Latest news with #cleaningproducts
The Sun
7 days ago
- Business
- The Sun
Sainsbury's launches huge sale on brands like Shark and Vax with over £110 off
SAINSBURY'S has launched a mega sale on pricey brands like Vax and Shark. Eagle-eyed customers could not believe their luck after spotting a range of fancy cleaning products for a fraction of the price. 1 Savvy shoppers were quick to share their finds in the Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group, with many describing it as a "right bargain". One penny watcher picked up a Shark Classic Upright Pet Vacuum for just £57.50. The premium corded vacuum tackles carpets, hard floors and pesky pet hairs. If you bought the model from the official Shark website it would set you back £149.99. That is a saving of £92.49. Another deal hunter got their hands on the Shark Stainstrike spot cleaner for £37.50. Sainsbury's knocked £112 off the price of the cleaning tool, which promises to get tough stains out of upholstery. A Vax Pick Up Pet vacuum has also been slashed in price from £90 down to £22.50. Sainsbury's has also cut the price of the Vax Spotwash duo from £140 down to £98. If you are keen to shop any of these offers then you may need to head to your local branch. That is because the offer does not appear to be available to shop online. SAVE AT SAINSBURY'S With that in mind, it may be worth ringing your local branch ahead of time to avoid a wasted trip. It is also important to compare prices to ensure you are getting the best deal possible. Sainsbury's appears to be one of the cheapest places to pick up these branded cleaning devices. But Currys has cut the price of its VAX Air Stretch Pet Max U85-AS-Pme Upright Bagless Vacuum Cleaner from £110 to £89.99. MORE SAINSBURY'S NEWS And it is not the only offer across Sainsbury's stores at the moment. The grocery chain has launched a huge summer sale across its baby clothing range with prices starting at 90p. The supermarket has also made a huge change to its Nectar loyalty scheme. Shoppers will be able to access personalised 'Your Nectar Prices' at the tills from Friday, July 25. Previously, these discounts were only available for online orders or through the Smart Shop app or handset in-store. Shoppers will receive up to 10 personalised offers based on their buying habits. The discounts refresh every Friday, giving customers regular opportunities to save on essentials and discover new favourites. How to bag a bargain SUN Savers Editor Lana Clements explains how to find a cut-price item and bag a bargain… Sign up to loyalty schemes of the brands that you regularly shop with. Big names regularly offer discounts or special lower prices for members, among other perks. Sales are when you can pick up a real steal. Retailers usually have periodic promotions that tie into payday at the end of the month or Bank Holiday weekends, so keep a lookout and shop when these deals are on. Sign up to mailing lists and you'll also be first to know of special offers. It can be worth following retailers on social media too. When buying online, always do a search for money off codes or vouchers that you can use and are just two sites that round up promotions by retailer. Scanner apps are useful to have on your phone. app has a scanner that you can use to compare prices on branded items when out shopping. Bargain hunters can also use B&M's scanner in the app to find discounts in-store before staff have marked them out. And always check if you can get cashback before paying which in effect means you'll get some of your money back or a discount on the item.
Washington Post
22-07-2025
- Health
- Washington Post
These DIY solutions can replace a closet full of chemical cleaners
Without much thought, Americans have built up potent arsenals in their homes worthy of a chemical weapons treaty. I'm talking, of course, about your cleaning cabinet. When I investigated mine recently, I found potent mixtures containing ethoxylated alcohols and quaternary ammonium compounds, also known as 'quats.' While regulators consider these products safe, some ingredients are also irritants, or even toxic, at high doses. Worse, quats and other common ingredients such as fragrances (often undisclosed trade secrets) are getting a second look as potentially harmful for the environment and us.
