From Asda to Aldi & Morrisons, I tried every supermarket own-brand cleaners – the winner was cheaper & left loo gleaming
PUTTING the sparkle into your home is now more expensive than ever due to the soaring cost of cleaning products.
The price of bleach has shot up by as much as 90 per cent due to chlorine shortages last summer.
A 750ml bottle of Domestos has leapt from £1.15 to £1.49.
Supermarket own-brand bleach has been hit too.
Asda’s Just Essentials 2-litre is up from 50p to 85p, while Morrisons’ M Savers equivalent has risen by 43 per cent, says trade magazine The Grocer.
But clean loos and work-tops needn’t cost the earth.
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Writer Samantha Yule compared a like-for-like basket of own-label cleaning products from the Big Six supermarkets to see which offers the best value.
She gives her verdicts, rating each out of five.
ALDI: Power force own brand
- Sponge scourers x6: 99p
- Thick bleach 750ml: 60p
- Floor wipes x15: 85p
- Toilet cleaner 750ml: 55p
- Furniture polish 250ml: 79p
- Bathroom cleaner 750ml: 89p
- Microfibre cloths x4: £1.99
- Antibacterial surface cleanser 750ml: 85p
- TOTAL: £7.51
THE cheap price did not compromise how effective these cleaning products were.
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All had a lovely, fresh scent and my loo was gleaming after a squirt of the toilet gel, which combats limescale as well as germs.
★★★★★ - Winner
ASDA: Own brand
- Sponge scourers x10: £1.50
- Thick bleach 750ml: 70p
- Floor wipes x25: £1
- Toilet liquid gel 750ml: 70p
- Multi-surface polish 300ml: £1
- Bathroom surface cleaner 750ml: £1
- Microfibre cloths x4: £2
- Antibacterial multi-purpose spray 750ml: £1
- TOTAL: £8.90
ASDA gives you a bigger pack of sponges for your money, which is always a bonus, and the four-pack of microfibre cloths can be used on different surfaces, such as windows — which they left free from smears and fingerprints.
★★★★
LIDL: W5 Own brand
- Sponge scourers x6: 99p
- Thick bleach 750ml: 60p
- Floor wipes x15: 85p
- Toilet gel 750ml: 55p
- Furniture polish 300ml: 79p
- All-purpose cleaner 750ml: 89p
- Microfibre cloths x4: £1.99
- Antibacterial multi-surface spray 750ml: 89p
- TOTAL: £7.55
AT 4p more expensive than the Aldi basket, the difference between products from these two high street heroes was minimal.
I particularly liked the bathroom cleaner with bleach, as it added extra sparkle to my shower and sink.
★★★★
SAINSBURY'S: Own brand
- Sponge scourers x6: £1.10
- Thick bleach 750ml: 70p
- Floor wipes x15: £1
- Toilet gel 750ml: 70p
- Furniture polish 300ml: £1
- Bathroom surface cleaner 750ml: £1
- Microfibre cloths 2x2: £3
- Antibacterial cleaner 750ml: £1
- TOTAL: £8.50
THE furniture polish with beeswax kept my home’s surfaces dust-free for days, much longer than my usual polish.
The chemicals in the anti-bacterial spray hit the back of my throat and, because the microfibre cloths came in packs of two, they weren’t as good value as some others elsewhere.
★★★
Tesco: Own brand
- Sponge scourers x6: 99p
- Thick bleach 750ml: 60p
- Floor wipes x25: £1.50
- Toilet gel 750ml: 45p
- Multi-surface polish 300ml: £1
- Anti bac bathroom spray 750ml: 85p
- Microfibre cloths x4: £2
- Antibacterial multi-purpose spray 750ml: 85p
- TOTAL: £8.24
NICE, clean-looking packaging with a fresh, satisfying scent.
I particularly liked how the microfibre cloths are cheerful and bright, but the big moist floor wipes weren’t a winner because they left my laminate a little dull.
★★★
MORRISONS: Own brand
- Sponge scourers x8: £1.55
- Thick bleach 750ml: 75p
- Floor wipes x15: £1.40
- Toilet gel 750m: 70p
- Wood polish 250ml: 85p
- Bathroom cleaner 750ml: £1.10
- Microfibre cloths 2x2: £4
- Antibacterial cleaner 750ml: £1.10
- TOTAL: 11.24
THE products did the job well, but the additional cost didn’t mean more cleaning power or pizzazz.
The microfibre cloths were costly, with branded alternatives coming in cheaper, and the extra large floor wipes were, disappointingly, the same size as the ones from other stores.
★★
Overall verdict
WHILE some of the supermarket own-label products might not have the same cleaning power as the big brands, if you keep on top of areas prone to getting dirty, such as kitchens and bathrooms, they work just as well.
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Not only did Aldi come out cheapest of those I tested, the products were also the best – though all the different supermarkets’ offerings did a pretty good job overall.
The main differences were in the scents – and the Aldi and Tesco antibacterial sprays were my favourites of the bunch.