I put Viakal and Astonish rest room cleaners head-to-head to seek out out which limescale stain remover delivered one of the best outcomes
I put Viakal and Astonish to the check to seek out out which one is finest (Picture: Millie Bull/REACH PLC)
Bathe heads are used each day within the overwhelming majority of houses, but they’re remarkably simple to neglect in the case of cleansing. Over time, they’ll collect cleaning soap scum, limescale and even mould if not maintained frequently. A number of months had handed since I final cleaned my bathe heads, and each had grow to be closely coated with limescale. Dwelling in a tough water space means limescale accumulates quickly in kettles, on bathe screens and faucets.
Limescale develops when water incorporates elevated ranges of dissolved calcium and magnesium. As soon as water is heated or left to evaporate, these dissolved minerals solidify and deposit an disagreeable chalky residue often called calcium carbonate.
We use your sign-up to offer content material in methods you’ve got consented to and to enhance our understanding of you. This will likely embody adverts from us and third events based mostly on our understanding. You possibly can unsubscribe at any time. Learn our Privateness Coverage
Each the bathe heads had been laden with limescale (Picture: Millie Bull/REACH PLC)
Tackling limescale might be notably difficult, particularly when making an attempt to keep away from damaging supplies reminiscent of chrome steel. My traditional method entails white vinegar mixed with water and washing-up liquid, or Viakal, to get rid of limescale all through my rest room.
Nonetheless, I ceaselessly discover the vinegar answer performs higher on bathe screens than bathe heads, whereas Viakal, although efficient, tends to depart behind a fairly pungent odor.
I resolved to pit Viakal towards one other distinguished rival, Astonish, to find out which product reigns supreme.
Astonish is the extra reasonably priced of the 2, priced at £2 at my native Savers, whereas Viakal prices £3 at my native Sainsbury’s. Astonish additionally provides 250ml extra product, coming in a 750ml spray bottle, in comparison with Viakal’s 500ml container. Each bathe heads used within the check had been similar in measurement and model.
Viakal was sprayed onto one bathe head, and Astonish onto the opposite, each left to soak within the kitchen sink for half-hour.
The primary noticeable distinction upon spraying was the scent. Viakal carries a pointy, bleach-like odour that triggered a headache inside minutes, whereas Astonish had a much more nice citrus perfume that was significantly much less overpowering.
The 2 sprays additionally differed notably in consistency. Astonish was fairly watery, which raised some doubts about its cleansing energy, whereas Viakal was thicker and foamy.
One among my bathe heads had blocked nozzles (Picture: Millie Bull/REACH PLC)
I sprayed the bathe heads with the Viakal and Astonish (Picture: Millie Bull/REACH PLC)
Throughout utility, the Astonish bottle proved far simpler to function at various angles, whereas the Viakal spray bottle proved considerably awkward when tilted. Although this may occasionally merely be attributed to the Viakal bottle being solely half full on the time.
After the 30-minute soaking interval, each bathe heads had been rinsed off to evaluate the outcomes. An outdated toothbrush was used to clean away any cussed limescale deposits earlier than making the ultimate comparability.
The bathe head with the Viakal spray nonetheless had limescale stains afterwards (Picture: Millie Bull/REACH PLC)
Solely one of many bathe heads was utterly limescale-free afterwards (Astonish on the left) (Picture: Millie Bull/REACH PLC)
The outcomes
Viakal appeared the just about sure winner, but the result was surprisingly totally different. The bathe head handled with Astonish emerged gleaming after rinsing and drying. Each limescale mark had utterly vanished, with the overwhelming majority of the bathe nozzles left totally spotless. The bathe head handled with Viakal nonetheless displayed important limescale deposits even after vigorous scrubbing with a toothbrush, which proved fairly disappointing. Following the experiment, I made a decision to rinse it off and apply Astonish as soon as extra to sort out the remaining limescale.
Whereas each merchandise proved extremely able to eliminating limescale, on this event, Astonish emerged because the undisputed winner.
Leave a Reply