Review: Surcare Laundry Capsules for Sensitive Skin

We were sent a selection of Surcare products for review purposes. All images and opinions are our own.

Living through a pandemic is stressful and as a sensitive soul in many ways, my skin has been the most visible indicator of my internal stress levels. For the first time in my life I’ve had acne and my long standing battle with eczema has been raging harder than ever. The patches of eczema are multiplying and even slapping on my usual steroid cream isn’t making much of a difference. Lockdown has made me itchy and I’ve had enough.

Usually when I have a flare up, I know it’s time to up my personal skincare regime; perhaps it’s time to treat myself to a new duvet and pillows, and to look at the products I use just in case there is something lurking in my cleaning cupboard that’s agitating me.

Surcare Laundry Capsules for Sensitive Skin

For years now I’ve used standard supermarket sensitive washing powder. Nothing exciting, no fancy scents or harsh ultra cleaning power. It’s been fine, but it’s not been outstanding, and it was time for a change.

I’ve heard about Surcare before, but I always looked at it as a specialist laundry product for people with seriously bad skin problems. I’ve never considered using it for my own washing before.

We tried the Surcare Non-Bio Laundry Capsules, which are little pillows of liquid which you just throw in the wash. I was a big fan of this as I don’t think I’ve ever not spilled laundry powder or dribble liquid everywhere. I’m a bit of an oaf really. The outside of the capsules just melts away in the wash and it’s very neat and tidy.

The capsules contain just the right dose (24.5mls) for your standard wash. It’s extra concentrated too, so that little does go a long way. They have no fragrance, acids, enzymes or dyes; which is ideal for those with sensitive skin.

I have to say, I am impressed. I’ve been using Surcare for a couple of weeks now. My clothes are clean and fresh smelling, it seems great on stains and I’ve washed my bedding and towels with it too. I am very happy with Surcare Non-Bio Laundry Capsules and I would absolutely buy them again.

Surcare Laundry Capsules for Sensitive Skin

People often feel that changing to a brand designed for sensitive skin means they have to compromise on the effectiveness of the product; but Surcare is just as good, if not quite a bit better than what we have been using. I’ve been very impressed with how clean and fresh smelling my washing has been since we changed.

They’re currently available online and in-store from Sainsbury’s and it costs £5.25 for a pack of 20 of the capsules. The range is also available from Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose and Co-op. These Surcare products have got the Allergy UK Seal of Approval and are kind to even the most delicate skin.

Other sensitive products in the Surcare range are;
-Non-Bio Laundry Liquid – for colour protection and outstanding clean results
-Non-Bio Laundry Powder – for a deeper clean
-Fabric Softener – for softer fabrics against sensitive skin
-Washing Up Liquid – for sparkling dishes and protected hands

Surcare are currently running a competition to win a year’s supply of laundry capsules. The competition ends on 22nd March 2021, you can enter on their website. You can also follow them on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to keep up with their news, offers, skincare advice and giveaways there!

Review: Fellowes AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier

Over the last few years I have noticed that my allergy to dust mites has got steadily worse and I’ve started to suffer with hay fever during the summer months. Not only that, but despite having dogs for most of my life, it appears that cuddling our new puppy makes me wheeze. I’m never more than 2 metres away from a packet of antihistamines these days, and sometimes even they are not enough to cure my itchy eyes and tight chest. I needed to find a long term solution to cure my ills, so we’ve been putting the Fellowes AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier to the test.

Review: Fellowes AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier

The Fellowes AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier is a stand alone air purifying unit which is suitable for use in rooms up to 18m². The purifier is white with grey accents and has an easy to use touch screen panel. It comes with a carbon filter and a True HEPA filter which are easy to fit. It is also supplied with an easy to understand instruction booklet.

It boasts a four-stage purification system which captures 99.97% of airborne particles as small as 0.3 microns, including pollen and other allergens, dust mites, mould spores, pet dander and cigarette smoke.

Review: Fellowes AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier

The air purifier looks like a stand alone fan heater and wouldn’t look out of place in a home or office. We set our purifier up in our living room, which is the room I spend most of my time in at the moment. During the peak hay fever months in summer I expect it will move upstairs to my bedroom so I can sleep better.

The air purifier is easy to set up. Before you plug it in for the first time you need to fit the filters. To do this you pull out the grey side drawer, remove the filters from their packaging and put the carbon filter in first, then the True HEPA filter. Push the drawer back in until it clicks and it is ready to use.

