Directly up for the job (Dettol Direct Floor Cleaner)

Member Name: NikkiH

Product:	Dettol Direct Floor Cleaner
Date:	09/02/08 (111 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent cleaner

Disadvantages: Still need a bucket

As I have a delightful but messy six month old puppy, our kitchen and utility floors are cleaned at least once, normally closer to three times a day. I was using a standard squeezy mop with diluted floor cleaner but found that the floor was never squeaky clean, and having the puppy and young children about meant that using undiluted floor cleaner was a big no no. I also found that the floor took ages to dry, and the mop didn't take long to start smelling less than fresh so to say. My mum recommended this product. She said that you did not need to use a bucket, just squirt the cleaner onto the floor, clean with a mop and leave to dry. It seemed an ideal alternative to what I was doing so I bought it when I was shopping. It cost me £1.59 for a 1 litre bottle, which is about double the price of my current disinfectant, but I was hoping it would last longer so it would not work out too expensive.

The product was easy to spot amongst the other floor cleaners, and seemed more reasonably priced than some of the competitors. The bottle is made of transparent plastic with a white easy to open pouring spout (the kind on sports drinks that you pull up to release the liquid), and the liquid inside is blue. The design to the bottle is pretty simple and the labelling is minimal, consisting of mostly instructions of use, but totally suitable for the product. I was pleasantly suprised to find that it was a cleaner with anti bacterial properties also.

I swept the floor before I started to make sure there were no "bits" on the floor. The instructions on the bottle advise you to dampen your mop, so unless you want to try and do this under a tap, then the claim that you do not need a bucket is incorrect. I chose to use the bucket for easiness. I then squirted the liquid over the floor and put an extra squirt on any marks which looked like they might be quite stubborn. Be careful not to squeeze the bottle too hard as there are four holes in the spout and the liquid can come out quicker than you anticipate. I would advise short sharp squirts. I left it for about 30 seconds and then got to work with my mop. I have to say that the stains disappeared with every stroke of the mop, and there was little elbow grease needed, whilst there was barely any residual liquid left on the floor. Now, this is where my earlier decision to have a bucket came in handy. Firstly, on a large floor you are going to have to wring out your mop, so where do you do that with no bucket? Secondly, when I finished cleaning the floor, where would I clean the dirty mop? Both times, the answer for me is the bucket. I then left the floor to dry, which took around 15 minutes to be completely bone dry, although I could have walked on it 5 minutes before that. The floor was noticably cleaner and smelt fresher, (although not overpowering), than when I use my big standard disinfectant. There did not seem to be a film of residue on the floor either.

Don't use the product on any floor that is cracked or unsealed as it will get underneath and cause damage. I can see the bottle lasting for a decent amount of time, and I may need to buy this once a month because the amount it takes to clean the floor is minimal. It has certainly replaced any other floor cleaners that we have used in he past.

Please ignore the picture above as it is the wrong product picture Dooyoo have uploaded.

Summary: Good value cleaner