Whether it's the comforting lemony zing of your grandparents' dish soap or the clink of glass bleach bottles, vintage cleaning products bring with them a wave of nostalgia. While some brands are still household names that have endured centuries, others have been lost in time as technology and consumer tastes have evolved. 

Click or scroll on to take a trip back down memory lane and revisit the classic scents, suds, and solutions that made a clean home feel timeless...

In 1884, Sunlight Soap was the first product to be launched by the Lever Brothers, whose portfolio would go on to become part of global consumer goods giant Unilever in 1930.

The hit soap, which was designed for clothing and household use, was manufactured in Port Sunlight, a Merseyside village built specifically for the Lever Brothers' workforce. Seeking to elevate factory conditions, the model community offered workers quality housing and leisure facilities. 

While Sunlight Soap was discontinued in the UK in 1999, its legacy still lives on.

The origins of disinfectant Izal date back to 1890, when its first iteration was produced by Newton, Chambers & Co., one of England's largest industrial companies at the time.

Marketed as "non-poisonous", the disinfectant was incorporated into a wide range of household products, including liquid soaps, ointments, and toilet cleaners. The Izal brand even began selling its antiseptic toilet roll, originally made for hospitals and public buildings, to consumers in the 1920s.

Izal's products gradually disappeared from supermarket shelves before the brand ceased production in 2010.

VIM scouring powder first appeared in our cleaning cupboards in 1904. Its name is thought to refer to the Latin word 'vim', which translates to 'power'.

While the original powder form was discontinued in some countries, it was relaunched in the 2000s in the UK. VIM's extended range of products, which includes detergent liquids, creams, and gels, continues to clean plenty of homes around the world.

Invented in Germany in 1903, Persil was the world's first soap powder to include a bleaching agent. In 1909, it made its debut in the UK, marketed as the "Amazing Oxygen Washer".

It quickly cemented its place in British homes – in the 1930s, Persil even employed what it called "Expert Washers" to visit over six million households and advise them on laundry tips and tricks.

Persil's reign continues in the 21st century and the range has grown to include tablets and capsules.

Iconic laundry brand Rinso was launched in 1910 and quickly became a staple across the UK and around the world. A firm proponent of the marketing jingle, it sponsored a range of radio programmes in the mid-20th century.

Unfortunately, the company's prolific advertising was not enough to compete with its rivals and it all but disappeared by the 1970s.

While Rinso is no longer sold in the UK, it's still a household name in parts of Central America, Asia, and Turkey. 

Founded in 1892, General Electric has turned its hand to everything from lasers to commercial jet engines. In the 1910s, the company expanded its catalogue to electric home appliances, including vacuum cleaners.

A big hit with UK consumers, the American multinational brand's products included the Roll-Easy vacuum, pictured on the right. Meanwhile, on the left, this vacuum was sold in the UK for around £14 in 1950, the equivalent of £413 in modern money.

Launched in 1912, Mansion Polish was produced by London-based manufacturer Chiswick Polish Co. It was sold as the perfect multitasking product for buffing floors, lino, and furniture, as well as cars and their leather interiors.

In 1933, the price of a tin of polish started from six shillings, which is around £2.74 when adjusted for modern inflation.

While Mansion Polish has since vanished from UK supermarket shelves, it appears to have had a resurgence among consumers in India.

Brillo soap pads originated in early 20th-century America when a cookware salesman and his brother-in-law teamed up to find an effective way to clean aluminium pots and pans. They secured a patent in 1913, and by 1917, the Brillo Manufacturing Company was producing steel wool pads packaged in boxes of five, each with a cake of soap.

In the early 1930s, the company innovated by incorporating the soap directly into the pads. Manufacturing expanded to England in 1939 and today, Brillo remains one of the most recognisable cleaning brands in the UK and America.

Harpic toilet cleaner first hit the UK market in the 1920s, claiming to be the only product that could clean a toilet bowl without labour. 

This newspaper advert from 1954 carries one of the brand's iconic taglines of yesteryear: "the smallest room needs the strongest cleaner", and details how the powerful formula can scour around the S-bend to remove harmful germs.

Available in 70 countries across the world, Harpic's packaging may have changed, but it's still a favourite among UK households.

Swedish company Electrolux was founded in 1919 and launched its first vacuum cleaner in 1921. The LUX 1 weighed in at a hefty 31 pounds (14kg), but it was still one of the lightest models on the market.

As the years went by, Electrolux continued to develop new and innovative machines, including these designs from the 1960s, which feature a combined carpet cleaner and floor polisher. 

The home appliance company still sells its products globally to customers in 150 countries each year. 

Dettol is one of the leading cleaning and hygiene brands in the UK, but its flagship sanitiser was initially invented for use in hospitals in 1933. The disinfectant was used to clean medical supplies and its introduction saw a dramatic drop in instances of sepsis after childbirth.

It entered the consumer market in 1935 as an antiseptic liquid, followed by other products including ointments. A jar of the latter cost one shilling and five pence back in 1944, which equates to around £3.97 in today's money.

Manufactured by Procter & Gamble, Fairy Liquid was launched in 1950, with its iconic white and green bottle and red cap. The washing-up liquid was first produced in the UK before making its way onto international supermarket shelves.

Fairy Liquid remains one of the UK's most iconic cleaning products, however, it's known by other names across the world, including YES in Sweden and JAR in areas of Europe, including the Czech Republic.  

One of the world's biggest household cleaning names, Flash made its debut in 1952 when its powder cleaner hit supermarket shelves. It was originally designed to combat the grime and dirt found on ships.

While it goes by Flash in the UK, the brand is commonly known as Mr Clean in the US and Canada. Branding in the latter countries features a muscular, bald man with folded arms, who some believe is a sailor.

First launched in the UK in 1953, washing powder Daz burst on the scene with a range of colourful adverts, claiming to banish stains and keep white laundry "whitest of all". 

This advert from 1957 for the blue-coloured detergent was one of a series in collaboration with notable washing machine brands of the era. 

Today, Daz remains a staple in households across the UK. While the classic washing powder is still in circulation, the brand has since branched out into washing liquid and pod capsules.

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