It may care about your surfaces but it doesn't care about my health (Flash Clean & Care Bicarbonate Multi Purpose Spray)

Member Name: sweetiebum

Product:	Flash Clean & Care Bicarbonate Multi Purpose Spray
Date:	11/02/09 (362 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It does what it says on the bottle

Disadvantages: Makes me cough no matter how much I use

Whilst out shopping some months ago in my local Tesco I was cornered by a rather pushy sales assistant as I walked down the cleaning aisle. She had obviously been told to sell a certain quota of products and sell she did as if her life depended on it. The product in question was the new Flash Clean and Care range. As Flash can normally do no wrong in my house and more importantly the fact that the product was reduced, I duly put two spray bottles in my trolley. I felt obliged by her convincing sales pitch, plus the fact that I'm useless at saying no. The main focus of her argument was that unlike its more chemical rivals, this new product was more gentle and natural because it contained the magical bicarbonate of soda. If anybody has seen the rather irritating adverts with Anthea Turner the main benefit of bicarbonate of soda is the fact that you can use the cleaner on even delicate surfaces without damaging them. After unpacking my shopping and putting the spray bottles away in a cupboard I completely forgot about them until about a week ago. However, I really wish I hadn't remembered they were there and after trying them have since condemned the bottles to spend eternity in my cupboard, relegated to a 'just in case I run out' status.

Packaging:
Flash Clean and Care with bicarbonate of soda comes in two different type's bottle, either a large screw cap bottle or a smaller trigger spray bottle. As I have the trigger spray bottle this is what the review will be based around. In my opinion the Clean and Care range is slightly more upmarket when it comes to the packaging as the bottle is not made out of the stark white plastic like my Flash bathroom cleaner. Instead the bottle is a lovely pearlescent creamy colour. Unlike the bathroom spray bottle the pearlescent material means that you can just about see the liquid inside. This is useful so you can see how much you have used, however as the bottle is not completely translucent you have to be in the right kind of light to be able to see it clearly. This is certainly an improvement from the bathroom cleaner but one that could be improved further.

As you can faintly see the duck egg blue coloured liquid inside, the bottle then takes on a bluey tinge. The label on the bottle is also a similar colour and works well with Flash logo which is written in the standard yellow typeface. The label is embellished with lots of natural motifs like trees and leaves, which highlights the natural ingredients in the product. On the back of the bottle the label explains all of the different surfaces that the product can be used on, including marble, steel, granite, wood and enamel. Despite containing natural ingredients the bottle still carries a lot of safety guidelines, like keeping the product away from children and keep away from the eyes. The label also states that the product may be an irritant to sensitive skin, so all sensible information really.

Using the Product:
To use the product all you have to do is twist the nozzle onto the 'on' position and then pull the trigger. This is a practical safety feature as you can twist the nozzle back again so that the trigger is locked and no product can escape unless you want it to. The only downside to this is the frustration caused when you forget to turn the nozzle on and you wonder why the spray is not working! In my opinion the top of the bottle is extremely well designed as it is made out of a durable smooth plastic that is moulded to fit your hand perfectly. Compared to cheaper spray cleaners I would not hesitate to hold the bottle from the top, it feels so secure that it would even withstand my heavy handedness. In a weird kind of way both the design of the trigger and bottle are quite beautiful and really look like some thought has been taken in the design process. Despite admiring the beauty of the packaging, my high opinion had vanished when I actually used the product.

My problem was not so much with how you use the product but instead the actual liquid itself. As the product has a trigger spray it is really easy to squirt the desired amount onto the surface you are trying to clean. In fact the very nature of the trigger spray makes it easy to control the amount of product you want and exactly where you want it. However, as soon as you pull the trigger the liquid is released very quickly and as soon as this happens a strange odour permeates the air around you. The smell is really difficult to describe, I would not say that it is particularly strong or overpowering. In reality I'm quite reluctant to call it a 'smell' as it doesn't really smell much at all. However, every time I spray even a small amount it immediately goes to the back of my throat and really makes me cough. It is slightly citrusy and chemical in a harsh kind of way and I guess it is the bicarbonate of soda that is creating the smell. I'm not normally sensitive to any kind of cleaning products so this really took me by surprise. What I found even more irritating was that this cough did not stop after using it or even going out of the room, it lingered even after the smell had disappeared.

After experiencing this terrible coughing fit the first time I used the product I was understandably cautious about using it again. However, I persevered with it thinking that it was probably just because I used it in a small unventilated room or maybe it was just a coincidence. I was sadly mistaken and every time I use this product I end up coughing to some extent. I have tried using the product sparingly and in a well ventilated room but this makes little difference as I always end up coughing. Not particularly pleasant when you have been led to believe that this product is 'natural'.

Aside from the coughing I did get to test the product out on a few of the different surfaces in my kitchen. My overall feeling about the cleaning ability of the product is that it is ok but definitely not anything special. As I don't yet have the money to have granite worktops, I could only test the product on wooden surfaces and on my stainless steel appliances. It did clean them both without damaging them, and I guess that is what all of the promotional hype was about. So, in that respects the product is a success because it does what it says on the bottle. However it fails to warn you about the side effects! Despite being a bit of a 'Monica' when it comes to cleaning I am still not willing to sacrifice my health for the sake of saving my delicate surfaces. Maybe if I had an extremely large, well ventilated kitchen with tons of expensive granite worktops then I would be more convinced but as it stands I haven't and I'm not.

The moral of the story:
Overall, I would definitely not recommend this product to anybody at all. I consider myself quite healthy so the effect this had on me surprised me. I dread to think of the effect this could have on anybody else who is of delicate disposition. I don't really like the fact that these products are being marketed as being 'natural' when they obviously have some amount of chemicals added. I would recommend that if you were looking for a natural product then go right back to basics yourself - it would probably be cheaper and you would know exactly what was in it. With this product you are led to believe it is back to basics yet I cannot be sure.

Summary: Not for me