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Reckitt strikes deal worth up to £3.6bn to sell Cillit Bang business
Household goods giant Reckitt Benckiser has agreed a deal worth up to 4.8 billion US dollars (£3.6 billion) to sell a majority stake in its Cillit Bang and Calgon arm. Private equity firm Advent International will buy a 70% stake in Reckitt's essential home cleaning products business, which also includes brands such as Air Wick, Woolite, Resolve, Sole and Easy-Off, as well as around 75 other brands across more than 70 markets. Reckitt will keep a 30% stake in the essential home business after the sale, with up to 1.3 billion dollars (£968 million) deferred under the deal. It will offload six factories, including a site in Derby, to Advent under the deal. The firm will also book around 800 million dollars (£596 million) in costs for splitting out the essential home division from the rest of the business. It expects to complete the deal by the end of the year. Kris Licht, Reckitt chief executive, said: 'We are executing our strategic plan at pace. 'The divestment of Essential Home represents a significant step forward in unlocking the substantial value in our business. 'This moves Reckitt towards becoming a simpler, more effective world-class consumer health and hygiene company and it will enable us to focus on a core portfolio of high-growth, high-margin power brands.' It put the essential home division, which accounts for about 14% of group net revenues, up for sale last summer as part of a major overhaul. Mr Licht has been leading a plan to restructure Reckitt, unveiling aims last year to spin off its baby formula business, Mead Johnson, and sell the essential home division to focus on 'power brands', such as Durex condoms, Gaviscon antacid and Strepsils lozenges. The essential home business delivered around £2 billion of net revenues in 2024 and it made underlying earnings of £486 million in the year to March. Reckitt said the sale would help further boost shareholder returns, with it set to pay out a 2.2 billion dollar (£1.6 billion) special dividend to investors. The group added it plans to offset the costs of spinning off the division under wider aims to cut costs across the firm. Shares in Reckitt lifted 2% in morning trading on Friday. Ranjan Sen, managing partner of Advent said: 'The carve-out represents a unique opportunity to create a focused, scaled platform of globally recognised home care brands that operate in attractive categories. 'We are confident we can build on the portfolio's strong foundations to drive operational excellence and unlock the brands' full potential.'
Auto Express
04-07-2025
- Automotive
- Auto Express
Best snow foams 2025
Snow foam has gone from being a niche product for professional valeters to an everyday part of many motorists' car-cleaning kit. It works in the same way as leaving dirty dishes in a sink to soak, by softening dirt and making it much easier to remove. As snow foam's popularity has increased, so has the number of products on offer, to the extent that our usual two-year review cycle can't keep up. So in this mega test we have put 20 through our rigorous process. We've chosen the most popular sizes, but if you use a lot of foam we'd advise buying in bulk to cut the cost per wash, especially if you order online. So which foams covered themselves in glory, and which were snow good? We modified the test slightly this year, by applying the products to our Fiat's bodywork direct from a pressure washer's snow foam lance, in carefully masked sections, so we could see the cleaning power and foam levels at the dilutions suggested by the maker's instructions. Advertisement - Article continues below Once they had been left to dwell for five minutes, we rinsed them off using a normal hose's pressure, and judged the cleaning performance. This was followed by a jet wash's blast to gauge the level of dirt remaining. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below View T-Cross View T-Cross View 2 Each foam was rated for its cleaning ability, ease of use and value for money per wash, based on 250ml of mixture per car. Price: around £9.95 around £9.95 Size: 1 litre 1 litre Cost per wash: 17p 17p Rating: 5 stars 5 stars Contact: We have a bit of a love-hate relationship with Bilt-Hamber's Touch-Less. We highly rate the cleaning power and value for money, but are frustrated by the baffling instructions that require at least 20 minutes to follow. We suspect many users won't make the effort, so in addition to following the supplied directions to the letter, we also tried a mix using a simple 1:10 dilution. Both concentrations produced a clinging foam that cut through dirt noticeably better than most rivals here. The value is impressive, too, so Touch-Less takes the win. Buy now from Amazon Price: around £11.99 around £11.99 Size: 2.5 litres 2.5 litres Cost per