More Hassle Than It's Worth.. (Windolene Original)

Member Name: xjemloux

Product:	Windolene Original
Date:	12/05/09 (60 review reads)
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It was my mum who got me using Windolene, I seen her using it one bright, sunny morning on her windows and she never had a bad word to say about it, she never had a good word to say about it either mind you. So because I'd seen my mum using it whilst in Sainsburys shopping one week I decided to purchase some.

Windolene comes in a few different forms, some offering added extras, you know the types of cleaners which promise added sparkle? Instead though I opted for Windolene Original, as it was the one I had seen my mum using. It comes in a clear plastic, gun trigger bottle and has a blue sticker on the side. The sticker gives off a glistening glass surface effect which looks rather promising. It would definitely be an appealing plus to somebody who had not tried it before. Along the sticker it says Windolene in bright red writing - so easy to know the brand if browsing amongst many. The liquid however is different to the liquid in the picture above, instead the liquid is actually clear. The liquid itself almost reminds me of bubble solution, it looks like it has a slight grease to it.

It's apparently a non smear solution for glass and shiny surfaces such as windscreens, tv screens, glass tables, mirrors and windows. It tells us this on the sticker on the front.

To use it you need to turn the red nozzle and spray sparingly from a distance of 25cms and wipe clean with a soft dry cloth or paper towel and polish off - in circular motions I found best.

When spraying it the first thing I noticed was the smell, it wasn't refreshingly clean like I'd hoped it to be. Don't know why I hoped for this mind, I mean it's not everyday I find people standing with their noses against my windows lol. Instead the smell was more of a 'chemically clean-ish' smell which lingered around my kitchen too which wasn't too pleasant.

I have found this spray can actually be more hassle than what it's worth if not used the way it says on the bottle. Paper towels have got to be the BEST option - NOT tissue though .. I have tried this and it got rather messy!!

Using cloths can work, so long as you have at least two clean cloths to use. Your first clean one being the one which wipes the dirt and the solution off and your second cloth being the one which polishes away the smears and smudges of the grime you've just wiped. This becomes alot of hardwork though as the original clean cloth that's meant to clean the dirt off begins to soak in the liquid and dirt which means it can no longer wipe windows clean instead it wipes windows dirtier than what they were before. You now have to use ANOTHER two cloths, as the clean polishing cloth ends up dirty and wet too, creating more smudges and grime. Overall this way of cleaning is annoying, can create more dirt than what you begin with and overloads your washing machine with dirty cloths. Pain in the Butt !!

As for using paper towels so long as you have a few handy they work wonders - you have no washing to do afterwards as the dirty and wet ones just get thrown in the bin. They soak up the liquid perfectly, wipe the dirt off, and you can polish your windows in that circular motion without having to worry about them ripping and sticking to your windows (like I found tissue does lol). One problem though - I'm not entirely sure where you can purchase paper towels too? My mum got me some months ago, but I don't use Windolene anymore as I wasn't too impressed with the work it had me doing nor the washing it provided me with.

This particular bottle of Windolene costs over £2.50 in Supermarkets, and my overall opinion of it is not very high. I would personally say it's not worth the money. A bottle of washing up liquid and clean cloths or paper towels could probably do the job just as good and also leave a better scent afterwards rather than having your room smelling like some sort of lab. To be honest I found even after using paper towels with this cleaner it didn't leave me with the best results and there were often smudges left. I now usually have window cleaners clean my windows, they do a better job :).

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