Coming up smelling of lemons! (Flash Clean & Care Vinegar Multi Purpose Cleaner)

Member Name: i_am_joy

Product:	Flash Clean & Care Vinegar Multi Purpose Cleaner
Date:	14/03/09 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Works well to get rid of dirt and grime, kind to my lungs, smells lovely

Disadvantages: Can leave a residue on your surfaces

I am always looking for household cleaning products that won't spew out so many fumes that I have to use my inhaler as I'm cleaning, I have severe asthma which makes cleaning a real chore at the best of times but this is made worse by the use of harsh cleaning products, before anyone says anything I am thoroughly aware of the use of vinegar and other natural products for cleaning but this is time consuming and I really want the job done as quickly as possible.

My daughter bought me a bottle of Flash Clean & Care after seeing it on special offer in Sainsbury's, it's a kind product which has been specially developed for use on even delicate surfaces in your home so I thought it was worth a try as generally I find Flash to be one of the better household cleaners when it comes to fumes affecting my chest.

This cleaner has been made using white vinegar and citrus extract, both of which have long been used as natural cleaners so I was hopeful that this would become my new wonder product. It comes in a typical spray bottle which I find very easy to use, the trigger is smooth and comfortable to use unlike a recent bottle of Morrisons own brand cleaner which I bought that I ended up having to decant into another bottle as the trigger was just too stiff for my arthritic hands.

Reading the bottle I saw that Clean & Care can be used on natural stone, steel, aluminium, wood and ALL other surfaces. There are a few exceptions such as black rubber, brass and copper but Flash suggest you run a test area on these surfaces and you might find the cleaner is still OK for use. Personally I used it to clean a brass garden pot which has become weathered and it certainly got all the dirt off but left the finish looking rather dull so I had to revive it with a little Brasso.

Flash Clean & Care has a delightful lemon aroma, it scents my home beautifully and doesn't make me cough at all even when I used it in my small unventilated outhouse to clean off the shelves. It's definitely the kindest cleaner I've used in a long time and I was able to give my bungalow a complete early spring clean without any wheeziness or having to sit down to clear my head.

However, this would be irrelevant if the cleaner didn't perform but let me tell you this is an absolutely fantastic cleaner which I shall carrying on buying from now on. It's so versatile, that's the main thing I like about it. I can take this one bottle out of the cupboard and know that it will clean the majority of surfaces in my bungalow, it can be used on wood although I tend to polish my wooden furniture daily so I didn't have any actual dirty wood to try it out on although I did use it to clean up my pine kitchen table after a particularly messy cooking session with my ten year old granddaughter and the results were excellent.

I've also used it on my granite kitchen worktops, this was one of the disappointments if I'm honest as I usually use a special granite cleaner and I found this Flash didn't clean half as well and left a slight film on the surfaces which I had to rinse and buff away afterwards. This wasn't really a problem but I shall continue to use my granite cleaner on the worktops just to save on the awkward rinsing, although to be fair the Flash did remove the muck and stains which develop in the kitchen after cooking.

On all other surfaces I've found it to be excellent, you have to be careful when cleaning metal that you rub wipe it away properly and all in the right direction as it can smear but this is no problem as a quick wipe over with a dry cloth will get rid of any smears and anyway they will disappear themselves after a while. Just yesterday I cleaned my Venetian blinds with Clean & Care and was extremely impressed at how much dirt and grime was removed, my blinds are now sparkling in the Spring sunshine and it makes all the difference to how bright my kitchen looks overall.

I even used it to clean my leather sofas recently with no adverse effects at all. It left it looking a little dusty but revived the leather beautifully and got rid of marks and stains on the seats and arms, I wasn't concerned about the dusty look at all as I was planning to ask my son in law to apply some leather dubbing the following day anyway which brought the shine back beautifully.

In all I cannot really fault this product at all, it has to lose a star on the ratings because of the residue it leaves on my granite and leather surfaces as although this wasn't an annoyance for me it might well be the one thing you are looking to avoid in a cleaner. Personally I think this is wonderful; it doesn't make me cough, cleans thoroughly and quickly, smells lovely and leaves the majority of my surfaces pristine and shiny.

A 500ml bottle costs around £2 in all the big supermarkets but can often be found on special offer, usually involving buying two or more for a discounted price. I would say a bottle will last for 2 - 3 weeks if you use it daily as I do, my daughter is still on her original bottle from around six weeks ago as she tends to use a variety of different cleaners for her surfaces.

Summary: An excellent multi purpose cleaner.