They Don't Just Make Biscuit Tins, Ya Know! (Brabantia Dustbins)

Member Name: Nar2

Product:	Brabantia Dustbins
Date:	28/10/07 (902 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A classy piece in the kitchen for an all round refuse bin, keeps odours sealed, excellent back up.

Disadvantages: Bin liners can be expensive; early quality problems with mechanisms, Outward prices expensive,

When it comes to bins for the home, especially the kitchen the brand name which often springs to mind is the plastic king of kings, Addis. I presently have an Addis kitchen bin in my bedroom of which I use for shredding paper and other accumulated paper junk. I’ve often bought Addis simply because most of their products are made with good thick PVC plastic, good design thought and are generally easy to clean. Cheaper versions from Poundstretchers and Argos which don’t carry the Addis name however are easy to spot; they don’t hold much quality against an Addis product. But what do you do, if you are looking for something completely different and more stylised to fit into a kitchen? ** This is a long review **

Compared to rivals then, what is out there in terms of a good kitchen bin that ensures smells and odours are kept to a minimum? At one end of the scale you have Plastic Fantastic from rivals such as Addis and Linpac who have made plastic swing bins and open top lid bins but nothing such as chrome fittings and odourless seals with precision made fittings and pedal bins supplied and wholly marketed like Brabantia.

Dualitt have also been known to release kitchen bins which mimic Brabantia’s basic design elements, but they are scarce to say the least and finding a Dualitt product which isn’t costlier than Brabantia is harder to justify when it comes to paying cash.



** A Lil Bit of History **


Brabantia aren’t just a company that make bins. They make kitchen cutlery implements (I have one of their excellent mechanical can openers as well as a screw down cork screw which both have lasted well over ten years) as well as post boxes and other types of functional use designs used in the home. Since 1919 they have maintained a good quality standing and of making products that have a long lasting build.



** The Reason to Buy **


My parents then were fed up with their Addis bin – hence why I have it now in my bedroom. For years the plastic had deformed, loosening the hinges that kept the flap in place, or on a later bin which had a handy foot step to put your foot on when it came to pulling the bag down and lift up top loader door that had no seal on it whatsoever, time it seemed came for an end to plastic bins and to embrace the world of Brabantia.

Off we trotted then to John Lewis and House of Fraser’s to look for any suitable Brabantia bin – this was 8 years ago now, and even though we still have the same 50 litre bin which cost at that time, an unbelievable £90-00 we only use the Brabantia bin on odd occasions. Why?



** The Classic Brabantia Pedal Bin **


Our first purchase was for a tall thin slender looking push pedal bin made by Brabantia. It seemed to fit the bill perfectly, coming in at £50 for this version which wasn’t the largest capacity (30 litres, height of 66cm) the design had to offer. It would fit under the worktop though which was the most important aspect when looking for a kitchen and refuse bin as it needed to sit somewhere that was out of the public eye and be able to perform its use and design effectively. The moment we got the bin home, there was minimal assembly required which meant that the pedal had to be screwed on and the lid which incorporated the spring mechanism travelling up the back of the bin’s rear through a central seam had to be fitted too. All was well for the first three months. My parents loved the idea of having not to touch any lid with sticky fingers for example and the pedal idea seemed to be a great hit.

Then one day without any warning, the pedal mechanism literally fell off. Brabantia had given us 5 year guarantee with this bin, so it now came in handy. Back the bin went to John Lewis who then contacted us to tell us that there was a design fault on the bin and Brabantia sent us a new bin which eased our minds a bit and thought that everything was plain sailing from there.

From that time then we loved the bin. It was everything that Brabantia had promised and everything seemed to be going smoothly. The only disadvantage that we could find was that Brabantia kept sending mail regarding their specialised Bin liners which were made specifically for their equipment. We bought one roll of bin liner for this 30 litre slim line pedal bin but at the cost of nearly £15-00 for one roll we did consider this to be largely expensive, when you could use cheaper bin liners and garden refuse bags for the same use and indeed, capacity!

One year later and the mechanism on the bin went again. On later bins of the push pedal up variety (if you don’t know what I mean, I mean a push pedal bin when the pedal is pressed with your foot, the lid of the bin rises on a spring and shuts the moment the pedal is released) the design was improved to have a stronger arm put across the entire diameter of the circular bin lid – our bin didn’t have this, so back again the bin went to John Lewis!



** The Automatic Touch Type Flip Up Brabantia Bin **


This time, Brabantia offered us another bin, pedal type but by then we had enough and decided to buy a completely new bin at £90-00 which didn't involve pedals. Brabantia sent out 3 rolls of bags for us to keep our custom as well as a voucher for £50-00 for the trouble our last bin put us through - nice customer service for you!

This new type of bin had an easy touch lid, which meant that when the user touched the top of the lid, it rises slowly automatically via a sprung mechanism. My parents weren’t too keen on this as they favoured the hygienic aspect of the pedal push up design but since there was an odourless sealed ring, and the quirky way the lid raised automatically, this bin looked like a good compromise - specifically we also chose a larger capacity which could take a standard large black bin liner - or a garden bag.



