Simply Eco Smart Washing (Aquados Simply Sensitive Non Biological)

Member Name: arleek

Product:	Aquados Simply Sensitive Non Biological
Date:	10/08/08 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: NIce Smell, No Mess, Well Priced, Useful Containers

Disadvantages: If you order in bulk, you have to find somewhere to store them...

At some point earlier in the year (February I think) I had a 'green' phase where I wanted to be as green as I possibly could... and this led me to thinking about how much wash powder and detergent I was pouring down the drain (due to having a baby who seemed to go through so many clothes and nappies, that I seemed to be washing constantly!) So I started doing a bit of research into greener cleaning and this led to me Aquados (found at www.simplywashing.com).

They are a company that provide washing products (for laundry and dishwashers - not that I'm lucky enough to possess a dishwasher), and they carry the ECO-label 'the first UK detergents to be granted this guarantee of greenness - so you know they're kind to the planet'. You can choose from Simply Active (biological wash), Simply Sensitive (non-bio), Simply Pure (no perfume or optical brighteners), Dishwash, and Citrus Dishwash.

I was most interested in the Simply Sensitive.

They come in packs of 30 tabs, which you put straight into the drum of your washer and then load it with clothes, 2 tabs for a full load and 1 tab for half a load (so you get about 15 washes per pack). The tubs are £2.99 each, but if you order 4 tubs, you get another one free, so that's 5 tubs for £11.96. But then if you order a further 5, you get an extra 10% off which brings your total bill to £21.53, and that's for 10 tubs - approx 150 washes which I thought was pretty damn good, and it's also free delivery. It all seems a bit complicated how I've explained it, but the website makes it very clear.

So anyway, I really wanted to give this a try as they seemed good value for money as well as being kind to the environment. As I said, you can buy direct from their website but I didn't want to go and purchase a load of tubs without testing first, so I contacted them through the website and they sent me a free sample which I thought was great and tried them out straight away.

I was very impressed, they have a fragrance different to any wash powder I have used before, but I liked it. And they got all my laundry clean (apart from Bolognese stains which NEVER come out), and I only wash at 30 degrees. So I immediately ordered my 10 packs, and they arrived within days. They had, however, made a mistake with the order and one of my boxes contained some Dishwasher tabs as well, so I contacted them and I was told to keep the Dishwasher tabs (which I gave to my Mum) and they would send me a replacement box, so I ended up with a few extra packs anyway, and I still haven't used them all up! And I bought them back in February!! I will be ordering my next installment soon though and I've just noticed on the website that they are now doing refill packs which work out even cheaper.

The good thing about them is that you don't have to worry about measuring wash powder into your drawer and having to clean it every so often because it's clogged... You also don't have to fiddle about unwrapping the tabs as they are encased in this plastic film which dissolves in the wash. And you can also only use 1 tab if you are doing a small load. They also don't froth up and fill your washer with tremendous amounts of bubbles like some wash powders.

And another good thing about them is that they come in these plastic tubs which are apparently recyclable (not at our Council though), but I've always kept the tubs anyway as they come in very handy - I have flowers in them outside, they make great containers for little toys that always seem to go missing, and also for kids crayons - very handy indeed.

Summary: Good Green Cleaning