Germnil Hand Wash and Cleaner Products

Germnil makes household hygiene products: hand washes in several scents with refill packs, shower gels, an antiseptic solution, and cleaners for floors, glass, the bathroom and dishes.

Most of it is filed under Household Cleaning & Laundry Essentials. The sections below group the range by job, and the second half covers the part that matters most with cleaning chemicals — what must never be mixed, and where they are kept.

Hand Washes

• Germnil Hand Wash Jasmine 285ml and Germnil Hand Wash Lavender 285ml
• Germnil Hand Wash Lemon and Germnil Hand Wash Pearl 200ml
• Germnil Hand Wash Jasmine Pump 200ml, Germnil Hand Wash Lemon Pump 200ml and Germnil Lavender Liquid Hand Wash 200ml — under Hand Washes & Sanitizers.

Time matters more than the product

Twenty seconds with any soap beats five seconds with any other. Cover the backs of the hands, between the fingers, around the thumbs and under the nails, which are the four places almost everybody misses.

Drying matters too. Wet hands pick up and pass on far more than dry ones, so a clean towel is part of the job rather than an afterthought.

Soap and water beats sanitiser when hands are visibly dirty

An alcohol rub is for when a basin is not available. It does not remove grease, soil or visible dirt, and it works poorly on hands that are greasy.

After the toilet, before cooking and before eating, use the basin.

If washing leaves hands sore

Frequent washing strips the skin and cracked hands are harder to clean than intact ones, as well as more prone to infection. A plain hand cream after washing solves most of it.

Lukewarm rather than hot water, and pat dry rather than rubbing.

Refills and Pumps

• Germnil Value Refill Hand Wash- Lavender 180ml, Germnil Value Refill Hand Wash- Jesmine 180ml and Germnil Value Refill Hand Wash Lemon 180ml

A refill is cheaper and needs a pump bottle to refill

The refill packs carry no dispenser, so the first purchase in a scent is usually the pump bottle and the refills follow. Buying a refill on its own with nothing to put it in is the mistake the names do not warn against.

The pump and the plain bottle are different listings at the same volume, and only the name distinguishes them.

Wash the pump bottle before refilling

Topping up a dispenser without emptying and rinsing it leaves old product at the bottom that has been open for months. Rinse it with hot water, let it dry, then refill.

Refill the bottle the product came in, not a bottle that held something else.

Shower Gels

• Germnil Shower Gel Pump 400ml — the single listing that draws more interest than the rest of the range combined.
• Germnil Shower Gel Lavender 250 ml and Germnil Shower Gel Silk 250 ml — under Body Wash & Shower Gel.

A body product is not a hand-cleaning product

These are filed separately from the hand washes for a reason. A shower gel is formulated for a shower, and a household cleaner is never a substitute for either.

Skin that reacts — itching, redness, a rash after use — is usually reacting to a fragrance, and an unscented product is the reasonable next test.

Antiseptic Solution

• Germnil Antiseptic Solution 500ml

Dilute it by the label, for the purpose on the label

A concentrated antiseptic is diluted differently for skin, for laundry and for surfaces, and the ratios are on the bottle. Using it neat on skin because it seems more thorough is how irritation and chemical burns happen.

Never use it in the eyes, in the ears, or inside a deep wound.

Rinsing does most of the work on a wound

Clean running water and getting the grit out matters more than what goes on afterwards. A wound that gapes, will not stop bleeding, has embedded dirt, or is from a bite needs seeing rather than treating at home.

Spreading redness, heat, pus or a fever afterwards means infection and needs a doctor.

Floor, Glass and Surface Cleaners

• Germnil Floor Cleaning Agent & Disinfectant 500ml — under Floor Cleaners.
• A glass cleaner sits alongside it under Glass Cleaners, currently listed with a bonus volume attached.

Disinfecting needs contact time

A disinfectant has to stay wet on the surface for the minutes the label states before it is wiped. Sprayed and immediately wiped off, it cleans but does not disinfect — which is the single commonest mistake with these products.

Clean visible dirt off first. A disinfectant applied over grease or soil does very little.

Open a window or a door while using any strong cleaner, particularly in a small bathroom. Headache, coughing or stinging eyes while cleaning means there is not enough air moving.

Bathroom, Dishes and Laundry

• Germnil Hard Clean Liquid Toilet Cleaner Blue 750ml and Germnil Bleaching Powder 400g — under Bathroom Cleaners.
• Germnil Dish Washing Liquid Pump 500ml and Germnil Lemon Fresh Dish Washing Magic Bar 80g — under Dishwashing Powders & Liquids.

Wear gloves with the strong ones

Toilet cleaner and bleaching powder are the parts of this range most likely to damage skin, and repeated exposure causes dermatitis that takes weeks to settle.

Rinse any splash off skin immediately with plenty of water, and flush the eye with water for several minutes and seek help if any gets in it.

Never Mix Cleaning Chemicals

This is the most important section on the page, and it applies to products in this range specifically.

