smol talk May

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Hands up who was carrying out home improvements over the Easter Bank Holiday Weekend?

We loved hearing from one customer in particular who was thankful for our fabric conditioner DIY tip. Just read what she had to say:


"Oh my goodness, your fabric softener wallpaper hack absolutely saved me. My wallpaper steamer broke when i only had a few rooms left to do and i had been using a chemical stripper but it was horrible and gave me headaches and all sorts. Then i read your article that you can use your fabric softener, which I had a bottle of, and it all came off so easily. My hands are so soft and my room smells amazing. Thank you what an amazing idea." 

If you haven't checked out our DIY fabcon hacks you can find them here. And be sure to check out our smol BBQ hack... it's going to clean up your summer cook-outs. But not before some smol talk...

 

Sick of Plastic

  You might be wondering what the smol team was up to in Birmingham last week? You may have even seen us on the telly, heard about it on the radio or read about it online. That's because we're sick of plastic, and we're not keeping quiet about it, so we made a plan to show just how much laundry plastic goes to waste in Birmingham alone EVERY DAY. 

We brought to life a laundry plastic vomit mountain right in front of The Library of Birmingham, slap bang in the city centre. Made from 3,229* pieces of laundry plastic - the sculpture represented all the plastic that ends up getting burnt, sent to landfill or shipped overseas in the city each day.

Designed by Sarah Turner, an Eco Designer based in Nottingham from plastic sourced from Bywaters recycling facility and the machine taken from our TV ad. Why Birmingham? The UK's second largest city's council has been reported** for some of the worst recycling rates in the country, and we know big brand laundry is contributing to that.

Like many of you, our fantastic customers, we're SICK of plastic. So much so, we made a TV advert about it and took to billboards all over the midlands to talk about how laundry plastic was giving us the ick. Watch it here. 


        
smol steps to a clean bbq

Faced with a BBQ that's too dirty to cook on? Don't worry. It's amazing what smol can do and whether you're cooking on coals or grilling on gas, there are some really simple steps to a sizzling solution.

First of all, regardless of your bbq type... just light it. 20-30 minutes of burn time is going to get rid of so much residue it will cut the clean time radically. Do NOT start cleaning until your bbq is cold.


option 1: charcoal bbq

 1. Tip any ash into a bucket – (“easy to light” charcoal must go in the bin as it’s pre-treated and not safe for your garden/compost). Use a vacuum to remove any remaining ash.

2. Put the chrome food grill to one side. Wash the bbq inside and out with warm water and smol plant-based washing-up liquid. Our compostable loofahs and sponges make the perfect partner for this and also ensure no scratches.  

3. Wrap your food grill in aluminium foil and pop it in the bath on a towel. Add a smol dishwasher tablet on top of the foil and cover it with hot water. Leave for at least 2 hours then drain the water, unwrap the grill and rinse it down. Pop the foil in your recycling.

4. Reassemble your bbq. Treat rusty areas with a little ketchup - just apply a small amount and leave it to work its magic before wiping off. Finally, give everything a wipe down with your smol multi purpose spray and you're ready to get grilling!

option 2: gas bbq   

1. Scrape off solid residues in the hood and the bbq sides with your grill brush. Remove the food racks and scrape those down too. Don’t have a grill brush? Use an old dishbrush or a ball of aluminium foil. Leave the toblerone-shaped metal flavourizer bars in place while you scrape. They will protect the burner bars that lie beneath them.  

2. Remove the flavourizer bars and brush the burner bars with an old dishbrush. Brush in the same direction as the slits.  

3. Take out the bottom tray and any grease tray… empty them out and then wash with hot soapy water. smol washing up liquid makes the perfect solution.

4. Head to the sink with the food racks. Rub a damp smol dishwasher tablet all across the grates. Alternatively, leave the racks to soak with a dissolved dishwasher tablet and hot water. Finally rinse and return them to your grill. 

5. A final wipe down with your smol multi purpose spray will have the outside as ship shape as the inside and all that remains is to fire it on up!

DISHWASH FREE TRIAL

Many of you will already have spotted Bezza in some of our adverts because she's our very own content creator and videographer. Yes, we've seen her busy cleaning on Facebook, instagram and TikTok... but we want to find out more about the person behind (and infront of) the camera... so the smol spotlight is shining your way Bezza!

Can you give a brief description of your job?
As a Videographer and Content Creator my main role is to create video adverts across all of our social media channels (you may have seen my face on one before!) as well as creating content for our organic social media and website. I work closely with the creative and social teams to brainstorm new ideas and ways to showcase our products.
what’s your favourite smol product and why?
That's a tough choice, but has to be the fabric conditioner. I'm obsessed with the smell and love using it diluted with water in a spray bottle to freshen up my home.

what’s the best bit about your job and working for smol?
Everyday is different, there's always something new and exciting happening. Being a part of the creative team is a lot of fun as we get to bring new smol products to life! I also get to collaborate with different teams across the company and see the incredible work that goes into every part of the smol journey.

what’s a handy eco-friendly tip you can share for household cleaning?
Bicarbonate of soda can be used for everything - I like using it to freshen up my rugs before hoovering (just sprinkle on 15-20 mins before then hoover it up).

it’s the weekend... where will we find you and what are you doing?
I'll be somewhere outside, usually on a big muddy walk (one that has a pub at the end), down the beach or hanging out with family, friends and dogs.

A Washing Good Success

Our special springtime bonus on donate a wash was a HUGE success. So many of our customers signed up and made a difference to some of the 3 million+ people living in hygiene poverty.
  
If you didn't spot it, between the 2nd and 5th May we held a 'donate a wash bonus'! Ordinarily, when a customer signs up to this scheme, they choose to donate 2 washes to The Hygiene Bank whenever their order processes. But during our bonanza, for every new sign up, we added an extra capsule from the team at smol. Over 3000 of you took advantage! That's over 9000 free washes when your orders process! It means we can increase our monthly donations to The Hygiene Bank even more and we think it proves smol has the BEST customers.
    
Hygiene poverty is shaming, humiliating and excluding. It affects physical and mental health and impacts childhood development, employability and social interaction.

      
It's why we're proud to partner with The Hygiene Bank; a charity working at grassroots level through food banks, schools and other charities within all communities right across the UK to help those in need.
  
If you're interested in joining our donate a wash scheme it really is a great way to make a difference and you can read more about it here.

smol Stain Gel to the Rescue 

Who decided cricket should be played whilst wearing white? Why do ice lollies dye our tongues and tops? How does ketchup squirt at 90° onto our tops, defying gravity? The start of summer can come with many stains but DON'T PANIC because our bleach-free stain gel is already saving the day as we saw recently on our Facebook smol hacks: tips and tricks page.
    

     
    
smol bleach-free stain gel uses powerful enzymes for results to match the big brands and clothes that keep their colours. Of course it also comes in our 100% recycled plastic bottles - stay tuned for our FREE rinse & return scheme, coming soon!   

Use direct on stains:
1. Wet the area with cold water & apply stain gel
2. Gently rub gel into stain
3. Leave for 2 mins then wash as normal

      All-over laundry lift:
      1. Load laundry as usual with smol capsule
      2. Open washing machine detergent drawer
      3. Add 5 or 6 pumps of gel to detergent section
      4. Close drawer & run machine
          And don't forget to check out our brilliant smol hacks page on Facebook - it's amazing what you'll pick up from fellow smol users... great cleaning advice from real-life customers who use smol is just a few clicks away!

          Summer's around the corner so if there's anything seasonal you'd like to see next time be sure to let us know. We love seeing any before and after photos of your cleaning exploits around the home so be sure to keep them coming. Keep safe and we'll see you in the next smol talk.
           

          *Kantar sales data for the 52 weeks leading up to November 2022. The use of this statistic was approved by Clearcast.
          ** According to research from Every Can Counts, October 2022

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