wash: 12p 12p Rating: 4.5 stars 4.5 stars Contact: This is the first time we've tried Polar White, and we assumed it would be cheap and cheerful rather than particularly effective. But we were impressed by CarPlan's snow foam. The smallest container available is 2.5 litres, yet it costs less than some rivals' one-litre bottles. This, combined with a 1:9 mix ratio means the cost per wash is the lowest in this test. Despite the dilution and the slightly watery foam it creates, the bright orange, satsuma- scented liquid does the job well when it's left to dwell on the car's paintwork. Advertisement - Article continues below Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below Buy now from Amazon Price: around £13 around £13 Size: 2.5 litres 2.5 litres Cost per wash: 22p 22p Rating: 4.5 stars 4.5 stars Contact: Our previous winner has fallen down the rankings this year, mainly because its price has leapt up, removing one of the Halfords' key advantages over the Bilt-Hamber and the bargain-priced newcomer from CarPlan. The snow foam has to be mixed at a 1:5 ratio, too, which means it doesn't look as cost- effective on a per wash basis. On the positive side, you're unlikely to need to pay for delivery, because it's available in any Halfords store. Its cleaning power is impressive though, matching the top two competitors here, despite producing a thin foam. Buy now from Halfords Price: around £5.99 around £5.99 Size: 1 litre 1 litre Cost per wash: 14p 14p Rating: 4.5 stars 4.5 stars Contact: The Vortex Blast appears to be closely related to the second-placed CarPlan product in terms of its active ingredients and formulation, but it is a vivid pink colour and has a different candyfloss aroma. It's the cheapest foam in this test and has an economical 1:9 dilution ratio, but is beaten for value by CarPlan. The Triplewax cleans just as well though, so it might make sense if you are an occasional user or short on shelf space. Advertisement - Article continues below Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below Buy now from Amazon Price: around £12.95 around £12.95 Size: 1 litre 1 litre Cost per wash: 32p 32p Rating: 4.5 stars 4.5 stars Contact: Despite the name, Angelwax's Fastfoam is designed to be left to dwell for 10 minutes – the longest of any product in this test. The cleaning ability is on par with the Bilt-Hamber product, even at the suggested 1:9 dilution rate. The Angelwax only loses out on a higher placing due to the cost per wash. Buying a bigger five-litre bottle makes it much better value, at 15p per clean. Buy now from Amazon We've previously tried Squid Ink's alkaline Alka Froth, so were keen to try the less aggressive Froth, which is safe to use with wax coatings. It works out at a pricey 50p per wash at the maker's suggested 1:9 dilution, but the foam it creates is too thick. We dialled the mix back to 1:19 and it was just right, cleaning just as well as at the lower ratio. Buy now from Amazon Price: around £15.99 around £15.99 Size: 1 litre 1 litre Cost per wash: 57p 57p Rating: 4 stars 4 stars Contact: This is designed to be used in our Product of the Year-winning manual foam sprayer. We tried it both in the Hydro sprayer and in a pressure-washer lance. Both created a thick blanket of 'snow', which faded fast but did a good job of dissolving Hydro Snow misses out here mainly because of the high price, but getting it in a Hydro bundle deal will bring the cost down. Price: around £23.99 around £23.99 Size: 2.5 litres 2.5 litres Cost per wash: 40p 40p Rating: 4 stars 4 stars Contact: Advertisement - Article continues below Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below The Polar Blast is designed to be used as part of a three-part cleaning process using Autoglym's other Polar Products, which can also be delivered through a snow-foam lance. It is effective at cleaning even on its own and produces a lovely layer of foam at the suggested 1:5 rate. But the Polar Blast is too expensive to be in with a chance of a win here. Buy now from Amazon Price: around £6 around £6 Size: 500ml 500ml Cost per wash: 14p 14p Rating: 3.5 stars 3.5 stars Contact: The low purchase price initially looks to be offset by the small 500ml bottle, but the Race Glaze claws back an advantage with a very frugal 1:20 dilution rate, giving it one of the lowest cost-per-washes of any in this test. The initial foam has a fruity smell, but the aroma and suds fade fast. While the cleaning power is good, it's not a match for the best products in this test. Price: around £13.99 around £13.99 Size: 1 litre 1 litre Cost per wash: 35p 35p Rating: 3.5 stars 3.5 stars Contact: Although the W4 liquid is surprisingly thick before it's mixed, the watery foam it produces is an anticlimax. It creates a pleasant scent though, which is partly due to the natural citrus degreasing ingredients, which keep the foam pH neutral. This helped