Ecover Ecological Power Cleaner

As far as possible, I like to use eco-friendly cleaning products but there is one condition - they do have to be as tough on grime as their less eco-friendly counterparts. When I was sent the Ecover Ecological Power Cleaner to test, I was a big meanie and waited for the big post-Sunday lunch clean up when the kitchen is at its absolute worst.

According to the label, Ecover guarantees that this is a powerful degreaser for ovens, hobs, grills, pots, pans, BBQ’s, work surfaces, extractor fans ... Those three little dots give you wide scope for imagining what else you could use it on but basically, you can use it as an all-purpose kitchen cleaner.

I started with a quick squirt on the hob. It comes out as a fairly thick foam so I didn't put it everywhere, I focused on the toughest grease splatters, leaving it to work for a couple of minutes before wiping over with a damp sponge. I couldn't believe it ! The grease just wiped off with no elbow grease whatsoever and didn't leave any streaks. I rinsed the sponge, had a final wipe and the result was perfect. If it had been an advert on TV, they'd have added a little sparkle to show how shiny and perfectly clean it was !

Next test, the big wooden chopping board which Mike had used for carving the roast chicken - in other words it was dripping with grease and chicken juices. Wood is never really easy to get clean but a quick squirt and 30 seconds with a kitchen scourer and the job was done.

The spray smells so nice that I was inspired to keep on cleaning and ended up doing the whole room : the table, the worktops, the walls, a quick squirt on the oven door, the greasy fingerprints on the kitchen door ... and everything was left sparkling. For once, you don't have to choose between efficiency and eco-friendliness. I think it smells of oranges but that may be psychological because the nozzle is orange ! In any case, it's a "fresh plant based fragrance". They also say on the packaging that there are no fumes and that's true too, it leaves a lovely natural fruity smell that smells more like a posh air freshener than a cleaning product.

What I really liked was the fact that I'd found a really efficient product that smells lovely but is also green. Ecover's promises are "Based on renewable plant and mineral ingredients", "Fast and complete biodegradability" and "Minimum impact on aquatic life". Extra Brownie points for Ecover.

I really want to try out the rest of the Ecover range now to see if I can make my house even more environmentally-friendly. It may only be a small step but at least it's one in the right direction !

RRP : from £3.99

star rating : 5/5