Can't find scouring powder in Kerry

Igotadose

Setting up house in Dingle. Have found most of what we need, but coming from the US we're used to scouring powder, sometimes called Dutch cleanser. Can't find it in the shops in Dingle or Tralee. Tried Tesco, Aldo, Central, Supervalu and smaller places. Is it something not sold in Ireland? The Us brands are Comet or Ajax to name a few.

Thanks!

goat2

Igotadose wrote: »

Setting up house in Dingle. Have found most of what we need, but coming from the US we're used to scouring powder, sometimes called Dutch cleanser. Can't find it in the shops in Dingle or Tralee. Tried Tesco, Aldo, Central, Supervalu and smaller places. Is it something not sold in Ireland? The Us brands are Comet or Ajax to name a few.

Thanks!

there is cif which is a scouring cream does the same thing it sells in all supermarkets and it is next to the kitchen cleaning stuff, it is very good at cleaning stovetops and such like and stubborn stains off everything,
it is sold in a yellow or white plastic bottle and it has the abrasive pieces in it,

i think there may be a one called vim which is the same as ajax, but cif does the same as ajax only in cream formula with the abrasive little bits in like ajax.

if you are going for washing up liquids the fairy is best, selling at 2 euro for a fine big bottle at morans gala dingle the petrol pumps on the tralee road before the roundabout i think they are called gala, i think they also stock cif cream for scrubbing, i find that cream good

lazeedaisy

Hi and welcome to Ireland,

There is a product called barkeepers friend or a cheaper version around, not sure of the name,

Or try http://www.tesco.ie/groceries/Product/Details/?id=252423528


To be honest you are better buying baking soda and using it neat, that and white vinegar s all you need to clean,

You used to be able to buy Ajax or vim but to be honest I have no idea when tesco stopped stocking it

lazeedaisy

Btw fairy liquid can be very harsh on your hands, I used it for 25 years and cannot use it anymore,

I use the blue one found in Lidl or have taken to buy the Eco friendly ones on amazon and get a delivery every few months via the subscribe and save, I buy dog food, Eco toilet cleaner, tassimo coffee to name a few.

We have a septic tank so I have to be aware of what I clean with,

goat2

i tried the eco products,
would prefer what i always used
there is no tesco in dingle,

lazeedaisy

Hi,

Apologies for off topic thread, we have to use Eco friendly prods. As its all I can use since we moved, due to the new septic tank.

As for not having a tesco, at least the op can see what the prod. Looks like from the link, if nothing else, but she did say she checked Tesco!

Apologies as I was only trying to be helpful and the more advise from different people the better,

goat2

http://www.unilever.co.uk/Images/Cif-Cream-Original-450x450_tcm28-382411.jpg
here is what the bottle looks like

Ciarrai76

The nearest Tesco to Dingle is in Tralee town, I'm sure the OP will pop into Tralee from time to time
Welcome to Kerry by the way. I hope you are very happy living here

madrabui

This stuff is in Dealz for €1.49. It's basically a scouring powder but in paste form. Dealz is in Killarney and Tralee.

SpaceTime

I think the product you're talking about disappeared decades ago in Europe. I've been told that what you're describing sounds like Vim.

If you're cleaning sinks, baths, hobs (stove tops) the default product in Europe would be Cif cream.

There's a huge array of other cleaning products though depending on what you're doing. The brands are just often totally different to the US so, you've got to relearn which does what.

If it's lime scale you'll find lots of products too.

Check online for advice if totally lost. There are heaps of UK based review sites that cover all the same household products you'll find in Dingle.

weisses

Lidl in Dingle sells something like Vim .. Don't know the name ... yet

SpaceTime

I know when I spent time living in the United States going to the supermarket was a bit of a re-learning experience as most of the brands were completely unfamiliar in the household products aisles. Even moving to France is far less dramatic for an Irish person as the products are generally broadly the same even if the brands are tiny bit different you usually discover that they're basically the same product. That wasn't the case when shopping in the US.

Basically, it's going to be a case of trying things, asking for advice, sniffing the packs and deciding what you like and what you don't like all over again.

All in all there's not a huge amount of difference between what's on the shelves here and the US other than the brand names being different (and probably the price being a good bit higher on this side of the atlantic).

