Thoughts on,and Experience With Astonish (UK) Products...

[matthewza]

Hi All!

Been a while since I posted, but I have been reading the forum a few times a week as always.

As the title suggests, I am just interested to know a bit more about Astonish products from the UK.

I have seen them in a few of the local supermarkets here, and then a few weeks ago my fiance and I went into the UK Emporium (shop that sells UK imoprts. Virtually across the road from the apartment we moved to in Dec, and so dangerous as theres so many temptations), and they of course stock the entire range of Astonish products, and have a great Saturday deal on the trigger cleaners (5 for ZAR100. Usually ZAR26.50 each. Just under ZAR30 in the local stores) so we bought 5 different ones. And then 2 weeks later we bought another 5. And this past weekend we bought just 1 that we havent tried yet (citrus kitchen cleaner) and I took 3 loose dishwasher tablets. Its safe to say we are hooked on the trigger range.

The stain remover seems to be just as good as anything else in its price range, but whats nice is that its a 750ml bottle, and everything else is only a 500ml bottle, so that helps alot. Also the rose and peony fragrance it has is just lovely. We feel so posh using such a "fancy" stain remover. I feel like that is probably what Hyacinth Bucket would use...

The cleaners are great too. I'm the laundry nut in the relationship, but my fiance is the cleaning nut, so he loves a good cleaner and will stick to a brand if he likes it, and he raves about Astonish. The multisurface cleaner, kitchen cleaner, surface sanitiser, oven cleaner and grease lifter are our (his) favourites. I must say that the grease lifter us phenomenal, its just eats away at anything greasy or burnt on food, and I love how the oven cleaner isnt the traditonal foamy spray, and it doesnt have the intense fumes of oven cleaners.

But then theres is the dishwasher tablets...I was so looking forward to trying them, as they are so cheap (ZAR155 for 100 tabs. Finish tabs are up to double that price. There are a few cheaper options in between, but the Astonish tabs are the cheapest on the market here), and this past Saturday I noticed that the shop is selling them loose, so I took 3 to try. Have used 2, and I'm not convinced. I am a strong believer in dishwasher powder, but for the right price and product I would consider changing. Currently we use Bio Crystal powder, ruby grapefruit fragrance, and its the best I've ever used. Been using it for years, and its the only detergent my mom, aunt and cousin use too. (made by Tiger Brands). I noticed that the Astonish tabs couldnt clean a few things that the Bio Crystal powder tackles with ease, such as glasses that my fiance uses to drink his vitamin fizzies, a tupperware that had bbq chicken in (still slight orange spots, the Bio Crystal gets it clean 1st wash) and the roasting pan that had been soaking overnight also didnt come completely clean. (again, the Bio Crystal powder handles these things with ease, especially if left to soak overnight)

So I dont think I will be swaying from my Bio Crystal powder soon, but just want to find out if anyone else has used Astoniush products and what your experiences are? And also, where does it rank in the UK? TOL, MOL or BOL?

Thanks!

 

[ricky5050]

Re dishwasher tablets

Hello I’ve only used the stainless steel paste other than the dishwasher tablets. The dw tablets weren’t that good in my opinion compared to even supermarkets own brands in the uk. I’m currently using Claro an Austrian eco brand which considering its eco is amazing. Things just sparkle !
So not sure about Astonish laundry but I’d miss their dw tablets.

Richard

https://www.claro.at/en/origin/

 

[liamy1]

Astonish

Is a very good range, amazing value for money , effective, British made and certified cruelty free.

Whilst it's REALLY hard to place them in a tier, but at one time they were more toward "value" shoppers, you'd more typically find their products in our "bargain"/ "value" stores (eg home bargains, B&M and the million other chains we have) as opposed to the mainstream grocery stores.

However in recent times and more so in the last 12-18 months solely due to a certain person called "Mrs Hinch" (an Instagram "influencer" and overnight sensation who has literally created a cleaning obsession in this country, if on IG check her out, or just google "Mrs Hinch" and you'll see what I mean).

So due to this ALL cleaning products have experienced a MASSIVE surge in popularity, but more so products Mrs Hinch uses (Astonish is one of the many) so now it seems to be everywhere from Waitrose through to Poundland.

I've not used their DW tablets (tend to stick with Finish, with the odd switch to Fairy), but of course as with anything, Individual experiences vary - water type, machine and cycle type and stain types, some detergents just work better with your machine vs others and visa verse for others experiences. But used a few of their cleaners and they have always worked exceptionally well (especially their Mould & Mildew remover, infact I would say this blows the main stream brand M&M remover out of the water)

 

[Marky_Mark]

Hi Matthew.  I haven't tried Astonish dishwasher detergent, so I can't comment on that.

 

However I have tried South African Bio Crystal dishwasher powder.  In my case, I found it to be ok but not as good as certain other TOL dishwasher detergents I've tried.  If it works for you, then great!

 

Back in the 90s I did try Astonish cleaner after seeing this informercial broadcast in the UK on cable and satellite tv.  It worked very well but what they didn't mention in the informercial is that it needed some serious rinsing otherwise it dried to a white haze.

 

 

 

[matthewza]

Very interesting replies! Thanks guys!

Funnily enough, my fiance actually said it would be quite amusing if Astonish turned out to be the budget option in the UK, and here we are thinking its the best stuff since sliced bread! And I do love that its cruelty free too.

I had such high hopes for the DW tabs because the other products we have used have been so astonishing (I just had to...), so was quite let down when I unpacked the dishwasher after I used them (and used the same cycle I use with the Bio Crystal), and saw that they didnt do as good a job as I had hoped.

And yes, I have to agree with Liamy1, that they are brilliant products and extremely good value for money (even in this country and even after the UK Emporium has imported them and added profit to them. The cashier lady says all the Astonish products fly off the shelves).

As far as Finish goes, I honestly havent noticed much of a difference between that and other brands. I just find it ridiculously expensive here in SA, and cant justify buying it. Oddly enough, Finish products are noticeably cheaper at the UK Emporium than the supermarkets. I dont understad it.

So yes, here Finish is the TOL DW detergent, with Sunlight being the next best (but sunlight hand dishwashing liquid is the best on the market and many consumers refuse to switch, no matter what it costs. I am one of them), and then Bio Crystal and Mr Sheen being just a bit cheaper than Sunlight, and then the store brands being the cheapest. I found the Bio Crystal to work better than the store brands and just as well as Sunlight (my fiances mother ONLY buys Sunlight DW powder)

Glad to hear you have tried the Bio Crystal, Mark, but I am sorry it didnt deliver to you.

At the end of the day, it does boil down to your individual DW, cycle, dirtiness of your dishes and water hardness, so we will all have different experiences.

Thanks for all the replies!