Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
Cleans those stubborn stains |
| Disadvantages: |
An underlying nasty niff |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
yes |
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.
.
.
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.
.
.
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.
.
.
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.
.
.
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.
.
.
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.
.
.
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".
| More Reviews |
 A pint of guinness and a snowball please
Review of Bar Keepers Friend by
offy
Advantages: It works well on loads of surfaces
Disadvantages: More expensive than Astonish
...she told me to use Bar Keepers Friend on my stained sink. I thought she had got me confused with her mate in the local pub (hence the title of this opinion). But no, instead she had put me onto a little cleaning miracle.
•• HISTORY OF THE PRODUCT ••
This information is courtesy of www.barkeepersfriend.com. This miracle cleanser was first manufactured in 1882 to clean brass ornaments and was sold in Indianapolis, USA. The ...
...1880’s and 1890’s. The bar keepers were so pleased with their shiny copper and brass that they soon started calling the product ‘Bar Keepers Friend’. News of this excellent product spread as bartenders, restaurateurs and innkeepers found how useful it was for their businesses and their home.
This original formula is now available to everyone. It is distributed by SarVaas Laboritories in USA and Homecare Products in the UK.
...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
|
very helpful
13.11.2001
(16.11.2001)
|
 My Barman Is My Best Friend!
Review of Bar Keepers Friend by
neenn
Advantages: The best cleaning / stain removing product I have come across.
Disadvantages: Difficult to find in shops.
...I happened upon the Bar Keeper's Friend while flicking through one of those home product catalogues that are put through your letter box, it's so many moons ago that I can't remember whether it was Kleeneze or Bettaware or some such other.
Anyway, I digress..................if you haven't used this then you really must try it out, it is brilliant stuff although the name is a little odd!
~ How the product got it's name? ~
This was first manufactured ...
...the product.
~ Other Bar Keepers Friend Products ~
SerVaas offers quite a wide range of products which I have listed below:
* BKF Lime and Rust Remover
* BKF Toilet Bowl Cleaner
* BKF Cooktop Cleaner
* BKF Liquid Cleanser
~ Price and Availability ~
I looked in my recent Betterware or Kleeneze catalogue a couple of months ago as my current BKF is coming to the end of it's life but couldn't find it.
The last bottle I bought was from a department ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
|
very helpful
30.04.2006
|
Featured merchant
23.12.2005
