I just wanted to mention a really great product which I came across in the Lakeland catalogue last year when I was off on holiday to Scotland. In the chaos of the packing I retrieved a large flask from the depths of a box of camping items and decided to fill it for the journey with steaming hot coffee. When I took off the lid the smell was not the best. I had cleaned the flask thoroughly before packing it away as it isn't something we use that often and when I opened it the aroma was distinctly unpleasant-certainly not the vehicle to house my delicious freshly brewed beverage!

I quickly remembered I had some Milton tablets in the cupboard and decided to make up a solution to disinfect the flask, this normally works well and in a couple of hours the flask was clean again. I have also used the Milton fluid for this job especially when it was on hand during my baby rearing days which also worked fine.

So off we went in the car for the long journey north and on the way I waded my way through many catalogues and magazines. I always find this passes the time quickly from the M6 to the north, by which time the views are widening out and the traffic thinning and I can once again concentrate on enjoying the scenery when hubby is driving. One of the catalogues I had with me was from Lakeland and I am sure you will have heard me praise them in previous reviews for their wonderful customer service and wide selection of household goodies for every situation. So just as we were passing their home ground in The Lake District I read about a product they were selling called Thermoclean. This made me read carefully as usually by this stage the letters on the page are merging and I am nodding off soothed by the drone of the relentless engine noise.

Thermoclean is a non bleach cleaner which was designed to clean thermos flasks but since its production has now been used to clean all manner of things including pottery, china, stainless steel and glassware.


It is also fantastic to clean the inside of flower vases- you know when the flowers have died and the vase is stained with mould and gunk!

Sold in sachets it is simply a case of placing one sachet into a flask and filling with boiling water. This will clean a litre size, you just have to scale up or down for smaller or larger flasks. Then you can go off and do whatever you like for half an hour after which time all you have to do is rinse and the flask will be sweet smelling and clean.

If you want to use it for other items you just use one sachet per litre of hot water in a bowl and you can then immerse the items. Don't put delicate items in boiling water as they may crack just use hot water and then leave to soak for half an hour. When rinsing again use warm water as you don't want temperature differences to crack valuable items.

I bought some of the Thermoclean when I was home from holiday and used it as directed. The flask was really clean and better still when I used it several months later it still smelt fresh. I wouldn't use it every day if I was using the flask continuously but maybe once a week to keep it fresh.

Available from Wilkinsons and all good camping shops as well as from the distributors MetalexUK Ltd- their website is www.metaltex.com and their phone number is 01908 262062.

Thermoclean website is

www.thermoclean.co.uk

Lakeland Limited sells the product for £2.99 for 4 sachets

www.lakeland.co.uk


In conclusion I would say it is useful product to have in the house. Milton works well too but this is convenient to have a few sachets ready for the holiday season or just to keep your flask free of odours every now and then if you use it regularly.