** Difference in Design **


Thus, the design of the touch bin is different. It looks like a large capacity metal bullet without the use of a sharp inclined dome. The bullet shape lends its name to the lower design of the bin. It does have a larger diameter though which means that on its own in the kitchen it is ideal to be placed in a corner or like us, if you have a worktop the bin can effectively again, be hidden away. Just make sure when the lid comes up that it doesn’t hit the top of your worktop. Therefore it is important to remember that the touch type bullet bins have a sloping front which means that the angle of the bin lid rises up to just over a 90° angle. This ensures that you get the largest opening the bin can serve up and additionally you can get a standard dustpan into the large opening.

Diameter measurement is 40cm, 50 litres capacity and a height of approximately 72cm including the sloping touch lid.

This type of design then meant that there were no other workings other than the bin lid and the plastic black ring which held the bin bag in place.

We were further pleased to see that Brabantia had gone to the trouble of putting a black disc at the bottom of the bin, a false floor with holes, so that when you pull the bin bag up, the suction of air between the bin bag and the bin is released with a little pop which then means removing the bag is a lot easier than conventional means. This false floor is also removable which makes cleaning it easy!

Therefore other than the plastic false floor ring, there is another black ring which is hollow which is designed to hold the bin bag in place and then the lid which has its own ring, therefore ensuring odours are minimal closes over the primary ring. This also means that in effect the chrome looks are blending in with a black ring, which also acts as a top half bumper should anyone or anything knock it. What a great idea.

There is also a black handle on either side of the bin (this means 2 handles then!) which is great for keeping a hand on the bin or lifting it outside. Weight of the bin is very light (around 3kg compared to 5kg pedal bin which had added weight because of its mechanism) when there is no bag in it.

Sometimes in use when you push lightly on the indent on the main bin lid, the lid doesn’t always rise. You need to push it slightly harder to ensure that the bin lid actually comes up on first contact.

Six months later after ownership of this bin, the mechanism in the bin lid went. Effectively we then wrote a letter of complaint to Brabantia pointing out that the tooth which keeps the bin lid locked in place before it is “touched” down to release it to open had snapped. Brabantia then collected the bin again and we were bin less for a couple of weeks. Result? Brabantia admitted that there was yet again, ANOTHER design fault on the mechanism for the lid and the lid was replaced free of charge and returned to us.

Despite the poor fittings and the problems that we have encountered, we were happy to keep our bin in the home. The effects of its hygienic door simply mean it keeps the odour of kitchen waste at a minimum.



** Any Other Problems? **


The problems I've found early on when the bullet bin was put in the kitchen was trying to keep it clean. Although the main body is cylindrical, keeping chrome clean is a problem as was the fact to keeping the bin lid clean, because when you wiped it and accidentally pushed too hard on the bin lid, it would rise and open on the bin body itself. Chrome bins for optimum cleanliness should be cleaned with a damp cloth and a little toothpaste - and then pat dry and polish with a clean dry cloth - you will be amazed at the results as everything comes off to reveal a nice shine.

Also, cleaning inside the bin lid can take time because you need to clean around the tooth which is quite lightly made and often a damp cloth can get caught up in the mechanism. Cleaning inside the rim of the primary sealed ring isn’t easy either as it has jutting plastic corners which, in black means that you can’t always see the dirt that clings there.



** Product Availability **


Brabantia Bins have grown in popularity over the years and House of Fraser’s sells a lot more of the range than ever. However they are not always available in other hard wear shops so it is best to check for availability. Argos however now has a lot of the range on sale in store, ranging from pedal push bins to the touch type bin that we have.

Of the capacities that are available for example from Brabantia bins, it tends to range from 10, 12, 15, 30, and 50 litre capacities.

Prices are still quite high for what you are paying for, mind. Our 30 litre pedal bin at £50 has now risen to £53 and the 50 litre bin is now £71 at Argos compared to the higher price we paid. As with our bin though, any Brabantia metal bin comes with a standard 10 year guarantee – just remember to keep the receipt from where you purchased it though! Their customer service is by far one of the better service forces I’ve used.



** Conclusion **


As stated previously we still have our Brabantia 50 litre bullet bin and in its ninth year now, it is an excellent and hygienic piece to have in the kitchen. Because of earlier problems we use it now for a secondary kitchen bin due to the harshness of other people in the household who don’t just gently push the lid down! Outwardly, it has a great stainless steel body which has withstood the test of time with knocks and scrapes and if you like a classic design with a handy easy touch up touch down rising bin lid, then this could be the bin for you.

Don’t even bother with the liners though. You can use virtually any type of large black bin bag in the 30 & 50 litre capacity bins and in my mind spending more for Brabantia’s exclusive bin bags can be a bit of a waste of money in the long run. Thank you for reading. ©Nar2 2007


www.brabantia.com

www.argos.co.uk

Summary: The number one brand for metal bins for the home.