NOW CLOSED: Talk to Tesco Naturally Powered about environmentally friendly cleaning products - you could win a £100 Tesco voucher

[AnnMumsnet]

You may have seen in store (or on Mumsnet, thanks to the 1000 odd testers who put two of the products to the test) that Tesco have recently launched a new range of cleaning products, Naturally Powered and they would like to know your opinions on buying environmentally friendly cleaning products.

So, if you buy environmentally friendly cleaning products, why is this? Are all the cleaning products you use environmentally friendly or only certain ones? If so what type of cleaning don't you use environmentally friendly cleaning products for and why? Do you find that they are effective in cleaning your house? Think about both laundry and cleaning products.

If you don't buy environmentally friendly cleaning products, why is this? Is there anything that could persuade you to buy environmentally friendly cleaning products? Is this something you think about when doing your shopping?

Are there any cleaning activities where you don't use cleaning products at all, but choose to use 100% natural ingredients? What would be your top tips for using natural products to clean your house?

All those who add their comments to this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive £100 Tesco voucher.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw.
MNHQ

[lorisparkle]

I would like to buy eco friendly products but usually by the bare minimum and the cheapest because of current financial climate.

DH is also concerned about its effectiveness and I am wary about buying a new product unless I am confident it will work as we can not afford to waste money.

[TheLazyGirlBlog]

I find that Environmentally responsible products are less likely to irritate my sensitive skin. I have no idea why, perhaps the lack of harsher chemicals. I was using Fairy Liquid for years, literally decades as I was washer upper at home from the age of about 10 and am 30 now. I can't wear rubber gloves as I am allergic(!) so had to put up with manky dry flaky hands. I was asked to trial a product for my blog and it (the eczema) disappeared after a few weeks. It didn't sting when I washed up.
I now buy the same eco products and yes, they cost a few pence more but its nice to not have to constantly hide my hands.

[nickschick]

I rarely use eco products mostly because Ive found them not to be that effective -I like cleaning products to smell clean I like the plastic smell of freesia and pink grapefruit and I have product after product of all different cleaners - if eco products did the job,were cost effective and smelt nice I would use them but until they do ill use my long list of stuff......

[ICutMyFootOnOccamsRazor]

I use white vinegar for lots of things (windows etc) and use eco washing up liquid.

The one thing I find just doesn't work as well is eco laundry detergent and with two of the world's grubbiest children, I just go for somehting that gets things clean.

[violetwellies]

We have an organic farm, so I'm already committed to the 'green' cause, and supermarkets are anything but. I try and buy at local independent retailer and stick to ecover, recently defeated by our limescaled loo I bought a bottle of something leathal, that didn't work either.
I'm going to use cola thanks for the tip upthread. :)

[HannahLI]

I really like Eco products and I prefer them as they are more friendly to the environment and tend to be safer for my kids. So on the whole I do try and think about what I am buying however lots of the more natural products that I have brought in the past don't always clean that well or you have to scrub twice as hard to get something clean so I feel good for buying it bt then have to work twice as hard. Having very young children I also like to buy a really good Milton type spray for wiping surfaces to keep things at bay. I would love to try a product before buying so I could do a direct comparison with how clean it would get it. I have to say I never buy toilet cleaner that's Eco friendly and never even thought about changing that but would change my other cleaning products particularly if they cleaned really well and came recommended! Washing powder I am less likely to change due to skin sensitivities as it can take weeks to resolve reactions so I have always used the same brand.

[TheMysteryCat]

I buy ecover or use bicarb of soda, vinegar, lemon etc to clean with. if ind it effective both in terms of costs and the quality of the products.

I'm not impressed that the tescos range contains palm oil - that is a terrible resource to be using and should not be in any products, least of all "environmentally friendly" ones.

[puffylovett]

Quickquickslow you can get Ecover bottles refilled at a decent health food store :)

[puffylovett]

I seem to be the only person who doesn't have a kitchen cupboard full of cleaning products! My house must be scummy

Generally I find that hot water works well on kitchen surfaces the majority of the time. If I want a deeper clean I use bicarb. Although when our cat returned, I caved to dp's request and for some method cleaner (he was on the work surfaces looking for a way out initially)

Windows use vinegar.

Damp dust

Method for clothes

The only area I'm fussy is bathrooms which get cif and loos get bleached. But I will switch to Eco friendly loo cleaner I think.

We have allergies in this house and i'm a big believer in the 'clean' theory.

[LaCerbiatta]

I don't use eco friendly products for clothes because they don't clean well enough. For cleaning the house I would happily only use eco-friendly but I think they're too rxpensive. I do use Ecover concentrated which i put in a squirty bottle and dilute with water. That works out quite cheap.

[mrscumberbatch]

I'd love to use all ecologically friendly products but find that for effectiveness and pursestrings quite often I cannot.

We usually have ecover for our surfaces etc as for some reason I know DD has access to these areas and don't want her to be around harsh chemicals.

I still use bleach (tiny bit) on my floors though which defeats the purpose entirely.

I would love to use an ecofriendly glass cleaner etc but I am not messing around with vinegar as I cannot stand the smell (makes me retch).

I also don't want any faff- make the cleaning be over and done with! So having to mess around with vinegar and newspaper and getting filthy in the process is just not going to happen!

[ChunkyPickle]

I buy whatever is cheapest too - I have some liquid bleach hanging around for sterilising, and I use the pure limescale remover for toilets.

Then I'll have some kind of squirty cleaner around that gets used everywhere usually a manky bottle of glass cleaner, some abrasive cleaner, and lots of microfibre cloths.

