The first thing that springs to mind when I hear the word Dettol are scraped knees, band aids, and the smell of the liquid on the flannel just before mum applied it to the cuts and grazes.

Antiseptic is the first word I associate with Dettol. The second is anti-bacterial. I'd never really thought of it as a powerful cleaner before. Had you?

I got two products from Dettols new Power and Pure range to try out. These were the Dettol Power and Pure bathroom spray, and the Power and Pure kitchen wipes.

Dettol is one of those brand names I feel I instinctively trust. Maybe because it didn't sting as much as TCP? Or because it is a name I've known since before I could read? Whatever the reason I have to ask myself it is worth considering their cleaners, instead of my usual stuff. What do you reckon? Read on to find out.

This is going to sound a little strange, but hear me out: I love the new Vileda 1-2 Spray & Clean mop. Now, I know what you’re thinking. A mop is a mop, is a mop, what’s there to love?  Well. Plenty.

We moved house recently, and before the van arrived at the house, I did, with new mop, cleaning liquid and toddler in tow. I took my new and as yet unused mop, clicked all the bits in place, and set about the business of cleaning before my furniture arrived.

The mop doesn’t require water, and it doesn’t require a bucket filled with water and sloshing bits around as you try to move it around the room. I know, a winner already, right?

The Vileda mop comes with a small supply of Vileda cleaner, which you can pour into the handle of the mop, and then you pull a trigger, sort of like a bicycle brake, which sprays the cleaning fluid onto the floor where you’re about to mop.

The mop bit is made of cotton, and is easily run over the floor – it is a flat mop with a swivel connection so you can clean under tables, sofas and raised kitchen counters (mine are about 10 inches off the floor for some bizarre reason) without having to get down on your hands and knees to clean.

And then, once you’ve finished, you pop it off, and into the washing machine ready to face all those toddler spills again tomorrow.

I never thought I’d be the kind of person to get excited about anything domestic, but I must say, this little bit of genius thrills me.  Especially since you don’t have to use any particular brand of cleaning fluid, so if you wanted to go for a more eco-friendly alternative, or use a home-made solution, you’d be able to do so.

I managed to clean all our hardwood surfaces in less than ten minutes, with a child on my hip. Using this Vileda 1-2 Spray & Clean mop is so easy, even my daughter – in the picture – can do it.

Vileda 1-2 Spray & Clean mop is available  from Sainsbury's, although they don't seem to have it online yet and you can also find a list of suppliers on the Vileda website.

Babies and bacteria, don't exactly go together. Most mums prefer to try to keep the two apart. I know I developed a particular fussiness about it when I became a new mum. Now that my little tiny newborn is a hulking great five year old, there are times when it still is an issue. Eating at the local playground, bedtime accidents, and generally getting as much muck on his clothes throughout the day as possible.

So I was very interested in what our PlayPennies mum Melanie, mother of three aged 6 to 6 months, was going to say about the antibacterial products we received for review from Milton.

Initially she was skeptical and unsure about what use she'd put them to. "I don't believe in this whole anti-bacterial trend" she said. "So was a bit worried I was the wrong person to try these out!".

Melanie tried the Milton Antibacterial Hand Gel, Surface Wipes, Surface Spray and Fabric Solution.

"I might have got more use out of the fabric solution if I used washable nappies" says Melanie. "But for various reasons I use disposables. It was actually my nearly four year old who got the most use out of this, as he still occasionally wets the bed. Normally I would wash his sheets at 90 degrees, but using the fabric solution I washed them at a much lower 30 degrees."

According to Milton, the Fabric Solution (£5.61 for 1000ml) can be used even in cold washes, and it will kill bacteria and fungi. You use it along with your normal washing powder. "Well, his sheets and pyjamas certainly smell fresh, which I wasn't expecting after a cooler wash. But, does it kill the bacteria? How can I know that?" comments Melanie.

"I just have to trust that it has done its job!"

The Surface Spray (£2.24 for 500 ml) is, according to Milton, ideal for kitchen surfaces, baby baths, highchairs, changing mats and toys. On the label, it says that you just need to wipe the spray, there's no need to rinse unless used on an area where it will come into contact with food. This latter bit annoyed Melanie.

"Well, what's the point of that? I can't see myself replacing my vinegar and lemon spray for giving the high chair tray a quick wipe. But the spray did come into its own when I had a hellish mishap at the end of term. Dog poo on our garden path! Someone let their dog poo right on the path to our front door. My six year old and I walked right through it without even realising on the way home from school! God it was awful, I'd walked all the way into the house, through the hall, the living room and into the kitchen before the stench reached me. Yelling at the kids to stay where they were and DO NOT MOVE, I grabbed the spray bottle and kitchen towels, and retraced my steps spraying and wiping as I went."

Melanie didn't think that it smelled particularly fruity, as it says on the website. "It has a distinct chemical odour, but really I don't care. When you're wiping up dog poo while trying not to gag, chemical is good!"

The Surface Wipes had a much stronger chemical-ish smell. Melanie feels like I do about toilet wipes - that they're frankly a waste of money not to mention a burden on the environment. And a major cause of toilet blockages. If I need to freshen the toilet then a spray and a wipe with loo roll does the job. The toilet wipes cost £2.24 per pack.

"When I go out, I normally tuck a few disinfectant wipes into a plastic self-sealing bag for use in public toilets or to wipe down baby change areas. I didn't take the entire pack of Miltons with me, even though they're conveniently smaller than the usual ones I get. I just tucked a few in a plastic bag as per usual. They're nicely moist, and clean up surfaces quite well. I didn't really notice that the surfaces dried faster than my normal wipes - I don't really pay that much attention to public loos!" says Melanie.

The Surface Wipes are biodegradable. Melanie noticed that they flushed on the first go, and didn't tend to hang around for a bit like her normal wipes. A major plus for her.

Finally, there was the moisturising Hand Gel (£2.14 for 100 ml). "I loved the smell of this, it was nice on the hands, and I guess it was probably better than using baby wipes, as I would normally do. Although with my son I had to anyway, he's such a dirt magnet."

And Finally ...

What was Melanie's verdict? Overall she thought she'd buy the fabric solution and the surface spray again. "There seemed to be good reasons for me to at least keep these about, although I probably wouldn't use them as often as the manufacturer would like! I'm certainly not about to dose every clothes wash." she said.

"I've got nothing against the hand gel, it felt lovely on my hands. But I have enough to carry out with me when I go out the house and my baby wipes have done the job till now. I don't see the point of it, for me at least. I only use the surface wipes when I'm out, so I've hardly touched the pack so far!"