Bar Keepers Friend

...also discovered that they don't test on animals and the product is environmentally safe with no hazardous chemicals.

And proof the site really is American _"... Do not use Bar Keepers Friend on human beings or animals". _
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I've been doing up the garden recently - still am infact - and have been busy painting fence panels and so on, and when I know I'm not going to use the same paintbrush any time soon I give it a good wash out and leave it aside to dry. Rather foolishly I'd been balancing the washed brushes on the edge of the kitchen sink and after moving them a few days later, discovered they'd left a big rust stain. As the sink is made of white rough textured plastic I thought any old cleaning product would work but after working my way through Cif, bleach and scouring pads with no joy I thought I was stuck.
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Browsing an internet forum about DIY I read that a product called "Barkeepers Friend" was a whizz at getting rid of all manner of stains and was reasonably priced to boot. I knew I'd seen it in Robert Dyas but I eventually got mine from Asda and later that evening put it to the test.
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The back of the pack tells you to pour out some powder onto a sponge / cloth, and add water until you get the desired consistency of cleaner you require. I poured out a good spoonful of the finely milled powder onto the rust stained sink then damped down a scourer sponge then scrubbed away.
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It took only a short while of gentle scrubbing and to my "Pah, it'll never work!" cynicism, I found that Barkeep's did actually remove a fair old amount of the rust stain. If I looked closely I could still see the faintest of orangey marks, but for a first attempt I was pretty chuffed. It rinsed away easily, leaving no gritty or powdery residues. I've since gone back for a second go and the rust has now totally gone.
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I've since tried BKF on my bathroom taps - even though my regular cleaner was fine, I just wanted to test it, the rim of my toilet (I sprinkled the powder on the toilet brush then scrubbed, I didn't go shoving my hand in there), I went round my uPVC window frames and I also cleaned the alloys on my car which were seriously stained up (if anyone has alloys they'll know that not only do they get covered in brake dust and a strange orangey-brown film, they also get weird black - oil? / tar? splodges on them which car shampoo and a scrubby brush just cannot remove). However, as my car is cracking on in years I really don't suggest you set to on your car if its still quite new just in case you ruin it!, maybe try a teeny area first..... anyway, I'm pleased to say that it brought all these things up nice, clean and new, especially my car alloys which were only that clean on the day I bought the car. It would be fair to say my alloys are now seriously blinging.
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In the past I've tried so many cleaning products that claim miracles including the one that works on pennies but on fog-all else and I've been let down, or I find it works on *that* but not on that, that or that. This is a brilliant little product and I can't believe I've never used it before - actually I can, it does have quite an old-fashioned looking label and container shape and it's shoved away with things like firelighters and Cooks Matches so it's probably very easy to miss.
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The only bad thing about the product is the smell. When I was about 8 years old, I was on a sunny beach and desperately needed the loo so had to use those horrible old fashioned toilets you get at the seaside (you know the ones, all wet floors, crispy toilet paper and wafty daddy long legs). In my haste I galloped into the gents and the smell of the urinals - not to mention the startled expression of several men - will stay burned in my mind and on my retinas for all eternity. Anyway, BKF smells like man wee mixed with lemon. The first time I used BKF I could only smell the lemon, subsequent uses I found the smell of lemon fading and the Other Smell taking precedence. Of course, that could just be me. If you didn't have such an alarming childhood experience you may not notice.

Price

Around the £2.50 mark.

Availability

Asda, Sainsburys, Robert Dyas. Probably other places too but like I say, quite easy to miss as the packaging hardly screams.

Recommended?

Even though I'm not a fan of the smell it does work, so yes, recommended.

www.barkeepersfriend.com The site is American, lists loads of products we can't get over here, the packaging is totally different BUT it does give cleaning tips. I also discovered that they don't test on animals and the product is environmentally safe with no hazardous chemicals.

And proof the site really is American "... Do not use Bar Keepers Friend on human beings or animals".
 

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