Bleach and toilet cleaner make a poisonous gas

Bleaching powder mixed with an acidic toilet cleaner releases chlorine gas. It happens in seconds, in an enclosed bathroom, and it causes coughing, burning eyes and breathing difficulty that can be serious.

Use one product, rinse the surface thoroughly, and only then consider another. Never pour two cleaners into the same bucket or the same toilet bowl.

Bleach and ammonia is the other dangerous pair

Many glass cleaners contain ammonia, and mixed with bleach they release chloramine vapour, which does the same kind of harm. Bleach with vinegar or any descaler is the same problem again.

If fumes are produced by accident, leave the room, open everything, and do not go back in to clean up. Seek medical help for breathlessness, chest tightness or a cough that will not settle.

One product at a time, always

Mixing does not make cleaning stronger. It makes some ingredients cancel each other out and others react, and neither outcome is what was wanted.

The same applies to using two brands of the same product type in one session. A bucket that held one cleaner is rinsed before the next one goes into it, and a cloth used with bleach is not the cloth used with a descaler.

Where to Keep Them

High, closed, and in the bottle they came in

Household cleaners are a leading cause of accidental poisoning in small children, and a cupboard under the sink is exactly the height a toddler reaches. Store them high or behind a catch.

Keep the cap closed and the original label on. The label is what a doctor or a poisons centre needs if something is swallowed, and an unlabelled bottle wastes the time that matters most.

If a cleaner is swallowed

Do not make the person vomit — with a corrosive product that causes a second injury on the way back up. Rinse the mouth, give a small amount of water to sip unless they cannot swallow, and get medical help straight away.

Take the bottle with you.

Read the scent name, not the cap colour

Several products here come in the same scents across different jobs — lavender and lemon appear on a hand wash, a refill and a shower gel. A bottle picked off a shelf by colour alone is easy to get wrong.

That matters most in a bathroom, where a hand wash, a shower gel and a cleaner can end up side by side. Keep cleaning chemicals somewhere separate from anything meant for skin.

Where Germnil Sits on Arogga

This page collects one brand. The shelves collect one kind of product across brands, which is the comparison to make when a scent or a size here is unavailable.

Volumes and stock change, so the listing is the record for both. Cleaning tools rather than cleaning chemicals sit on their own shelves, and the two are bought together rather than instead of each other.

About Germnil

Germnil is a household hygiene brand whose range here is built around liquid hand wash, sold in several scents as pump bottles, plain bottles and value refills, with shower gels and a set of household cleaners alongside them.

The shower gel pump draws the most interest of anything it makes, followed by the jasmine and lavender hand washes.

It is searched in Bangla as জার্মনিল, and spelled Germinil and Germil by some people. All of those find the same brand.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I mix bleaching powder with toilet cleaner?

No, and this is the one to remember. Bleach with an acidic toilet cleaner releases chlorine gas within seconds, in an enclosed bathroom, causing coughing, burning eyes and breathing difficulty. Use one product, rinse thoroughly, and only then consider another.

2. What else should never be mixed?

Bleach with ammonia, which many glass cleaners contain, and bleach with vinegar or any descaler. If fumes are produced by accident, leave the room, open everything and do not go back to clean up. Get help for breathlessness or a cough that will not settle.

3. How long should I wash my hands?

Twenty seconds, covering the backs of the hands, between the fingers, around the thumbs and under the nails. Time matters more than which soap. Drying matters too, since wet hands pick up and pass on more than dry ones.

4. Is a refill pack the same as the bottle?

No — a refill has no dispenser, so the pump bottle is usually the first purchase in a scent and refills follow. Empty and rinse the pump bottle before refilling rather than topping it up, and refill the bottle the product came in.

5. Why does my disinfectant not seem to work?

Usually contact time. It has to stay wet on the surface for the minutes the label states before wiping; sprayed and immediately wiped off it cleans but does not disinfect. Clean visible dirt off first, because a disinfectant over grease does very little.

6. How should cleaners be stored with children in the house?

High or behind a catch, never in the under-sink cupboard, with caps closed and original labels on. Household cleaners are a leading cause of accidental poisoning in small children, and the label is what a doctor needs if something is swallowed.

7. What should I do if a cleaner is swallowed?

Do not make the person vomit — with a corrosive product that causes a second injury coming back up. Rinse the mouth, give small sips of water unless they cannot swallow, and get medical help straight away. Take the bottle with you.

8. জার্মনিল হ্যান্ড ওয়াশের রিফিল প্যাক কি আলাদা বোতলে আসে?

না — রিফিল প্যাকে কোনো পাম্প বা ডিসপেনসার থাকে না, তাই প্রথমবার পাম্প বোতলটি কিনতে হয় এবং পরে শুধু রিফিল নিলেই চলে। রিফিল করার আগে পুরোনো বোতলটি খালি করে গরম পানিতে ধুয়ে শুকিয়ে নিন; উপরে ঢেলে দেওয়া ঠিক নয়। প্রতিটি পণ্যের সাইজ ও বর্তমান দাম তার নিজস্ব পেজে দেওয়া আছে।