cleaning jobs.  I loved the fact that all my cleaning jobs were safer for my household and the planet.  The money saving aspect of not buying in chemical cleaners was a real eye opener.  Every year over £100 is spent per household.  Investing in a selection of e-cloths will prove cost effective over time.  E-cloths outperform and outlast ordinary cloths.


E-Cloths can be kept clean by regular rinsing, but can be washed in a washing machine with a little detergent according to individual washing instructions.  This maintains their performance at its best.  They can be washed 300 times without losing their effectiveness!


Taking the green plunge really is a win-win situation.  Your family is protected from the chemical residues from cleaning products that can trigger asthma, allergies and skin problems.  The planet is saved from the disposal of harmful chemicals.  Not using impregnated wipes and cutting down on shop bought bottled cleaning products reduces the impact on landfill sites.  Money is saved in the long run by using just water to clean.  Your house will be hygienically clean and many tasks will be made quicker and easier.


Whether you want to make one small difference or whether you want to go completely green,  every step you take has benefits that positively impact both personally and globally.  Take a look at the e-cloth website to peruse the purpose designed cloths, mops and pads.  You will also find more information on how e-cloths work and advice on their care and use.  Delivery is free on orders over £10.

www.e-cloth.com

E-Cloth Green Clean Challenge Part 4

Ever since starting the E-Cloth Green Clean Challenge, my eyes have been opened to the benefits of ditching chemical cleaners in favour of natural alternatives or simply using e-cloth products with water to tackle household cleaning jobs.  It is amazing how good a job you can do without having to resort to using products that can damage the environment and cause potential harm.  Plus you can save money.  Going green with your cleaning really is a good choice to make.

By using the e-cloth range I've got sparkling stainless steel and glass in my kitchen.  My work surfaces are hygienically clean.  My bathroom mirrors are shiny and my sinks and taps are looking good.  My laminate and tiled floors are being kept clean with the e-cloth mop.  It's all very quick, easy and effective!

This week I'm focusing on washing up.  We used to have a dish washer but decided that after our two eldest  kids left home, that we should go back to washing up by hand as we were creating far less dirty plates etc.  I believe that our decision has reduced our water and electricity consumption, plus we no longer need to buy expensive dishwasher products.  Could we go any greener?

E-Cloth has a Washing Up Pad which is a good sized pad with a cloth side and a scouring side.  The scouring side is for scrubbing off stuck-on food and stains, while the cloth side cuts through grease and grime using just water.  They also have an E-Towel for super fast, streak free drying up.

We have been using the Washing Up Pad to tackle our washing up.  For lightly soiled crockery or glassware, it works brilliantly with water alone.  When washing up greasy pans it worked really well with a squirt of environmentally friendly washing-up liquid.  I must admit that having the lemon scented  bubbles made it feel more satisfying, because that is what I'm used to.

Washing Up

The abrasive side was really good for scrubbing away burned on food and stuck on stains.  It was excellent on my husband's stained coffee mug!  The size of the pad is excellent for making short work of washing up and it feels very sturdy in your hand.  I hate scouring sponges where the abrasive section peels away or disintegrates with use.  The pad is still perfectly intact.

Using just hot water and the pad for much of our washing up is working really well and has made our bottle of environmentally washing up liquid, which we use for greasy plates and pans etc,  last much longer.  This is very cost effective.

The E-Towel is a tea towel that is made with a material with super absorbent fibres that is four times more absorbent and effective than regular cotton drying up towels.   It came in a Country Classic design and was 70 x 40 cm in size.  I didn't really appreciate just how poorly cotton tea towels perform until using this!  Just one wipe leaves things dry, streak free and grease free.  It is exceptionally good on glassware.  I hate it when glasses get smears and white residue on them from being washed up.  The e-towel literally left them crystal clear, completely dry and sparkling with one quick wipe!

Drying Up

The packaging says you will never use an ordinary tea-towel again.  I can see why!  It also wipes down surfaces to a dry, streak-free finish with a single, once over!  It is definitely a very effective cloth!  Ian was really impressed with the e-towel as it cut the drying up time down considerably and left everything completely dry ready for putting away in the cupboard.

The Washing Up Pad is £2.99 and the Country Classic Tea Towel is £4.99.  A small price to pay to revolutionize the way you wash up!

Find out more at e-cloth.com

E-cloth Green Clean Challenge Part 2

The Power of Water and Vinegar For Cleaning

For the last week I've been switching my usual washing and cleaning products for a natural, environmentally friendly approach.  With support from e-cloth, I have discovered that you don't need to spend a fortune on harsh chemical cleaners to do a good job when it comes to housework.  In fact water alone is an excellent cleaner when used in conjunction with an e-cloth product.  There are also plenty of natural plant based cleaners, laundry detergents and washing up liquids available on the market, however using some simple everyday products such as lemon juice, vinegar and Bicarbonate of Soda can produce excellent results for a fraction of the cost.

E-Cloths are specially designed to use the power of water to clean  your home.  This means that you can do away with the harmful chemical cleaners that are damaging to the environment, can effect your skin and be harmful to pets and young children.  The secret lies in the fibres of the cloth that lift dirt and germs away from your surfaces.  I've been using various e-cloth products for my cleaning jobs as part of the E-Cloth Green Cleaning Challenge.

For this week's post I'm focusing on cleaning surfaces using an e-cloth with a vinegar solution.

To enhance your performance for tougher cleaning jobs you can use the disinfecting and deodorising properties of vinegar.  Simply make up a solution of one part vinegar to one part water in an e-cloth spray bottle.  It is safe on most surfaces (not marble though!)

Ready For Green Cleaning

I set about cleaning the kitchen counters, surfaces, paintwork and appliance doors using my vinegar solution and the General Purpose e-cloth.  At first the kids thought it was very funny that I was using vinegar!  Each squirt reminded me of a fish and chip shop, however the smell disappeared as soon as the solution dried and did not linger at all.  Thankfully!

A Helping Hand

The spray and wipe technique really was simple and yet extremely effective.  It cut through grease, even on the cover of my extractor fan, which is usually a cleaning nightmare.  Freddy is always keen to join in with chores and for once I could let him loose (under supervision) with the spray bottle without worrying about him coming into contact with harmful chemicals.

My Helper Spraying

The front glass door and stainless steel of my oven is not easy to clean.  So I was really interested to see how the e-cloth and the vinegar/water solution would fare up to this challenge.  To say I was amazed is an understatement.  Even the older kids had to agree that this cleaning was working!

So Clean you can See your Face In it

The smear free finish I achieved was so impressive.  You could see Freddy's reflection so clearly!   It also worked brilliantly on windows removing the sticky Freddy sized hand prints.  Ian gave the car windows inside and out a clean with the spray and cloth and said that they cleaned up a treat.

Using the Bathroom e-cloth and the spray vinegar solution, I cleaned the bathroom sinks where there was some light  limescale build-up.  Adding an old toothbrush to my cleaning tools I was able to scrub the bottom of the taps really easily removing any build up of soap scum and lime-scale.  The cloth brought everything up to a good shine.  It is a really effective way to clean the bathroom too.

Vinegar can also be used neat for drains or toilets to deodorize and disinfect.  It is a versatile product...I am definitely impressed by how good it is for cleaning.  If you can get over the initial smell, I'd say it is every bit as effective as anything I've ever used before.

To think that a bottle of economy vinegar costs just 13p from supermarkets, this is an incredibly cheap way of cleaning your kitchen and bathroom really effectively!  I am already committed to doing away with those overpriced trigger bottles of harsh kitchen cleaners in favour of vinegar, water and my e-cloth!

www.e-cloth.com