Goodbye Germs (Dettol Antiseptic Disinfectant)

Member Name: lulu2004

Product:	Dettol Antiseptic Disinfectant
Date:	14/09/09 (211 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It "feels" clean and reassuring

Disadvantages: Some people may find the smell offputting

With swine flu so much publicised at the moment it makes us all wonder about hygiene. I have used many cleaners in the past but I always go back to Dettol.

My love affair with Dettol began during my pregnancy with my son. I'd always thought of it as a bit of a granny product before then. I knew the distinctive smell, but other than that it meant nothing to me. Then I became "Hygiene Woman" determined to rid my household of every single germ known to man before my baby arrived. I bought every cleaning product known to man in those last weeks. I did use them cautiously, as I am aware of the implications of some of the chemicals in the products but none-the-less I needed a clean house. It was after my cleaning session with dettol that I finally went into labour. It was like the smell of Dettol radiating from every surface in my home said "Come on out baby, the way is clear"

Since then, I have grown to really love the smell of a dettol clean home. I am nowhere near as obsessive with it, but I do an intense Dettol cleaning session regularly as it feels like my home is spotless when I am finished. I would happily let the children eat off any surface. After all, it apparent kills 99.9% of germs. That 00.1% it doesn't kill must be a real blighter!

While I admit to loving the smell of Dettol I know it isn't for everyone, my mum in particular is not keen; she says it reminds her of hospitals. Then there is the extremist; my husband who has bathed in diluted Dettol. He plays sports and gets quite battered and bruised at times. He maintains that Dettol keeps the injuries from getting infected.
So that's a bit of my background on how we use the product at home.

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What is Dettol Exactly then?
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Well, I'm not quite sure what exactly some of these things are, but apparently Dettol is a mixture of Pine Oil, Isopropanol, castor oil, soap, caramel, water and the main ingredient is chloroxylenol. That means nothing to me. I failed Chemistry at school, but I think it is safe to assume that this mixture creates an antiseptic liquid. Ok I didn't just guess that, I looked it up. But remember, I did fail science. The important thing is that the antiseptic is cheap, making Dettol very affordable. A 500ml bottle retails at £2 and lasts a very long time indeed.

Depending on what you want to use your Dettol for there are different strengths that you can dilute it to. Because it is so potent I cannot personally think of any reason where you would use it straight. You add a capful to the water and the water turns white. This is because the ingredients are not water soluble. Don't worry though, it doesn't dry white, any surface you wipe with this will be clean. You can tell exactly how much to add to water as it is measured in capfuls so you don't need to invest in a measuring jug- the utensil is right there at your hands.

As you might expect, Dettol is poisonous, you should not ingest it, and even breathing in too many fumes is dangerous in itself. A man died a few years ago due to the stuff, he was ill in that he had OCD and was an obsessive cleaner, but his body took in too many of the chemicals which in turn killed him.

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What are the Uses of Dettol?
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I dilute our Dettol and wipe all of the kitchen surfaces, but I also use it to clean children's bath toys or outdoor toys every so often. My one year old would put a lot of things in her mouth and by giving them a quick Dettol wipe I feel reassured that they are clean for her.

As I mentioned before, my other half takes the occasional Dettol bath when he is suffering from sporting injuries.

Dettol can also be applied to pimples or blemishes to keep them clean.

It can be used to clean floors (Doesn't leave a great shine though I would like to add)

You can gargle with Dettol if you are suffering from a sore throat

It can even be used to sterilise clothing if you ever require it.


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The array of Dettol Products
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It would be easy to think of Dettol and just immediately imagine the old brown bottle of liquid that many of us remember from our childhood, but if you go into any supermarket these days you will find that the Dettol line has gotten larger with a complete selection of Dettol products for particular places-

Dettol Healthy Touch Anti-bac Hand wash
Dettol Multi-Action trigger spray
Dettol Multi-Action Wipes (I also love these!)
Dettol All-Purpose Cleaner
Dettol Soap
Dettol NutriAir Aerosol
Dettol Disinfectant Spray (Love this too!)
Dettol Surface Cleanser Trigger
To name but a few.

None of the listed products from above smell like the original Antiseptic liquid that this review is about, but I think if you like the liquid you will also find great reassurance from the Disinfectant Spray in particular. I love it for my own bathroom. It is probably better to buy one of these other products if you were planning to clean your bathroom as Dettol liquid is not recommended for acrylic surfaces like baths.

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Would I recommend it?
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I certainly would recommend Dettol liquid in a shot as it is one of those products where a little goes a long way. You can get months of use out of one small bottle which is perfect for the present time where we just do not have the disposable income to spend on cleaning products any more. It also takes up much less room in your cleaning cupboard to store one bottle instead of 5!

Fabulous product at a wonderful price in my opinion.

Lulu2004 ©

Summary: Good Old Fashioned cleaning at a low price.