Cleaning's not glamorous.
You didn't need me to tell you that, we all know how unglamorous it is when we have our hands in buckets of cleaning fluids scrubbing the kitchen counters or the bathroom floor. And I'm pretty sure that I am not the only person in the land to have buckets of swishy-wishy, miracle cleaner underneath the bathroom sink, am I? But they don't actually do it for you, they can loosen the dirt but they won't do it on their own.
When it comes down to it, and with the best intentions in the world, the only thing that really will get something clean is elbow grease; scrubbing and wiping.
I was sent some products from Scotch-Brite to test out and on first impressions they seemed to be just another collection of scourers and sponges.
And this is the main point that I want to make: A scourer is a scourer is a scourer, right? My husband would have you believe that as he picks up the value range from the supermarket which need throwing away within a few uses, mainly because they've disintegrated or the dye is coming off the green sponge. I know (because I'm the person who uses them for cleaning as opposed to dishwashing) that if I want the sponge to last and be economical, then slightly more expensive and better quality sponges and scourers last longer and do a better job.
As you can see the PR was very kind and labelled the cost for me per item and per pack.
- The heavy-duty scourer: £1.15 for 3 making them 38p each, but these are perfect for cleaning ovens, grills and hobs. It does cost 8p more per scourer than other brands, but it contains natural fibres of cellulose which are absorbent. It's also thicker than one, and (this is technical now) not as rough as the other, which means I'm not going to have scratched surfaces and hands.
- The super-absorbent sponge cloth: £2.49 for 5, 50p a cloth. This is one of those cleaning products that I seethe inwardly about, they always seem to fall apart once wrung out and leave bright yellow or blue sponge foam over everything. Not the Scotch-brite one, which is as absorbent as the name makes you think: up to ten times it's own weight.
- The non-scratch scrub sponge: £1.15 for 1. Other sponge scourers retail for around 50p for 3 so this is a lot more. What's different about this is the size and wave-shape, plus it is non-scratch and very absorbent.
In all honesty, the last item is a little more than I would be prepared to pay, however I will certainly consider the other two items in future because the few pence more saves money and time in the long run.
I was provided with these items for the purpose of this post. My opinion is honest and unbiased.
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