GTECHNIQ clean some of our dirt easily, but it struggled with dried-on debris. Advertisement - Article continues below Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below Buy now from Amazon Price: around £17 around £17 Size: 1 litre 1 litre Cost per wash: 28p 28p Rating: 3 stars 3 stars Contact: While it looks expensive, at £17 for a one-litre bottle, the Dodo Juice's instructions suggest a dilution ratio of between 1:9 and 1:19 depending on how dirty your car is. We tried it at 1:14, which gave a reasonable cost per foam is thick, but isn't pH neutral, so it will strip off wax coatings and may damage delicate trims. Buy now from Amazon The Magifoam's instructions say you should pour two inches of the liquid into an Autobrite snow-foam lance. Given that this wasn't available at the time of testing – and we'd imagine people will have their own already – we had to guess at the required dilution, settling on 1:5. This gave a reasonable result, but there were no outstanding scores. Buy now from Amazon Price: around £17.50 around £17.50 Size: 1 litre 1 litre Cost per wash : 73p : 73p Rating: 3 stars 3 stars Contact: We really liked the Gyeon – until we entered the costs into the spreadsheet and saw its overall score tumble. It's had a price increase since we last tested it, too. When using the suggested 1:5 dilution ratio for Q2M FOAM, it works out at 73p per wash, which is simply too high to be offset by the dense foam created and the strong cleaning performance. Advertisement - Article continues below Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below Buy now from Amazon Price: around £10.99 around £10.99 Size: 500ml 500ml Cost per wash: 55p 55p Rating: 3 stars 3 stars Contact: The satsuma-scented Arctic Storm has an artificial-smelling citrus aroma, and the neon orange liquid creates a watery white foam with fairly efficient cleaning power, even at the suggested 1:9 mix ratio. But it doesn't do anything the similarly scented CarPlan can't – and that costs less than a quarter of the price. Buy now from Amazon In our last test we tried Duel's other snow foam, called Assault, so we were keen to sample the pH neutral and wax-friendly Engage. When mixed at the suggested dilution ratio of 1:4, it produced a satisfying covering of suds, which clung to the car for several minutes before fading. However, Duel Engage is simply much too expensive to do well in this test. Buy now from Amazon Price: around £7.95 around £7.95 Size: 500ml 500ml Cost per wash: 36p 36p Rating: 2.5 stars 2.5 stars Contact: Newcomer VP's foam looks reasonable value for money, especially because it is formulated to be used at a 1:10 dilution rate. Rather than being pH neutral, it is strongly alkaline, meaning it needs to be treated with respect on coatings that have been applied to a car's paintwork, as well as delicate materials. It didn't clean well enough to make this caution worthwhile. Price: around £7.50 around £7.50 Size: 1 litre 1 litre Cost per wash: 19p 19p Rating: 2.5 stars 2.5 stars Contact: Advertisement - Article continues below Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below This own-brand product from the B&Q chain is cheap to buy, especially if you pick it up with your other DIY materials rather than pay for postage. With a 1:9 dilution level for the odourless liquid, this foam is economical, too, and the instructions helpfully suggest the amount of capfuls needed to measure the mix. Yet the weak foam produced had a mediocre cleaning ability. Price: around £9.99 around £9.99 Size: 500ml 500ml Cost per wash: 50p 50p Rating: 2.5 stars 2.5 stars Contact: There is a lot to like about the Liquidtech Snow Foam. The squirty lid is easier to use with wet hands than a screw top, and the cherry scent is pleasant. The Liquidtech produces a respectable level of foam from the gun, too. But the cost per wash is high, and the actual cleaning performance is disappointing. Buy now from Amazon Price: around £8.99 around £8.99 Size: 500ml 500ml Cost per wash: 41p 41p Rating: 2.5 stars 2.5 stars Contact: We liked the Wipeout's easy-to-use pop top, and the flexibility to vary the dilution based on the muckiness of the vehicle to be washed. We tried it at the suggested 5:1 ratio for a heavy soil, and the result was only middling. The company makes other foams with more bite, but they aren't pH neutral and will strip wax coatings. Buy now from Amazon Price: around£10.49 around£10.49 Size: 500ml 500ml Cost per wash: 87p 87p Rating: 2.5 stars 2.5 stars Contact: The bottle claims the Diamondbrite is 'super concentrated', but it actually needs double the amount of the front runners in this means you'll end up paying a whopping 87p per wash. The cleaning performance was disappointing, too, so we hope that the ceramic ingredients may add unseen protection in the longer term. Buy now from Amazon Bilt-Hamber's Touch-Less is back on top. Look past