One thing that I will not spend a lot of money on is cleaning products for my kitchen. I find that Flash with bleach takes care of most problems and I'm happy to use any dish cloth or sponge to clean any mess that I make in the kitchen. Around 6 months ago I found Tesco's Value Sponge Pan Cleaners priced at 12p on the bottom shelf in my local Tesco Extra store right underneath all the expensive branded ones! I picked up a pack as sponges are always useful around the kitchen but I didn't have high hopes with them being so cheap.

The sponges come in a pack of five and are packaged in clear plastic with the basic Tesco Value logo on it. The sponges themselves have dimensions of around 2.5 x 3.5 x 1 inches and are white and green in colour. The white part of the sponge is soft and useful for wiping surfaces as it is very absorbent where the green part on the other side is made of a harsher, more bristly material for scouring dirty pots and pans.

The sponges are easy to manipulate around any shape which means they are very versatile and can be used for a variety of things. I use them every day for general washing up including plates, bowls, cutlery and any cooking utensils. I find that they clean these items with ease especially if I use the green side which is much harsher on pots. I also use them for cleaning up general mess in the kitchen whether there is water everywhere after washing up or if there are crumbs or milk on the counter top. The scourer is good at getting any stains off the work surface and the sponge absorbs any liquids to clean up mess. The sponges are great for cleaning the hobs after I have sprayed my Flash with bleach on the surface. The green side is good for scrubbing at the dirty marks and any food which has stuck to the surface. Once I have rinsed the sponge I use the white absorbent side to clean up.

The packaging states that the sponges are suitable for cleaning pans, grills, barbecues and washing vegetables. Now I'm perfectly happy washing vegetables with them and basic cleaning of dishes, cutlery and Tupperware, however they do virtually nothing when cleaning anything a bit more stubborn. The sponges are not good for cleaning dirty, greasy pots and grill pans and the green scourer part coming apart and ends up all over your washing up! They are also not ideal when cleaning any pans which are not non-stick as similar to many other scourers, the green side can scratch pans.

The sponges now retail at 14 pence a pack and can be found at most large Tesco stores. We have a Tesco Express down the road which don't stock much of Tesco's Value range and I've never seen them in there. I would recommend them to anyone; even if you prefer to have more expensive sponges and scourers which last longer, these are worth keeping under the sink as they always come in useful. You will need other items to deal with the tougher tasks such as cleaning the oven, barbecues and greasy grills but they are a staple in my kitchen and for what they are and the value they represent I give them 4 out of 5!