They've got it Ecovered! (Ecover Washing Up Liquid)

Member Name: Suzela

Product:	Ecover Washing Up Liquid
Date:	25/10/07 (126 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Environmentally friendly but effective cleaning

Disadvantages: I now have to do some washing up

I have to admit that I had noticed that some of our "environmentalist" friends used this product and I always thought it had to be completely ineffective if it was good for the environment. So I have always stuck to my big brand varieties but at the same time I have been quite aware about the number of chemicals that we have in our kitchen cupboards but to my shame had done nothing about it.

So when we went on holiday and the cottage we stayed in used all Ecover products I felt like I was getting a free sample so I test drove the products and was particularly impressed by the washing up liquid. So much so that when we got home and I needed to buy some more washing up liquid I thought I would get this product and see how well it worked for us on our normal washing up habits.

I have to say that I have been extremely impressed by this product – it has a wonderful camomile and citrus smell which is light and yet does not linger on your crockery. As far as I can see it does what it claims to with the minimum of fuss. According to the information on the back of the bottle it says:
“Cleans and degreases efficiently using the power of nature.
Kind to your hands thanks to plant based ingredients
Not based on petrochemical ingredients
No residue of unnecessary chemicals left on your dishes “

To test this I did arrange a pan test (merely to satisfy my husband that this product does actually work and I wasn’t jumping on the environmentalist bandwagon) with the remainder of our well known branded washing up liquid versus the Ecover.

Using two dirty saucepans from the night before I put the Ecover in the dirtier of the two and the well known brand in the other. We then put some very hot water in each pan. The Ecover pan only required a little rubbing with the sponge to get the dirt off whereas the well known brand needed a bit of scouring help. Also the Ecover made the saucepan lovely and bright – it looked properly clean. Was this because of the lack of residue you have to ask? In fact all of our cutlery, crockery, pans and glasses look sparkly clean and since we've been using this product we've never had that horrible situation where you make the tea and get a mouthful of soap suds because there has been a slight residue left.

I suffer from eczema on my hands and for years (or so I tell my husband) I haven’t been able to wash up due to my hands becoming irritated (even with marigolds on I haven't been able to wash up - honest!). The only downside then to this product for me is that I now have to do the washing up because it doesn’t irritate my hands! But I have no complaints with its cleaning ability and would not hesitate to recommend this product to anyone. And not just anyone with an environmental conscience but anyone who wants an effective washing up liquid.

How much do you need and how long does it last?
You don’t get a lot of bubbles with this product but you’re not supposed to. It is a little disconcerting not seeing many soap suds as many of the big brands advertise on the amount and length of time that their suds last. But despite the lack of suds you get effective cleaning. One squirt is enough for your average bowl of washing up but for more stubborn, dried on dirty dishes a little soaking is required in very hot water. As for how long does a bottle last we have just finished our first one which was bought 3 months ago (please note this is based on two people who wash up straight after dinner so dirt isn’t allowed to dry on much and whose main source of “burnt on” dirt is a cast iron griddle pan which has a protective coating).

This product also offers the following benefits:
- Levels of biodegradability which far exceeds legislative requirements.
- The bottles and labels are made from polyethylene, the caps are made from polypropylene both of which are easily recyclable in a low energy process.
- Refills are available although they are not widely available but you can check here for your nearest refill supplier http://www.uk-marketingdatabase.com/ecover/ECOVER. search.show_parms). You can refill your bottles up to 50 times - again positively impacting on the environment.
- Because the products are plant based there is minimal impact on aquatic life.
- Ecover are against animal testing
- And you can use this product in your septic tank (if you so wish!).

Luckily this product is becoming more popular with supermarket chains but can also be found in some health food shops. Here is a link to Ecovers stockists http://ecover.reference.be/gb/en/WhereToBuy/

Price wise it was £1.74 in our local Sainsbury for a 1 litre bottle. I was a little taken aback by this but then 500ml of our usual brand was £0.89 so it was about the same price per litre. You can buy it in a 500ml bottle for £0.99 so in that respect it is a little more expensive but as I soon discovered well worth that little bit extra. The only thing is the products don’t seem to be on offer as much as the standard brands so that is where the standard brands win in value terms. But for quality and effectiveness without ruining the environment, this product wins hands down.

Looking at the ingredients (from the back of the bottle with a couple of extra notes) you can see that the number of "bad" chemicals are quite small:
- >30% water
- 5-15% aniomic surfactants (which are plant based)
- <5& non-ionic surfactants (which are plant based)
- Milk whey (does contain a small amount of animal product),
- Extracts of camomile and marigold
- Citric acid (plant based)
- Table salt
- Perfume (type: camomile, contains Limonene)
- Preservative (0.02%):2-Bromo-2-Nitropropane-1,3-diol

Who are Ecover?
This review has been of this particular product but if you are interested in finding out more about the company click here
http://ecover.reference.be/gb/en/About/

All in all this is a great product and one which we will certainly be continuing to use. Unfortunately it doesn't have any antibacterial claims as my old brand did but this is a very small downside for me. If you are looking to try something new with regards your washing up liquid then I cannot recommend this product highly enough.

Summary: Kind to your hands, dishes and the environment!