Skip to main content

a new friend

Growing up, my mother used steel wool for scrubbing the tough spots on skillets or pans. I've always heard it's the best thing there is for plugging up mouse holes (mice supposedly can't chew through it).  But today, I found a new use for it: floor scrubbing.
13 years ago, I thought I had found the best linoleum in the whole world. It had a blue/gray tint to it, with a marbly texture that I absolutely loved. Fast forward five years later, and that marbly texture turned out to be not such a good idea. The smallest amount of dirt accumulates in each imprint, and when you mop the floor, it simply puddles the water with the dirt. Over time, it's simply become a mess that even a scrub brush barely impacts.
To the right is the floor mopped twice with a cotton string mop (once with Pine-sol and once with Mop-N-Glo); to the left is the floor scrubbed with steel wool and Windex. My arms are absolutely killing me, but at least 1/5 of my floor now looks like it's new. Reckon I can have the whole floor done by this time next week? I don't think I'll need the arm weights at the gym tomorrow.

I'm thankful I finally thought about trying steel wool, but if I live long enough to ever replace my kitchen floor, it won't have any indentions in it.

Comments

Jennifer said…
when we had white kitchen floors i used that....its't the only way it got clean

Popular posts from this blog

things we do for love

Saturday we had a baby shower for Bobby's niece. As I was making the mints, Bobby asked what else was on the menu. After I recited off the litany of items, he responded with "No peanut butter?! This shower is for Hannah! What's she going to eat?" (Hannah has had stomach problems over the years and has been unable to tolerate many foods, but peanut butter has been her staple.) Despite my assurances that she would enjoy the foods we were having, he was adamant that I needed to make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the shower. Even though I protested that NOBODY took that to a shower, he persisted, and informed me I could make them dainty with my little cutter. And so I did. To my surprise all but 3 were eaten. Who'd a thunk it?

perspectives

A few years ago after a Bible study a lot of the group continued to sit and talk and simply relax. One of the ladies felt like she was being mistreated by her boss. She was always given extra tasks or asked to assume responsibilities that no one else was asked to do. She felt it was unfair. As she was listing off some of the extras (she worked in a cafe for a plant), I was in flashback mode. My last year of college I was a shift manager at a fast food place. One of my many duties was to ensure that certain cleaning jobs (extra duties) was assigned and done properly. We were inspected by company headquarters once a quarter, and 3 of their 4 visits was ALWAYS a surprise visit. When I handed out those extra assignments, I had three things in mind: Who will do this job without making a bigger mess? Who can quickly do this job so we don't impede serving customers? Who will do this without the most drama? In essence, I wanted the best person for the job. Use the teenager who griped and c...

fun...funny houses

 We saw the above house in Pittsboro while on our way to the mountains. It was the strangest house I've ever seen. Evidently this isn't a modification, for Bobby remembers thinking it funny as a child. Evidently a governor lived here at one point. I think the sign said it's now a Masonic lodge. And if seeing one funny house wasn't enough, the latest issue of This Old House had a link to their website that had several galleries of funny (or strange houses). Here's my favorites from their collection:   Szymbark , Poland  This just makes me laugh, and I would love to visit this house in person. Created by a designer who wanted to demonstrate "wrong-doings against humanity".  Visitors have stood in line for as long as 6 hours to tour the house, and many come out feeling "sea-sick".     Kalambaka, Greece... This 1,000 foot cliff drop has housed monastaries since the 11th century. Six of them are open to the public, " assuming, of course, th...