This is a review of Fairy Liquid, of which we are a big fan in our household. It's the only brand we use and I think this may be down to years of brainwashing through their adverts! It is a high quality washing up liquid that is very concentrated so a bottle really does last absolutely ages. I can remember when the bottles were round and used in lots of craft projects that revolved around a space rocket.

Washing up for a year
This past year I have been doing all the washing up by hand as we have moved house and there was only one appliance space in the kitchen and the washing machine won so our beautiful silver Smeg machine (worth £1k but bought off a friend who won it in a competition!) was sat waiting in the garage. Our utility room is now complete so the dishwasher is back in situ and the washing machine relegated to the utility with a new friend, our first tumble dryer. I decided to give in over this with shortly having two under two years.

Now
I know a lot of people choose to wash up by hand but it's not a chore I particularly enjoy. I make the experience as kind to my hands as possible, wearing rubber gloves every time and probably wash up twice a day to keep on top of the pots. The past few brands of Fairy have been quite special, we used the traditional green for a while but then moved on to Fairy Platinum when they released that which was still green but marketed as a superior product! In recognition of the Olympics, we bought a massive bottle of 'Fairy Gold' which is still half full and in use. My husband is not a fan of 'flavoured' washing up liquid (like apple, lemon or fruity flavours) so we tend to stick to the original green formula.

In use
A small squirt in to running water makes adequate soapy water to do the washing up. Having a baby means we do things in a certain order, washing glasses and baby bottles first which then go in the steriliser, then I do pots and cutlery and finish with the cats' food bowls and any other dirty items.

Price
I always buy my Fairy when it's on offer and make sure I buy it before we run out so I never have to pay full price. I am not fussy about the size of bottle I buy although the gold one we have currently is massive and dominates the kitchen window sill. You can currently buy two 530ml bottles of Fairy washing up liquid at Tesco for £2 which I think is a good price.

Final word
The worst mistake you can make with Fairy liquid is to use too much as it will just make your plates and cups etc. taste of soapy liquid so it's good to be sparing when running the bowl of water. I like to wash things as I go along but sometimes have to soak casserole bowls and baked on food to make it easier to clean. It's not my favourite task but it is satisfying to see the clean dishes when the job is done. I will stick to using this brand in the future and am not tempted to try anything cheaper as I have used cheaper liquids in the work place sink and found them to be so weak you have to use a lot each time so it's a false economy really.