This is one of those cleaning products that until I had a place of my own I would never give a second glance at but that I now can't live without!


THE LOVE AFFAIR BEGINS!

It first came into its own when I was moving out of a rented flat and wanted to give it a really good spruce up before I left (to make sure I got my full deposit back!) After cleaning the bathroom I noticed all up the back of the tiles by the shower there were these horendous watermarks that I'd obviously been oblivious to for the last 6 months or convieniently chosen to ignore! Trusty old mom suggested I try this prodcut and there the love affair began!

Viakal is made by Proctor and Gamble and has been around since the early 90's. Their website claims Viakal is a limescale and watermark remover that can be used on house surfaces such as tiles, sinks, taps and toilets.

WHY IS IT NEEDED?

So what is limescale? If you live in hard water area such as I do all you need to do is look at the base of your taps and that white, chalky residue is it! It is a real pain as not only is it unsightly but is very difficult to shift.
Apparantly 47% of the UK population lives in a hard water area

THE PRODUCT

Viakal comes in a 500ml spray bottle and I recently brought mine in Tesco for £2.92. It has the usual features of a spray bottle with a nozzle enabling the spray to be off, a fine spray or a thicker spray.
As it is in a spray format it is ideal for use on larger surfaces and vertical ones such as the splash tiles in the shower.
The spray itself is a blue liquid and the formula has recently been changed so the fragrance is actually quite pleasant (when I first started using this product a few years back I used to choke on the haze but this is a big improvement!)

APPLICATION

The packaging advises you to spray the liquid directly on tothe affected area, levae for a few moments and then rinse thoroughly with water. For those tougher encrustations it suggests leaving it to act for up to 5 minutes and then repeating if necessary

WARNINGS

The packaging advises against using on natural stone, enamal, acid sensitive surfaces or damaged/scratched surfaces

It is also an irritant so extra care needs to be taken to avoid prolonged contact with the skin and any contact with the eyes. Although the smell is much improved, it is still advisable to use in well ventilated areas and definitely, definitely keep out of the reach of children as it is an acid solution.

HOW DOES IT WORK

Limescale is the build up of mineral deposits from the water and Viakal dissolves these dulling deposits resulting in a fantastic shine! It also creates a water sheeting action on the surface to prevent further limescale build up.

SO DOES IT WORK?

In a word yes! I dont use this product every week, maybe once a month when I can see a small build up appearing. (I guess if you did use it every week there wouldn't be any but as its quite pricey I try and make it last and find its more satisfying this way!)

I use it primarily around the kitchen sink and bathroom taps to eliminate limescale but have also found it useful in the bath itself!
Although it says not to use on enaml surfaces, my bath is that old the enamal has disappeared! Hence when you've been wearing flip flops or wandering round bare foot in the summer and you get in the bath you leave dirty footprints, well viakal shifts this! Also when all the water doean't drain down the plug properly and there are water marks up the bath, grab the viakal!

In summary a handy product for those more thorough cleaning days and shifts the tough stains my favourite Mr Muscle wont! 5 out of 5 for me!