The store own brands are often excellent quality and particularly in the discount stores Aldi and Lidl but all in all the Tesco and SuperValu own brand stuff is good and is mostly made by the same company anyway, McBride.

Only thing to be aware of that's a little different is the way the laundry products are designed. If you want something that cleans with bleach, just pick a powder that isn't marketed as 'colour'. They contain colour-safe bleach in the formula and will do a very good job on whites. You just need to run the machine at at 40ºC minimum. Also, in general chlorine bleach is absolutely never used in laundry here and can completely wreck European washing machines, so don't add any to the machine under any circumstances. You'll find machine-safe whitening products in the supermarket that are either powders, gels or a thing like a giant teabag that contains powder and is added straight to the drum.

In general though the normal powders like Persil and Ariel (not the colour version) will do an excellent job on whites.

The other thing to beware of is that European machines do not like foam and will actually stop and empty if there's too much suds. All the products sold here (unless otherwise specified) are low foaming and suitable for those types of machines. There's no need to look for the "HE" label like in the US. I just remember we had a situation where my cousin for some reason brought Tide (for top loaders) with her from the US and put it into our machine and we ended up with suds literally pouring out onto the floor.

The only other oddity is that European washing machines are way more 'geeky' to set and often have lists of fabric care symbols and other weird options. They tend to have loads of cycles you'll probably never use. You generally set the temperature in ºC but, in reality almost everything's washed at 40ºC (body temperature). That's apparently the ideal temperature to activate the enzymes in the detergents they use.

The final thing to be aware of is that the machines have cycles capable of literally boiling clothes. They're intended to be used with say towels or some types of bed clothes to really sterilise them. So, don't select 90ºC cycles unless that's what you intend to do. Again, I know someone who managed to obliterate an entire load in a machine his first week in Europe.

Oh yeah, and also many older/cheaper machines tend to lock the door with a time-delay lock at the end of the cycle. So you often have to wait about 2 mins before you can open the door at the end, you also can't open the door after the cycle starts. The newer / pricier machines tend to unlock the door instantly.

European safety requirements mean that the machine has to stay fully locked while in operation.

For about 90% of what you need just pick something like "Daily Wash 40º" or a short "Cottons" cycle at 40ºC.

You also generally set the spin speed in RPM and some machines can go extremely fast compared to the US, so your clothes will come out nearly dry.

Other than that slight differences in terminology:

Cooker = Stove (stove here tends to mean an old fashioned wood burning heater, so you'll cause confusion)
Hob = cooktop (cooktop doesn't mean anything in particular here and won't be understood)
Ring = Burner (again, burner here will relate specifically to gas)
Cooker hood = Extractor
Liquidiser = Blender (both understood)
Garden = Yard (yard is specifically a patio or paved area)
Trash = Rubbish
Trashcan = Bin
Socket = outlet (and outlet might not be immediately understood either as they'll think you're talking about a drain or something)
Tap = faucet (which is just never used as a term and may or may not be understood)
Cling film = Sarn wrap (again won't be understood)
Tinfoil = Aluminium foil (and it's absolutely not made from tin and never was, it's just a weird term that developed)
Tin = can (again, not made from tin, usually stainless steel or aluminium)

Unique Irish household phrases (not found in Britain or the US)

Press = cupboard
Hotpress = Airing cupboard (where the water heater usually kept - it's a closet with open rack like shelves where you can store towels and linen)
Pan = loaf of bread.
Sliced pan = sliced loaf (causes total confusion in England).

You'll find a lot of little things like that about household stuff.

Hope that helps

madrabui

Guess what I saw in Kelliher's (Tralee) shop today - Vim scouring powder!

Ciarrai76

madrabui wrote: »

Guess what I saw in Kelliher's (Tralee) shop today - Vim scouring powder!

that shop has EVERYTHING you need!! lol

wexie

You can buy proper old fashioned VIM in dealz as well, brilliant stuff!!
For the princely sum of 1.49

http://www.dealz.ie/vim-scourer-750g

(in Tralee and Killarney)

(that was a bit of a random post but I figured I'd share as I was delighted when I spotted it the other day)