A bucket is just one of those things that everybody owns and it doesn’t really matter what type you own. Whether you have a purpose-made car cleaning bucket or one you picked up from the supermarket for a quid, they all look the same and mostly act the same too.
When something is as simple as a bucket there’s not a lot of room for variation, which means that when something comes along that shakes the basic principle up, it’s well worth testing. That’s why we’re putting this collapsible bucket to the test, to see if your next bucket should be of the folding variety.
Kleeneze Collapsible Cleaning Bucket
Price: £23.29 | VIEW OFFER
What’s it like?
At its core, this bucket is a liquid carrying vessel like any other bucket. The big difference however is that this bucket makes use of TPR (thermoplastic rubber) to allow the bucket to collapse for easy storage. For a bucket that can carry an astonishing 30 litres of water, it’s only 7.3cm thick when delivered.
Erecting and collapsing the bucket is an easy task, pull equally on the handles to erect, carefully push it down to fold it flat. Overall, it seems to be robust, the plastic is thick and has a quality feel which makes the tacked-on nylon rope handles an even bigger disappointment. A more purposeful set of handles would really complete the look.
Car cleaning
The primary automotive application of a bucket will be cleaning your car which meant seeing how good this bucket would be for washing a car. The specs look good, it can hold 30 litres which will be more than enough to clean a car and the base can easily accommodate a grit guard, a little extra that’ll prevent you from scratching your paint.
In practice, however, the size of the bucket (45 x 45 x 36cm) combined with the weight of 30 litres of water means that it’s really difficult to carry around once filled, not good for convenience. Add in that the nylon rope handles are crude and dig into your hands and it’s clear this bucket isn’t very portable.
However, even if it had handles made from silk you wouldn’t want to move it when it’s filled with water as any movement can cause the soft thermoplastic rubber sides to fold in letting all the water out. The best way I found to use the bucket was to use it as a static water source and never fill it to the brim.
It’s not a bad bucket for cleaning, but a standard bucket is better and the folding nature of this bucket only comes in handy when it comes to storing it when not in use.
Verdict
It’s a very interesting conclusion because its main attraction (being collapsible) is only ever useful when the bucket’s not in use. The attraction is very useful and this bucket is very easy to store. However, when the bucket is erected it all falls apart. It’s too flimsy to carry, too large to be practical and the handles are rubbish. If you can live with these foibles and don’t mind keeping it static while in use then it’s an interesting and certainly novel bucket choice.
3.5/5
Kleeneze Collapsible Cleaning Bucket
Price: £23.29 | VIEW OFFER
Pros:
• Folds almost flat
• 30-litre volume
Cons:
• Can collapse unexpectedly
• Rubbish handles
More items to consider
Spear & Jackson 10L Collapsible Bucket, RRP £11.33
KitchenCraft MasterClass 9L Collapsible Bucket, RRP £11.46
Colapz 2-in-1 Water Container 8L, RRP £34.99
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