I picked up a couple of bottles of this Tesco own brand bleach (the Thick Citrus variety) with my shopping a few weeks ago. Bleach isn't something I'm overly fussy about and don't stick to one brand of, so I chose this purely on the basis of a) it said citrus on it so I thought it might not smell as bad as normal bleach and b) it was on offer at £1.20 for two bottles (750ml each) or 67p each. As we have two toilets I always keep two bottles of bleach in the house, one for upstairs and one for downstairs as that way I'm much more likely to use it rather than having to remember to take it upstairs every time I want to clean the loo so, as this was on offer for 2 bottles, this was the one I chose.

The citrus bleach comes, as you might expect, in a bright yellow bottle, rather than the standard blue bleach bottle. The label is also yellow with red and blue branding on it and the lid is a vivid red colour, so it really stands out on the shelf - well, it stands out as much as any of the other yellow bottles of bleach stand out anyway!

The front label claims that it lasts for 24 hours and that it kills germs and bacteria and the back label contains all the usual directions for use and storage, warnings and safety instructions, contact information for Tesco and the fact that both the bottle and cap can be recycled. There is also the additional information of; Kills germs, bleaches, removes stains, safe to use in septic tanks and helps prevent limescale. Pretty much your standard bleach really (and the main reason I don't like to buy branded names of bleach as I think they're pretty much all the same and don't want to have to pay for a fancy name and packaging when a blander one will do the same job).

But does it do the same job as a branded bleach? Well the short answer is yes...but that wouldn't make a very informative review! So here comes the long answer!

I use this bleach mainly as a toilet cleaner and occasionally diluted to give the kitchen surfaces a thorough de-germing. It is easy to use as a toilet cleaner, simply unscrew the lid (a child-safety lid which has to be squeezed in certain places before you can unscrew it), turn the bottle on an angle and squirt the product around the toilet. It has a shaped neck, making it easier to get under the rim of the toilet, although this isn't as pointed as other nozzles I've used in the past, but it still seems to work and get right under the rim. I then leave the bleach to work its magic for a few hours (or sometimes overnight) then simply flush the toilet and rinse it away. I will also give the toilet a good scrub with a loo brush before flushing the bleach away every couple of days so I know that it really is clean.

As a toilet cleaner I've been satisfied that it does the job I want from it. I wouldn't rave about it, but then I don't think I'd rave about any bleach. It states that it's a thick bleach and it is quite thick, although not as thick as others I've used. But it does seem to cling to the sides of the toilet bowl well enough and doesn't just slip right down so in this respect it makes me think it's working well. It also states that it's Citrus fragranced and yes, it does smell vaguely citrussy and not quite as bad as normal bleach, but it doesn't exactly make me think "mmm, lemons" when I use it! When using this bleach I'm reassured that my toilet has been cleaned and it looks sparkling and clean. I can't comment on whether or not it helps prevent limescale as this isn't a problem we suffer with.

As a deep cleaner for my kitchen I dilute a small squirt of this into a large bowl of hot water and then, wearing rubber gloves, obviously, using a clean cloth I wipe all the surfaces down with it and mop the floor. I also use this sometimes on the uPVC widow frames to bring them up sparkling. Obviously, I can't see germs and bacteria on my surfaces or floors so I don't know for sure that it's working, but neither of us have come down with any food poisoning or lurgy so I'm satisfied that it's doing it's job and keeping things germ free. Again, I wouldn't complain if this smelt a bit more lemony when using in this way!

So there you go, the long answer! All in all I'm satisfied with this bleach and would definitely purchase it again. It may not be as thick as premium brand bleaches and the bottle may not be quite as sophisticated, but when it comes to bleach all I want from it is that it cleans my toilet and kitchen surfaces and this ticks those requirements. Given the choice I'd rather it was a little bit thicker maybe, and I'd definitely like more of a lemony smell given that one of the reasons I chose it was for the Citrus fragrance, but overall I've been happy with it and will be rating it 4 stars.