Turned my washing upside down (Ariel Excel Gel)

Member Name: jo@145

Product:	Ariel Excel Gel
Date:	26/10/09 (123 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant cleaning at low temperature

Disadvantages: not for wool or silk

I love a bargain and when recently shopping for washing liquid I saw Ariel Excel gel on offer. Space is at a premium and I loved the dinky squat bottle that is upside down compared to normal bottles. It actually fooled my husband who rarely does the washing and needed some soap to soak something, he pulled off the lid and was surprised that it was sealed! The part that pulls off is white and boat shaped with a soft squeezy plastic insert which is partly filled to 37mls for a normal wash in a soft water area or filled to the top to 46mls in a hard water area or for tougher stains.

The bottle is made from white plastic and the base with the flick lid is green on my bottle which is the biological detergent, it is also available for colours and with Febreze. On the front label as well as the name there is a sign showing that it won the Best Buy Which award, which did actually help me decide whether or not to try as I'm not really an Ariel fan! On the back the label has a pictorial explanation on what to do and how much to use and shows that it is suitable for washes from 15° up to 95°, although Which actually tested it at 30°.

The turquoise blue gel is squeezed out of a self-seal hole and is a thinish gel, but a little goes a long way and in this area with soft water I can get 18 washes out of this small container which is excellent. The gel has a pleasant smell and the washing smells nice when it comes out of the machine but I didn't find the fresh smell lingering for long like some products.

I have used it on whites, including a tablecloth with red wine stains, a shirt with greasy marks and general everyday stains and all have come out clean. Having used the bottle I am quite pleased with the results, towels are still soft and bedding comes out clean and fresh too. I have also used it on coloured washing even though there is a separate product. The little lid cum dispenser is placed in with the washing which I like as it avoids have a messy drawer to clean out!

So we have a product that has been turned upside down, which means no waste as it's easy to squeeze that last drop out and it saves space both at home and in the shop and during transport to the shop, plus it works at 15° or in my case 30° so a great idea to help save the planet and me money as I use less electricity to heat the water. I think more modern washing machines will have the lower temperature setting, but I can wash on a 30 minute programme using water direct from my hot water supply.

As I said at the start I saw this on offer but it is back to its normal price of £4.35 now in most shops around here, although there are some larger bottles with over a litre at £7 or £8 available. So that makes a normal wash in a soft water area cost 24pence, which I think is good value.

Will I buy it again? Definitely if it's on offer and probably even at the full price if there aren't any other better offers available!

As with many laundry products it is an Irritant and care must be taken, there are a list of precautions and advice on the bottle, plus a warning not to use for wool or silk garments.

This is an ex cel lent product for low temperature washing and gives brilliant results.

Summary: gel for low temperature washing