Cleaning products are still an unventured territory for me when it comes to my plastic free journey (Home Front Solution #5). I’ve seen many videos on Pinterest and Insta for homemade kitchen sprays or toilet cleaners but I’ve not been brave or motivated enough to give them a try yet. But it does pain me every time I see another spray bottle going into the recycling, and it’s lodged in my brain I need to try something different.

So when the other day I received a reminder that I have a few Ethique points saved up, I decided to try out something a little different from their usual scrummy body wash and cleanser bars and went for their Multi-Purpose Kitchen Spray bar (called the bar going forward to make my life a little easier) and as it’s my first toe tipping testing on plastic free cleaning, I’d share my thoughts on it with you guys.

*Disclaimer: I have not been paid or been offered this product for free (though wouldn’t say no 😉) and these views are completely my own

I decided to go for their Sweet Orange as I love that smell in smell in their body bars and I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed as I could already smell the scent through the box when it arrived. Another plus it came really quickly and in plastic free packaging, which is gets bonus points from me.

Turning the bar into a sprayable solution is really easy. The bar is handly made with indented lines so it’s easy to break up, you then add 325ml of boiling water to the jug and stir until it’s all dissolved which takes around 7-8 mins of constant stirring.

You then pour it into an old cleaner spray bottle and wait for it to cool. Overall it was a really simple process and didn’t take that long at all so it get another full marks for preparation.

Now down to business, how well does it clean? Drum roll please, it works…really well! It has a delicious orangey scent which leaves my kitchen smelling really fresh. It works well on marks, working its way through more stubborn ones after a little soaking, comparing well with single plastic brands and cuts through grease with ease, so it gets full marks on that as well.

Now for the downsides, at £5 a bar it is pretty expensive for what it is. A similar bottle of a branded cleaner is £1.50 – £2 and without the faff. I am tempted to dilute it more to see if I can eek the bar out without compromising it’s effectiveness but it’s still going to be expensive compared to a single use branded bottle from the shops and just being plastic free won’t be enough to sway the plastic loving, non-converteds. One reason for it’s high price might be due to the distance it has had to travel. Although Ethique now have a warehouse in Leeds, their products do say Made in New Zealand on the side which is going to add to its carbon impact. Now I don’t know where the ingredients for the single use bottles come from and they also have the added issue of the single use plastic but it does dampen the excited on this product a little for me.

All in all though, the price and it’s journey aren’t enough to dissuade me and I’ve been impressed with its ease to make and cleaning ability. I will buy again and want to try their eucalyptus one but now I’m well and truly paddling in made-at-home cleaners, it might be a purse and carbon friendly homemade cleaner ago first.

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This blog is part of our Waste not, Want Not series which is all about finding ways to reduce the waste, whether it’s plastic to energy. Click on the tab on the home page to read more blogs in the series.

Here and Now Waste Not, Want Not 5. No Single Use Plastics Ethique plastic free product review