Let Me Give You a Hand (Ecover Washing Up Liquid)

Name: susie19

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Product:	Ecover Washing Up Liquid
Date:	16/01/06 (562 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Kind to hands and environment.

Disadvantages: None!

We all have it
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Chances are that wherever you are there is a bottle of washing-up-liquid somewhere within 20m of you. Just about every household has a bottle somewhere in the kitchen, whether or not a dishwasher is to be found. Washing up-liquid has always been just a nasty liquid goo to me. Nothing at all to get excited about. It could be a cheap ‘too thin’ variety or a thicker ‘too many bubbles’ variety but basically just a load of runny gunge. I, until recently always plumped for Morning Fresh Lemon & Lime because it smelt quite OK, (let’s not get over excited)!

When kids came along I found my hands were always in the sink and I began to get really itchy hands. Rubber gloves made matters worse so I started to loathe washing up. So we bought a dishwasher, fantastic, and my hands became soft and smooth again.

But, despite having a great dishwasher, there is always some hand washing-up to be done. Our best glasses and pans to be exact. Everything else goes in, pans too if there is space so my washing up by hand is minimal. With this being the case, a bottle of w-u-l lasts me ages so I decided it was time to try Ecover for its environmental qualities. It is probably the most expensive w-u-l on sale but who cares when you don’t use much of it. Ecover costs around £1.50 for a large (1 litre bottle).

The Acid Test (or should this be the de-grease test)
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As far as cleaning the glasses and pans goes, it's as good if not better than any of other liquids out there. In fact, it's not over frothy (we do live in an area of soft water though so in hard water areas you may need to use more). A small squirt of Ecover gives sufficient bubbles but not too many. There's nothing worse than drinking coffee from a mug that tastes of Fairy is there?

Fragrance and consistency
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The smell of Ecover w-u-l is divine! It contains extracts of camomile and marigold, though I really wouldn't know if it was true to the smell of either flower. It certainly smells nicer than Camomile Tea! The liquid is almost transparent and not quite as gooey as some brands of w-u-l. It certainly does not feel slimy to the touch.

Availability
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Ecover washing up liquid is available in most large supermarkets. It can also be found in the majority of organic shops.


Kind to Skin?
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As I have mentioned, most washing products irritate my hands if I have to do more than a small amount of washing at the sink. Over New Year, I had the unfortunate experience of burning my ‘ruby ring’ finger whilst removing a pizza from the oven. Ouch! It was quite a deep burn because two weeks later my finger is still a little sore (and I now have another diagonal burn to go with it). However, I tell you this because despite this burn I am able to wash up with Ecover without any problem at all. This would not be the case with other harsher liquids. Any small cut to the skin would definitely cause an outbreak of itchy hands for me. Ecover is definitely gentle!

Green but not green
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Ecover is not a green liquid in colour but it is much better for the environment than most other detergents. It has the following qualities:
* really good biodegradability
* minimum impact on aquatic life
* not tested on animals
* uses plant based ingredients, not petrochemical
* suitable for use in septic tanks.
The packaging is pleasant and totally suitable for plastic recycling. Refills are available if you don't want to bother taking your empty plastic bottle to the recycling site.

Conclusion
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I have to rate Ecover five out of five. It smells great, it cleans well and it’s kind to my delicate hands. I dread washing up at other peoples’ houses if they don’t use this brand but perhaps carrying a bottle in my handbag is a little eccentric even for me! Finally though, the moral of this review is always remove pizza from the oven using a slice!



Thanks for reading!

Summary: Ecover is kind to hands, cleans well and is better for the environment than most competing products.