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Auto Express
a day ago
- Automotive
- Auto Express
Best hand-cleaning wipes 2025
An oily rag has been a traditional feature of any garage since the car was invented. But time has moved on and these days most mechanics will prefer to use a disposable wipe to clean up tools and even their hands. While they are not the most eco-conscious choice and we would always recommend wearing gloves before handling nasty substances, single-use wipes will work where there is limited access to a tap and will help keep some unpleasant chemicals in the bin rather than in the water system. Wipes are also great for emergency clean ups after a small spill. Plus we'd recommend keeping a few in a sealed plastic bag in your glovebox or with your spare wheel to help tidy up if you need to change a wheel or carry out some other messy repair while on a journey. Which of our eight contenders will wipe away the opposition? We are looking for wipes which will be versatile in the workshop, so should be able to clean hands, tools, car parts and even help out if you accidentally mark a bit of seat trim with a grubby hand. Advertisement - Article continues below To test them, we checked if they were able to clean grease, diesel soot and bitumen-based underseal from a solid surface and a piece of fabric. We then tried the wipes on our hands, testing to see if they had a residue or left our skin feeling dried out. In addition to its cleaning power, we also rated each contender on value for money, based on the size and number of wipes in a pack. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below View IS View Polo View e-208 Hygimax's big tub contains 100 blue, textured wipes that are a huge 28cm square, making them the biggest here. This means they can pick up more dirt than rivals, doing a great job of cleaning dirty hands. They have just the right degree of moisture, with a limited amount of sticky residue, a pleasant orange aroma, and a gentle abrasive action. They were the only product tested that made a real impact on the tar spots and cleaned the fabric boot carpet well. Add in the price and they are a clear winner. Buy now from The Wipe Shop Price: around £12 around £12 Rating: 4.5 stars 4.5 stars Cost per wipe: 3p 3p Contact: We initially didn't consider the No Nonsense wipe because there is no mention of hand cleaning in the description. But we are pleased we did, because they did a good job and are unbeatable value. Although the tub is the same size as rivals', it is crammed with 300 wipes, which measure 25.5cm x 20cm. Advertisement - Article continues below The wipes' translucent white material is similar to several others in the test, but the detergent liquid is more effective than most, cleaning the soot easily and making some impact on the tar. Buy now from Screwfix Price: around £8 around £8 Rating: 4.0 stars 4.0 stars Cost per wipe: 8p 8p Contact: Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below If there was a prize for the best container, the Wonder Wipes would win. The big red pot resembles a small post box and has a rotating lid, which is easier to use than all of its rivals' caps – and is better at keeping the wipes moist. The 23cm x 21cm rectangles of soft, white, translucent material are thicker than the No Nonsenses and cleaned our hands well, despite having no abrasive action. An initial sticky residue soon disappeared as the detergent dried. Buy now front Tool Station Price: around £14 around £14 Rating: 3.5 stars 3.5 stars Cost per wipe: 15p 15p Contact: These appear very similar to the No Nonsense wipes, but miss out on a higher placing because they look poor value in comparison, especially because they are smaller, at 22cm x 19cm. The detergent used is different though, with a slightly almondy aroma, and it left some stickiness on our hands. Zep's wipes worked very well on the carpet material, but were unable to overcome the spots of tar. Advertisement - Article continues below Buy now from Amazon Price: around £8 around £8 Rating: 3.5 stars 3.5 stars Cost per wipe: 8.5p 8.5p Contact: The Gorillas feel slightly thicker and more abrasive than most rivals. The initially sticky and slimy feel disappears, but leaves a harsh chemically smell. They cleaned the soot reasonably well, but needed a bit more scrubbing on our hands and fabric, because there is less liquid infused in the wipe than in others. On the positive side the Gorilla Wipes are big, at 20 x 30cm. Skip advert Advertisement - Article continues below Buy now from Tool Station Price: around £8 around £8 Rating: 3.5 stars 3.5 stars Cost per wipe: 8p 8p Contact: After studying the ProDecs carefully and sniffing them, we are convinced they are the same as the Gorilla wipes, although in less interesting packaging. Unsurprisingly, this meant the cleaning performance was identical too. The big difference is the size of the wipe though. The Gorillas are 50 per cent bigger, which makes the ProDecs seem poorer value, because we needed two wipes to clean our grubby hands properly. Buy now from The Range Price: £16.99 £16.99 Rating: 3.0 stars 3.0 stars Cost per wipe : 21p : 21p Contact: We had high hopes for the Rozelex, because the company makes the hand-cleaning liquid that has won all our tests for the past six years. And sure enough, the big orange wipes work well, with an abrasive side that gets stuck into grime, and a softer surface on the reverse. They were especially good on the fabric, but their performance in the tar test was disappointing. These wipes would also have finished much higher overall if they weren't so expensive to buy. Buy now from Rozelex Price: £13.49 £13.49 Rating: 3.0 stars 3.0 stars Cost per wipe: 17p 17p Contact: These look very similar to the Hygimax wipes, but are smaller, at 25cm x 20cm. They claim to have added vitamin E and aloe vera, and made our hands feel good after the initial stickiness subsided. Yet they struggled on the fabric clean, and made no dent on the tar. At £13.49 for 80, our winner is better value. Buy now from Screwfix It's an easy win for Hygimax's wipes. They offer great value and the best cleaning performance. Screwfix's No Nonsense wipes take second place. They're not quite as good at cleaning, but there are three times as many wipes in each pot compared with rivals. Sika's Wonder Wipes are third. 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BBC News
29-05-2025
- Business
- BBC News
'People are buying disposable vapes in bulk to beat the ban'
Vape users are bulk-buying disposable items ahead of the incoming ban, shops in Nottingham have year the government confirmed it was bringing in a ban on the sale of single-use disposable vapes in England and Wales, which will come into force on 1 sales of single-use vapes facing a minimum fine of £200, owning a disposable vape after Sunday will not be refillable vapes and replacement flavour pods will still be widely available, some customers are stocking up on single-use versions while they still can. Jack Leadbeater, 22, who works at Eco Vape on Exchange Walk in Nottingham, said a number of customers have been stockpiling single-use vapes."They've just been bulk-buying, really, making [sure] they can have them for as long as possible after the ban," he said."With the ones that they're getting, they're just using them and then they don't have to worry about them, they just chuck them away, whereas with the pods and stuff, a lot of people see it as a hassle and they don't really want to go for that." Douglas Eccles, from Rustic Vapez on Mansfield Road, said he has been phasing out single-use disposables in favour of new styles that will still be legal to said the ban "seems a good idea", especially with new vapes having more recyclable parts, but said information on the changes has not been presented well to customers."Everyone's panicking thinking all disposables are gone from Sunday, but it's not going to go that way," the 44-year-old said."It all comes back to shops explaining it properly to people - if you explain it to people properly, they understand it."A lot of people are bulk-buying them because a lot of shops are doing them really cheap because they know that any stock they've got from Sunday they've got to take off the shelves."At the end of the day it's business, you don't want to lose out."Ministers in England have said the ban is intended to protect children's health and prevent environmental damage.
