Whilst doing a recent online shop at www.asda.com, I was about to add some cleaning products to my virtual 'shopping trolley' when I noticed that by switching a few of the well-known 'premium' brands to that of the Asda own brand, I could save myself a little money so decided to try some of them out.

One product that I ordered at this time was the Asda Thick Bleach in the Lemon fragrance. I had previously tried the same product in the "Arctic Blast" fragrance and had been suitably impressed so I had no problem with giving this version of the product a try out.

I paid only £1 for the bottle of Asda Lemon bleach which is 1.125 litre in size. It may be worth mentioning however, that there is usually a promotion running in Asda stores whereby any two bottles of the Asda thick bleach can be purchased for only £1.50. There is also a larger-sized bottle of the product available, which is 2 litres in size and this costs £1.76. (Info correct as @ April 2012).

The bottle is made of fairly robust plastic, which is a bright yellow colour. There is a plastic lid on top of the bottle which has a sort of 'safety cap' in its design. This makes the bottle quite difficult to open at times, particularly if you have mobility problems or weakness in your hands, which I do. That said, I can appreciate how important it is to have a dangerous chemical like this one kept out of the reach of children, so I won't be deducting any points from the overall product rating, even though the safety cap doesn't really suit my own needs.

There is a slight 'angle' in the neck of the plastic bottle which I find makes it easy to squeeze the bleach around the toilet bowl, paying particular attention to underneath the rim. Other bleach products that I buy regularly are packaged in a 'straighter' bottle which makes the process much more difficult... near impossible, in fact.

The Asda thick bleach is just that. It has an extremely thick consistency, and is not overly runny, which is an issue I have come across with similar products that I have bought before, particularly those that are the cheaper end of the market. I was pleasantly surprised therefore, that the Asda Lemon bleach was a fairly thick liquid. The liquid is a pale lemon/yellow colour, which ties in with the product's image and name perfectly.

The smell of this product is evident when I first dispense the liquid, but I must admit that the scent seems to fade or wear off when I begin to use the bleach to clean the bathroom or floors. I find that the product ends up smelling like most other bleach products that I buy on a regular basis, which is a pity as the lemon fragrance is slightly more pleasant than the usual, generic bleach smell that we are all familiar with. The lemony fragrance is quite strong at first and it has a sort of 'refreshing' element to it that is quite pleasant, but I won't go on too much about the fragrance or scent of the product as it disappears so quickly after it has been first dispensed.

I find the Asda Thick Lemon Bleach is good at cleaning my bathroom and it leaves my chrome taps shining and gleaming. I find too that it is effective when used on my tiles, in both the bathroom and the kitchen, and it removes grubby marks with ease and leaves them looking really clean and sparkling. I find too that this bleach works very well at removing lime scale and residue that has built up in the bath. To be quite honest I have been impressed with the effectiveness of the product each and every time I have used it around my home.

The label on the product's bottle informs me that it kills 99.9% of germs, which is the same claim made to me by the usual brand of Thick Bleach that I buy on a regular basis. This is relevant to me as a consumer, as the Asda own-branded bleach is a good 90 pence cheaper than the usual brand I would buy, so I am pleased that the cleanliness of my house has not been compromised as a result of buying a cheaper branded product.

I find that the Lemon bleach works very well at cleaning my bathroom, as well as my floors and tiles, especially when cleaning the tile grout at these areas. I have also used it on my kitchen worktops and have had no problems with using it on any of these assorted surfaces, so I think the product is a very versatile one.

Unfortunately, I have to admit that I find the Asda bleach is quite harsh on my skin and I find that I really need to wear rubber gloves when I am using the product otherwise the skin on my hands ends up becoming quite sore and irritated. This is due to the bleach being a toxic liquid and it is an issue I have with each and every brand of bleach I have ever purchased and so is not a flaw of this particular product. For this reason, I won't be deducting any marks from the overall product rating for the irritant effect it has on my skin.

Overall, I was quite pleased with the performance of the Asda Lemon Thick Bleach and would definitely buy it again. I thought it worked just as well as more expensive brands that I buy regularly, whilst costing me less money and this is a winning combination in my book. I have nothing negative to report about the product at all, and will therefore be awarding it top marks in the product rating.

The Asda company is against animal testing and funds research into alternatives.

The range of fragranced Bleach products in the Asda-own branded range can obviously only be purchased within Asda supermarkets, or online at www.asda.com.