Do you grind or polish? (Hob-Brite)

Member Name: aefra

Product:	Hob-Brite
Date:	03/09/03 (1179 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It works, Great value

Disadvantages: None

I shall very soon be replacing the Hob Brite with which I clean my ceramic hob after nearly a year of use.

"Huh! She doesn't do much cooking" I hear you say. Close, but I do use my hob at least once daily.
"I know, she just boils an egg on it". No, I fry in olive oil and things spatter.
"Then she is dirty and leaves her hob all greasy". Not true, I clean it after each use.

This couldn't be said for an acquaintance of mine who hadn't attended to her her cooker hob for what seemed like years. When it became clear that all the scraping in the world wasn't about to remove the burnt on grease and ground in gunge she made loud and unremitting noises about a new kitchen to her husband. I was there when he finally sorted the problem. As I stood talking to her in the garden doorway he passed us from the garage, trailing an extension lead behind him. On the business end was a disc which had a sander or grinder of some sort attached and that he had clearly been about to use when he heard her whinging again. To our joint horror he proceeded to deal with the hob in his own masculine way to the awesome sound of grinding ceramic. A few minutes later we stared at a perfectly clean but never to look the same again cooker surface. Joan sensibly kept her mouth tightly closed and a month later he did buy her a new kitchen.

When I had my new kitchen installed last year it included a cooker with a gleaming black ceramic hob and white circles above the radiant rings. My previous hob had been ceramic, but with absolutely everything in the new installation brand spanking new, part of the novelty was keeping it that way. So it is Cif for the surfaces as the manufacturer suggests, Wood Silk for the pine and with due ceremony I reached for Hobrite off the Sainsbury shelf because Beko had said I should.

Hob Brite is white and fairly free flowing. The container ne
eds to be shaken before use and I could feel it was slightly less dense than other cleaners such as Cif. Containing citric acid, it must not be used with bleaches and other cleaners, but this is a product which doesn't need any assistance anyway.

Made by Homecare Products, this is one of a range of cleaners used commercially and is the brand leader. Happily no animals are used in testing and Homecare products are endorsed by The Vegetarian Society; which all goes to show that strong effective solutions can be kind in manufacture as well as on our precious ceramic and halogen surfaces.

The cooker is perhaps the only appliance or surface in the kitchen which cannot be wiped free of spills as soon as they occur. Those of us with hob warning lights know how long it takes before the surface is cool enough to touch. By the time cleaning is possible any grease or saucepan overflows are baked solid and generally show as brown scars on our lovely hob. The Hob Brite container tells us that any stubborn deposits can be loosened with the aid of a scraper, but I have never had to resort to such harshness.

I just give a little shake and after lifting the simple flat lid of the citrusy orange bottle squirt a little of the cleaner onto the offending stains. With the help of a scothbrite pad (the green, gently abrasive cloths found on the shelves of all supermarkets), I rub my white rings until the marks disappear. Until now I have been using a damp cloth and rinsing, but have just realised that a dry one would do as well. Taking the cream over the rest of the hob for good luck, all that remains is a polish with a kitchen towel.

Although other kitchen creams may initially work as effectively, it is the finish which gives Hob Brite the edge. This is the only cleanser of its type I have found which leaves not the slightest smear. From any angle the hob gleams black, shiny and as reflective as a mirror with l
ittle more effort than I need for my work surfaces. A bonus is the quiet and pleasant citrusy scent and at only £1.55 per 300ml bottle is very good value indeed. If we were allowed to award more stars I would give it 6.

Summary: