Unilever's recently launched Domestos Power Foam Spray offers thick foam that expands and clings to surfaces for improved user experiences in hard-to-reach places; spray's fragrance is 100% biodegradable, comes in bottle made with 50% recycled plastic

Research recently conducted with UK shoppers showed that, when it comes to cleaning the toilet and bathroom, the most common issue is that it’s never easy to kill germs in those hardest-to-reach places like under the toilet rim or around the seat hinges.

So we came up with a solution: Domestos Power Foam Spray. This has a specially engineered formulation that delivers foam which expands and clings to surfaces, and a trigger head that works upside down. Every part of the product has been designed to improve the user experience: from the characteristic ‘swoosh’ sound of the spray to the ergonomic trigger, the foam that expands on the surface and its clean, fresh fragrance.

This is the brand’s biggest innovation for a decade: a premium offering that’s set to lead the growth of a category where consumers are increasingly looking for products that deliver exceptional hygiene performance coupled with convenience.

More time for the foam to do its job

The product delivers a thick foam which expands and clings to surfaces, unlike typical spray products which tend to be watery in consistency and therefore drain off more quickly. The foam format helps to fill crevices better and can be directed more easily to specific areas that require cleaning. The fact that it remains on surfaces longer gives it more time to act on germs and dirt.

The clinging foam not only kills germs ^* and removes limescale, it also does it more efficiently with less product by reducing the amount of drain-off. Our tests showed that while a bottle of regular toilet cleaner lasts for nine applications, a bottle of Domestos Power Foam Spray lasts for up to 24 applications. This represents significantly superior value for the shopper.

What’s more, the new non-bleach formulation makes it a multipurpose product that can be used for both the toilet and bathroom.

Solving a tricky technical challenge

Most cleaning product spray bottles don’t work upside down because of the way trigger head mechanisms typically work. A tube, which runs from the trigger head to the bottom of the bottle, draws liquid. When inverted, the end of the tube sits above the level of the liquid and so can’t draw any in.

The invertible trigger head developed for the Domestos Power Foam Spray bottle has an additional feed hole just under the cap. This hole is where the liquid is drawn into the tube when the bottle is held upside down and also means that pretty much every last drop of product can be used. This feature helps direct the foam into those particularly tricky places like under the rim of the toilet. The solution may sound simple, but it was actually quite a technical challenge.

Claire Racklyeft, our Home and Hygiene Category Lead in the UK & Ireland, says: “As market leader, Domestos is committed to leading the growth of the category by driving innovation, and the new Domestos Power Foam Spray – which was three years in development – provides a completely new way to kill germs in all the hard-to-reach places shoppers love to hate.”

To further add to the product’s sustainability credentials, the fragrance used in the formulation is 100% biodegradable and the bottle is made with 50% recycled plastic (excluding the trigger and sleeve). This means it fits perfectly into our Clean Future strategy of creating products that are tough on germs and stains, and ever more convenient to use while, at the same time, having better sustainability credentials.

Watch: Innovation from Domestos set to grow the toilet cleaning market | Unilever