HERE IT IS - my **3** favorite handy-dandy household product discoveries of 2004

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  • I love all the products you guys mentioned, but I have to add my dirt devil floor keeper, it vaccuums, scrubs, and squeegees my hard floors!! It does a wonderful job too!
  • I, too, love the swiffer dusters and the disposable toilet brushes. How'd we get along w/o them??

    One of my favorite kitchen cleaning tools is a small, plactic paint scraper. It's about 2" across, and is great for saving fingernails when there is something stuck to the countertop, etc. I keep it hanging on a cup hook under the sink. Very handy!

    "Release" foil is my favorite new product. Line a baking pan with it, and food just slides right off. No Pam needed. Great for baked fish and all sorts of things.
  • Quote: I love all the products you guys mentioned, but I have to add my dirt devil floor keeper, it vaccuums, scrubs, and squeegees my hard floors!! It does a wonderful job too!
    Wood floors too? I haven't seen that one yet - I've been looking at the Hoover Floor Mate for the past couple years but just can't get myself to buy it.

    Our entire house is wood floors (and not in very good condition either, but our rent is pretty low for this area and our landlord just put in Armstrong double-paned windows and central heating about 2 years ago and we don't want to be PITAs). They are ALWAYS dusty and I'm forever sweeping dust and cat hair and Lord knows what else off them!!!
  • Ahhh...cat hair. Got another good one. You know those gloves that you can get at the hardware store...white gloves with blue little "rubbery" spots on the palms of them? They work great for getting cat hair off furniture. Our couch is "pseudo-suede" (an extremely finely woven fabric that looks like suede) and I rub the gloved hand all over it-and it "bunches up" the cat hair in clumps so I can just pick it off. AWESOME.
  • I just vacuum my laminate,tile and linnoleum floors with the same vacuum once or twice a week gets rid of my cat hair just fine. I am guilty of using the swiffer on my floors too - I keep thinking I would like to find a chemical free alternative but don't relish the idea of dragging around a mop and pail or getting on my hands and knees to scrub floors
  • My newest find in cleaning products is the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Girls, these things work GREAT for scuff marks on the floor, crayon on the walls (for those of you who also have 4 yr. olds) and greasy spots on the stove that are cooked on. I LOVE Mr. Clean
  • I've heard of studies that say Swiffer wet mops are really hazardous to kids and pets. May be something y'all that are still using them want to check into. I have no references, but maybe something would show up in a search engine search?
  • OOoh! I love Mr. Clean Magic Erasers! I work in a group home for teens, and we use them about once a month to get the walls lookin' pretty. They are great.

    2 more things I love:

    1. Clorox bleach pen. I am infamous for ruining things with bleach, and I love how this just puts it where I need it. I cleaned a whole bathroom with the pen and wipes. SO nice.

    2. Nature's Miracle. OH, I can't imagine life without it. Gets out pet smell and STAINS- even pee tains on beige carpet. I *lurve* it. I'm going to buy stock.
  • Quote: I've heard of studies that say Swiffer wet mops are really hazardous to kids and pets. May be something y'all that are still using them want to check into. I have no references, but maybe something would show up in a search engine search?
    I went to the Swiffer website and found this on their Q&A Page:

    Quote:
    Question
    Is Swiffer safe for animals? What if my pet licks the floor or his paws?

    Answer
    Your pet will be fine if it licks its paws after walking on a newly wet floor mopped with WetJet or Wet cloths. You can always offer water or milk to help remove the perfume taste from your pet’s mouth. But even drinking large amounts of the Swiffer solution would not be expected to cause more than temporary and minor intestinal upset.
    Generally these kinds of products are tested pretty throughly to make sure they aren't toxic or harmful...personally I think that the Swiffer solution (now granted I haven't tried it lately...) is a bit on the 'weak' side - I was raised to clean floors with HOT water and lots of Pine-Sol (love the smell...) Besides my cats won't get NEAR a wet floor - they camp out in 'daddy's' music studio when I clean house in order to stay away from the nasty mop and the Cat Eating Vacumn Cleaner (well it's never actually EATEN a cat, but there's that perception thing going on...).
  • Quote: Ahhh...cat hair. Got another good one. You know those gloves that you can get at the hardware store...white gloves with blue little "rubbery" spots on the palms of them? They work great for getting cat hair off furniture. Our couch is "pseudo-suede" (an extremely finely woven fabric that looks like suede) and I rub the gloved hand all over it-and it "bunches up" the cat hair in clumps so I can just pick it off. AWESOME.
    Those sound like the same kind of gloves I use while grooming my horse and they get the loose hair off nicely too...

    What we do with our sofa and easy chair is - I bought SureFit slipcovers and we also keep them covered with big quilts - every three weeks I wash all the 'cat blankets' with a triple rinse cycle and that gets rid of all the white hair.

    Actually...I'm MORE than ready for a new sofa but you know MEN...they think a sofa should last for 50 years at least...so I kind of 'permit' Sparkalou to sharpen his claws on the base every so often. Shhh don't tell...