To use the Fellowes AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier, plug it in to a wall socket and switch the unit on. It will spend the first four minutes assessing the air quality in the room and then start to purify it. The AeraSmart Sensor monitors the air quality and adjusts the fan speed to keep the air purified. The Aera+ mode is designed for use during peak allergy season.

The operating panel on the Fellowes AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier is very easy to understand and use. For the most part for us the display has been blue, which is a sign of good air quality and that the filters are fine to use. If the AeraSmart Sensor light is anything other than blue, that means your air quality isn’t what it should be and the purifier should automatically adjust to the conditions and works to purify the air. If the filters are ok and not needing to be replaced, their lights should also be blue.

Review: Fellowes AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier

The Fellowes AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier emits a low hum which I stopped noticing after a couple of minutes. It has been designed to be ultra quiet and we thought it was as quiet as it could be. We all got used to it very quickly and even the dog was completely nonplussed by it working away in a quiet corner.

Each morning since we got the Fellowes AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier I’ve switched it on and had it running for the day whilst I’ve been sat working in my living room. Since its arrival I’ve not had to take an antihistamine, this could just be a coincidence as it’s not hay fever season, but over Christmas I was taking them daily. I’m looking forward to putting the purifier through its paces in the summer.

I am pleased with my Fellowes AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier so far. Living with allergies can make you really miserable and uncomfortable. Having this air purifier in my armoury makes me feel that when the itching, sneezing and wheezing starts, I’ve got something other than pills to make life more bearable.

For more information about the Fellowes AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier, visit their website.

Review: Fellowes AeraMax DX55 Air Purifier

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Mumsnet Bloggers Panel, a group of parent bloggers who have volunteered to review products, services, events and brands for Mumsnet. I have not paid for the product. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity. I have received a voucher in return for writing this post.

The FoodMaestro App – managing dietary intolerances

We were asked to review the FoodMaestro app. All images and opinions are our own.

Growing up I had no food allergies; though I remember being tested to try and get to the bottom of why my eczema would sometimes flare up. It’s not unheard of for people to grow out of some allergies, but I managed to grow into some.

I turned vegetarian when I was 13, before the days of Quorn and Linda McCartney products. After about ten years of vegetarianism I developed an intolerance to mushrooms. I get hideous cramps and other things I won’t go into. Suffice to say it’s not worth me eating mushrooms.

More recently I’ve developed an intolerance to rich dairy; so cream and ice cream are out, cheese is eaten in moderation. I try and have a few entirely dairy free days a week to reduce the unfortunate consequences of this.

The boys are thus far ok, able to eat anything and everything put in front of them. It’s just me, the mushroom and dairy intolerant vegetarian who makes meal planning more difficult at home.

I was introduced to the newly launched FoodMaestro app which allows you to create personalised dietary profiles for each family member; logging allergies, intolerances and lifestyle choices that affect their diet.

The app was built in partnership with Guys & St Thomas Hospital Trust and makes it easier to manage food-related conditions. It currently has a directory of more than 75,000 products and 25,000 ingredients, with more products being added all the time.

It’s easy to search for food products by name or category and find items that are suitable for your diet. The app checks the nutritional information on each product and tells you if it isn’t suitable for you or your family to eat. This allows you to easily build lists of ‘safe’ foods and identify potential problems.

FoodMaestro

Once you’ve downloaded the free FoodMaestro app you just put in the details of your family members and their dietary requirements; it’s a simple swipe to choose from a range of allergy and intolerances as well as filtering into vegan, meat free, gluten free options, to name just a few.

You can then set about creating a shopping list. I went about my kitchen scanning the bar-codes of the items we were starting to run low on; as each item scanned the app would tell me if it matched our dietary requirements. You don’t have to scan the bar-codes; you can write up your list and the app will check each item for you. Once you’ve finished you can share your list, I chose to email it to myself so I could view my list when I went shopping. I normally have my shopping list on my phone anyway.

The FoodMaestro app currently lists products from most large brands as well as the supermarkets; Waitrose, Morrisons and Asda, and they are adding Tesco products to the app shortly.

I can see this app being very useful for me. Although I’m a keen reader of labels, sometimes I think a product is ok and it turns out not to be; then I’m poorly for a few days. This will also be great for when we have people round for tea who I know have food allergies and intolerances; helping me to double check that I’m not going to make them poorly. I think the FoodMaestro app is a big step forward.

You can find out more about the FoodMaestro app on their website and you can follow them on Twitter for news and updates.

FoodMaestro

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