Product challenge - Windowlene v's Astonish window cleaner

Whilst having a cuppa after a lovely walk in the autumn sunshine, the light flooded into my living room and much to my horror the "art" the boys had generously decorated my window with was illuminated for all to see. Rather reluctantly I hauled myself into the cleaning cupboard and had a rummage around. There, lurking somewhere towards the back was a bottle of windowlene that the previous owners had left when they moved out and also my cruelty free version Astonish.

I was interested to know what you got that was extra when a product was twice the price and also tested on animals, so my beagle art became the subject of my first product test for the Run Free Alliance.

I am not precious about cleaning equipment, so I can't really comment on the look of the products. They both look like window cleaner to me!

The price difference, according to Tesco was around £1 with Windowlene retailing for £2 whilst most stores stock Astonish for half the price at £1.

The first thing I did notice is that Astonish does smell a lot like vinegar! This is the active ingredient so it is no surprise really. Whilst Windowlene still contains vinegar it does smell a whole lot better, however the smell of either doesn't linger once you have wiped it off, so I didn't find it a big problem.

I got to work on the artistically decorated windows (two beagles = two artistic offerings) with a couple of squirts of spray and a sheet of kitchen roll. Both products left me with nice clean, and shiny blank canvases, both were smear free and it took roughly the same amount of effort to achieve the same results.

In summary, I couldn't tell the difference between the two (except for the smell). My one complaint about Astonish is that they are harder to get your hands on than the other brand. I have to make an effort to go to a different shop after I have finished my grocery shopping to pick up their products and you can never quite guarantee that the shop you go to will carry the same product from one month to the next. This is a huge shame as their product range is great, it is cheaper and for me it is a local company and I would love to support them more.

Typical shops that stock their products in the North of England are:

• ·         B&M bargains
• ·         The Range
• ·         99p store
• ·         Home bargains

You can check where Astonish is stocked in your area using the link below:

http://www.astonishcleaners.com/stockists.html

Whilst it isn't a big issue for me, popping it to one of these shops as I work in a large city and these shops are on my way home, I can see how people might be tempted by a non cruelty free alternative if they have to go out of the way to purchase it.

If you are struggling for Astonish in your area, you could try Co-op, Morrisions or M&S own brand as they are all cruelty free too. If you do, let me know what you think of them!