Vanish High Traffic Area Powerfoam > Reviews (11)

I like a clean house now I don't just mean housework done once a week I mean proper OCD clean! One of my pet hates are dirty carpets and fortunately when I moved into my house as it was bought off plan I got to choose what colour carpets I wanted and I sensibly chose a light mocha throughout (except a few rooms, kitchen, hallway and utility) as having had cream/beige carpets before is just a complete no no especially with dogs, cats and of course a child! However, my carpet has been looking a bit drab since the wet weather and I wanted to freshen it up in between having it cleaned.

There are quite a few products out there which claim to help freshen up a carpet or to clean it and I must admit I have probably tried most of them as I am so obsessed with keeping my carpets clean! However, in my local Wilkinsons I browsed their cleaning products aisle and noticed they had quite a few products on offer, one being the Vanish High Traffic Powerfoam which had been priced at just £2 from its usual £4+ which to me was a good buy especially when it is from a brand which is known for its stain removing powers and at £2 it was hardly breaking the bank.

Vanish is a brand as stated above known for its stain removing properties more notably with regard to clothes, the large white bar of Vanish is still hiding in my cupboard somewhere along with a spray on stain remover which acts as a pre-wash. I can't say I think all of their products are 110% successful but I was willing to give it a go. The Vanish High Traffic Area Powerfoam has been specifically formulated for use on those high traffic areas in your house such as staircases, hallways and it is intended that once used they will stay fresh and clean.

The Vanish foam comes in the very typical bright pink packaging which is obviously very distinctive when on the shelf as you don't to even read the label as you already know it's a Vanish product! The foam itself comes in a slim, tall aerosol type canister complete with a pink plastic lid. On the front is the large Vanish font logo together with the product name and an image of a mop. On the back are the complete usage instructions, the warnings which include what to do and what no to do together with the ingredients and contact information for Vanish.

The instructions are clearly printed on the back of the aerosol and are pretty straight forward to understand. You simply spray on the required area around 80cm away from the carpet and simply spray the foam on. You then either scrub the area with a brush, cloth or mop to get it to lather and then leave for 2 hours or until it's dry and then you simply vacuum the chosen area. I did think when reading the instructions before I used it that it was a bit too simple but these products are designed to be easy and quick to use to save all the mess and fuss in getting your carpets cleaned professionally.

I found that spraying the foam (which is white in colour) onto the carpet was a bit hit and miss. It either came out as a trickle of foam which left white spots of foam on the carpet or it would spray out in more of a wide spray and when it settled on the carpet you couldn't see where the foam had landed so it took quite a while to cover the chosen area and no doubt probably wasting more of the foam than anything.

This was quite frustrating to say the least! I had opted to use my mop rather than a brush or cloth as I thought it would be easier and despite 'mopping' the carpet as instructed the foam didn't lather up as the instructions said and after putting in a lot more elbow grease it still didn't lather up so in the end I left it to dry!

I wasn't going to sit and wait for the 2 hours and this I guess can be an inconvenience especially if you have a busy house as you don't want anyone walking on the areas where you have treated so I had to make sure all the animals were out the way and my other half for at least the minimum 2 hours which can be a slight pain. However, after mucking out a few stables I returned to find my treated carpet completely dry and there was quite a floral aroma which was quite pleasant. I vacuumed the area as instructed (I had already vacuumed it prior to spraying the foam) and although my carpet smelt fresher it didn't look any different!

Now my carpet doesn't have any stains at all just the usual wear which is standard with carpets in those high traffic areas but I was expecting this supposed wonderful foam from Vanish to make the carpets look at least a little cleaner than they did but instead they just smelt fresher which although that is definitely a good thing I would have liked them to look a little newer as Vanish do promise it helps clean the carpet but I think from my use it just masks the carpet with a pleasant aroma. Apart from using on the carpets I did also use it on from indoor door mats and again the same thing happened, just a fresher smell - for that I could have just put them in the washing machine!

Overall, slightly disappointing with this and I am very pleased that I didn't pay the full price of £4+ as I would definitely have been disappointed but as it was less than half price I can't grumble too much. I think to freshen the carpet and give it an aroma (which by the way lasts for a few hours at most) then it just about does the job but definitely not worth the RRP. I know there isn't a substitute for getting carpets cleaned either professionally or with your own personal carpet cleaner but I was hoping that this may actually help but sadly this didn't do much and I won't be buying it again. Recommended? No, not really - save your money and get them professionally cleaned!

~ Useful Info ~

Brand: Vanish
Availability: From most supermarkets and discount stores
Price: From £4

~ Also found on Dooyoo under my username PerfectPeaches ~