I don't buy eco-friendly products as I'm yet to be convinced that any of them really are. Even Bicarb (which I see some people touting as eco-friendly) really isn't once you take its production methods into account.

[Trickle]

I used to use bicarb and borax and vinegar on most things - for instance vinegar we used as both rinse aid and softner, since I can't get hold of cheap white vinegar any more I've gone back to ecover softner as I'm not paying through the nose for vinegar when it means ecover is cheaper. Please start doing everyday white vinegar again - but you won't becasue it forces me to buy something more expensive and drives your profit up! Can't get borax for love nor money and it's not worth using cooking bicarb to clean with as again it's so expensive and all the cleaning bicarb has disappeared - I'm wondering if your new 'eco' products are to blame for this and makes me even less inclined to shop in your supermarket. Oh and we use eco balls in the washer - I hate the smell most commercial products have these days and avoid going anywhere near the isles that have them, when you have such a low smell home as ours (we only really use essential oils - for both smell and cleaning - and insense) you notice how horrible synthetic smells are urgh.

[howiwonder]

i buy ecover from time to time when im feeling rich (not very often) but am more likely to try supermarket own label 'green' versions of cleaners, most seem to do them now, although not a very big range. i still use proper cheapy bleach down the loo though!

[Mominatrix]

I buy environmentally friendly products to clean most surfaces around the house, and try to clean in an environmentally friendly way in general. Specifically, I use e-cloths to clean windows, mirrors, general dusting, and stainless steel surfaces, so only water is used. I use an environmentally friendly multi-cleaner to clean kitchen surfaces and floors. I use them for two reasons, 1) to keep the amount of chemicals on surfaces and in the air of the house to a minimum, and also I dislike the idea of harsh chemicals in the kitchen.

I do not use environmentally friendly products to launder clothing or wash dishes for 2 reasons: 1) I have tried them in the past for dishwashing and have been dissatisfied with the results (not efficient or as effective), and 2) I use lower temperatures to launder things and need to add antibacterials to ensure that all germs are killed in the wash.

E-cloths and water are wonderful, and better for fine furniture (I was told by the furniture makers to never use any product on them, and use only a slightly damp chamois).

[MumOfAPickle]

I have used Eco cleaners in the past but not at the moment as they're more pricey & we just have to save wherever we can at the moment. Having said that I am still using a bottle of Method stainless steel cleaner which is brilliant & has lasted for about 2 years so far! Oh & imo Eco washing up liquid is crap.

[edisonuk]

I try to be as green as possible, my main reason is sensitive skin, and if I clean the bath or wash clothes with traditional stuff, it makes my skin red and itchy. I use Ecover for laundry- liquid non-bio, and under the sun conditioner which has a lovely natural smell. I also use Ecover laundry bleach for whites. Around the house it is Ecover, Method or Bentley organic range. They cost more, but not itching anymore is priceless:-)

[skyberry]

Before having children this is something, I am ashamed to admit, I never really considered. My eldest son has eczema and therefore I am a lot more careful about chemicals and irritants or eczema triggers.
I use "natural/ green products" when I can, however I am always left disapointed as I don't feel they clean or work as well as other products which contain chemicals (i.e bathroom cleaner and washing powder). I usually find I use these products for a couple of cleans i.e the wash powder and then will use a regular branded powder for a wash.
I also feel that these so called natural products are expensive. Generally not value for money and packaging is usually boring and uninspiring.

[rufus5]

I'm tend to go for the cleaners which are good value or on offer. Usually the environmentally friendly products tend to be more expensive and often are not as effective - I'm afraid in the current economic climate cost is a bigger motivator for me.

[EllenParsons]

I don't particularly buy environmentally friendly cleaning products because it's not really something that crosses my mind when shopping, although I do like the idea of being environmentally friendly. I usually just think of the price or whether I know and trust the brand. If environmental products were more heavily marketed or displayed then they might get my attention more and make me think about it while shopping.

[AKMD]

I don't set out to buy environmentally friendly cleaning products because:

1. I'm a bit sceptical about just how 'environmentally friendly' they actually are e.g. using palm oil.
   

1. I don't have much faith that they actually work.
   

1. They are often more expensive than traditional cleaning products and I don't want to spend the extra money because of 1 and 2.
   

I might start looking out for and buying environmentally friendly products if they were backed up with websites to show exactly how they work, how they are environmentally friendly etc. with independent accreditations. Otherwise, it's not something that I'd really consider.

[cherryjellow]

I dont buy them purely as they never seem to be on offer, if they were I would as In the past when I have bought them I have liked them and they have been as good. Its not really something I think about as I am buying on price.

There aren't any activities where I dont use cleaning products and I really dont have any tips, I just disinfect and wipe everything (except soft furnishings)

[Shouldacouldawoulda]

I use Ecover toilet cleaner usually but every so often I go for something stronger like bleach. I like the idea of eco-balls for the washing machine but don't believe they will be effective. I like things to smell nice.

I tend to use hot soapy water to clean surfaces etc. rather than sprays. I'm not sure I trust the eco-credentials of many big companies tbh.

[TheTempest]

It's not something I'v ever really thought about tbh. When I was pregnant, my craving was soap and cleaning smells, so I got into the habit of buying scented bleach sprays and I haven't given it much thought since then.

I can't worry about everything in this world, and I guess this is fairly low down on my list!

[JammySplodger]

I'll but eco-products where I can, but have been unconvinced by supermarket brands's eco-claims in the past - a few natural smells don't really cut it, they have to be a bit more genuine such as low-phosphate washing powder.

I quite like accreditations to things like Fairtrade and the Soil Association as I trust these, though I don't know if there's an equivalent for chemicals/ cleaning products.

I also like the clean only what needs cleaning school of thought.