the baffling instructions and it offers great cleaning at a low cost. Second place goes to a surprise newcomer: CarPlan's Polar White. It doesn't have quite the power of the Bilt-Hamber, but is unbeatable value for money. The final podium place goes to our previous champ, Halfords' Advanced HP. It's still a great product, but a price rise has hit its scores. Looking to make your car shine like new? Then look at our best power car polishers page... Range Rover Sport SV gets massive £35k price drop as it enters series-production Range Rover Sport SV gets massive £35k price drop as it enters series-production There's also a new SV Black trim, and a Range Rover Sport Stealth Package for non SVs Arrivederci Roma: new Ferrari Amalfi slots in as brand's latest entry-level model Arrivederci Roma: new Ferrari Amalfi slots in as brand's latest entry-level model A slick new look and more power are the headlines for Ferrari's new baby, but it's probably some simple new buttons that will get customers' attention Geely is coming to the UK, and its assault will start with EX5 SUV Geely is coming to the UK, and its assault will start with EX5 SUV Geely has looked to Lotus to ensure it's new electric SUV lives up to our driving expectations
CTV News
13-06-2025
- General
- CTV News
I Tried The Internet's Favourite Cleaning Product, And Yes, It's All It's Cracked Up To Be
This stuff will get your home sparkling and rings in under $15. I'll admit it—I'm not a fan of cleaning. What I do love is having a clean home. And since one leads to the other, I've developed a pretty solid routine. Still, my cleaning supply closet has never exactly sparked joy. The products get the job done, but I couldn't shake the feeling that there had to be better options out there—ones that could make chores feel a little less like, well, chores. One of my favourite not-so-great hobbies is doomscrolling on TikTok, and while I know it's not the best for my brain, it has taught me a few valuable lessons and introduced me to a few of my holy grail products. After watching satisfying videos of people taking their kitchens and showers from grungy to downright sparkling, I realized there was one thing a lot of these clips had in common: The Pink Stuff. Now, let's talk details. The Pink Stuff is an all-purpose cleaning paste that can be used to freshen up saucepans, cooktops, sinks, barbecues, ceramic tiles, garden furniture, boats, and just about anything else you can think of. The biodegradable vegan formula includes quartz, soap, and sodium silicate, which work together to scrub and lift dirt and grime. I've seen this product work cleaning miracles online, and I'm happy to report that it's not just editing—it performs just as well in my own home. I mainly purchased it to clean the tiles in my shower and the bathtub, but have since gone on to use it in almost all areas of my cleaning routine. Not only is it effective, but it smells much better than the chemical-heavy cleaners I used to rely on (it has a fresh rhubarb scent). Alice Prendergast It's effective with just a microfibre cloth, but when I really need to scrub, I use it with my drill brush cleaning heads on a light setting. This provides the deep and powerful clean I'm looking for. I would definitely only advise using microfibre cloths on surfaces that are prone to scratching. As I mentioned before, the formula includes quartz, so it's already lightly gritty and feels a bit like a facial exfoliant with a thicker whipped texture. If you find yourself falling in love with this formula, check out these Star Drops products, too: All in all, The Pink Stuff Miracle Cleaning Paste from Star Drops is an excellent budget-friendly cleaning product that'll transform your home and smell amazing doing it. It doesn't require much elbow grease to get the results you're looking for, and it won't make you want to open every window and door in your home when using it, which is a big plus in my books. What reviewers are saying about The Pink Stuff Miracle Cleaning Paste: Reviewers are big fans of The Pink Stuff Miracle Cleaning Paste. It has an average rating of 4.3 stars on Amazon Canada, and people love how versatile it is. They're also big fans of the scent and like that it doesn't rely on harsh chemicals to get the job done. Some reviewers found it too abrasive for their cleaning tasks, but most agree that it does a great job getting their homes clean. And if you're still shopping, here are a few more cleaning favourites to add to your cart: Little Luxuries Are Important, So Let Me Introduce You To A Few Hand Soaps That Smell Amazing Our Guide To The Best Dishwashers In Canada In 2025 (And Where To Get Them) The Absolute Best Odour Eliminators For Homes With Pets Disclaimer: The prices displayed are accurate at the time of publication. We'll do our best to keep them as up-to-date as possible, but you may see slight changes.
