Bottoms Up! (Andrex Moist Toilet Tissues)

Member Name: jo1976

Product:	Andrex Moist Toilet Tissues
Date:	23/10/09 (129 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Useful for hospital bag and for young children

Disadvantages: Additional expense, not an essential item

As a BzzAgent, I am lucky enough to have the opportunity to test products for free in return for spreading the word about them to others. (It's not a paid job, sadly, but a nice way to try stuff for free. Anybody interested can sign up online at www.bzzagent.co.uk) I love getting free stuff so much that I just automatically accepted the latest campaign offer I received - only to realise that I had accepted a campaign about Andrex moist toilet tissue!

What we use to wipe our bums is never going to be the easiest topic of conversation so it may come as no surprise that I haven't been chatting about this with my work colleagues over the water cooler. No - I've saved that delight for my anonymous online pals. You lucky lucky people! It's also probably not surprising that Dooyoo was flooded with Bzz Agents reviewing chocolate bars a few months ago but, so far, no reviews of Andrex moist toilet tissue have cropped up!

Personally, I tend to use premium own brand loo roll, which might sound a contradiction in terms. Essentially, I don't pay for the branded Andrex versions (unless they are available on a particularly good offer) but I don't subject my rear to cheapo 'value' versions either. I've never really considered the need to use moistened toilet tissue as an adult and it isn't a product that is widely publicised, which is perhaps why it was chosen as a Bzz campaign. I tend to associate moist wipes with changing babies' bottoms or toilet training toddlers but, seeing as I'd been given these for nothing, I was prepared to give these a go when I, er, needed to 'go'!

The packaging on the wipes has clearly been improved and updated since this product made it on to the Dooyoo catalogue. Now the wipes come in either a sturdy plastic box or the refill pack which is a resealable plastic pouch featuring the cute Andrex puppy and containing 42 wipes. I actually had a couple of packs opened at the same time and can confirm that the wipes haven't started to dry out, despite being open for a number of weeks.

The wipes themselves closely resemble baby wipes. (For anybody familiar with the different brands, these have the same feel and thickness as Huggies wipes.) The wipes have a soapier smell than the fragrance I associate with baby wipes, but it is a scent that gives the impression of being clean and fresh. The wipes are intended to be used alongside traditional toilet roll, rather than a replacement for it. Basically, you wipe as usual and then use these moist wipes to 'feel extra fresh.' I found this method left me feeling slightly moist and somewhat uncomfortable rather than fresh, although that might just be because I'm not used to using this sort of product. I wasn't all that keen, to be honest.

The wipes are designed to be flushed away after use and will actually break up after flushing. I'm a bit wary of flushing anything down the loo that could potentially lead to blocked drains but I have used these and flushed them, without the need to call a plumber out as yet. The packaging does warn that only one or two sheets should be flushed at a time which doesn't really inspire confidence in these, particularly as they are recommended for use when potty training. I certainly wouldn't let a toddler loose with a packet of these - that would be a recipe for a blocked loo and lots of mess!

My seven year old son has also tried these out, under strict instructions to use no more than two at a time. I can see the point of these for children of this age as, to put it bluntly, there are a few skidmarks in his undies at times! These wipes helped to deal with that and made sure that he had given his little bum a proper clean and also made the whole process a bit more fun for him. I'm sure the novelty would soon wear off though and I'm not sure that the extra expense would justify buying these as well as traditional toilet roll. These aren't particularly cheap, costing around £1.80 for a 42 wipe pack which is much more than I tend to pay for baby wipes.

The only occasion that I could really see these wipes serving a genuinely useful purpose would be as an addition to the hospital bag, to use in the immediate post-childbirth period. I don't want to ruin anybody's romantic ideas about the realities of childbirth but, chances are, your delicate areas will be slightly more delicate than usual, particularly if you've needed stitches down there. These wipes would be ideal to slip in your hospital bag and give a little reassurance for that first eye-watering trip to the loo after having a baby! On the same note, I'd imagine these would be nice and soothing if piles were an issue too. (Oh, the joys of childbirth!)

For babies and toddlers, I'd stick to standard baby wipes which are much better value. As an adult, I don't really feel the need to use these in addition to toilet paper. They could be useful for young children but I won't be buying these on a regular basis, to be honest.

Summary: Good for the hospital bag, otherwise a non-essential item