Fabulous

Inspirational song: Shine On, You Crazy Diamond (Pink Floyd)

Every so often I devote column inches here to rave about some new thing I have discovered, that pretty much everyone else on the planet already knows about. It's usually recipes, sometimes art or music, and once in a while, it's a product. Today, it's that last one. 

For several years now, I've heard friends and acquaintances tell me that the cleaner Fabuloso was the way to go. Some said it was what their abuela used when they were growing up. Some learned through a job. I mostly smiled and nodded, and continued buying Lysol or Mr Clean because they were my preferred scents. (Never Pine Sol. Ugh. There's childhood trauma there, from a day care center I hated. Won't touch that crap.) Now, in my season of YouTube binges, I have heard a professional say Fabuloso was better for tile because it is pH neutral. (Same dude said what I had been using--vinegar--was etching my grout, making it worse.) Then the last nail in the coffin was a day or two ago, the Mr was watching an old Ralphie May comedy stand up where he raves about the stuff, saying it will clean an-ee-thing! Okay fine, I made the leap. We were at Costco, and I got an enormous jug of it, for like 8 bucks. Time to experiment.

I mopped the kitchen floor, where the Mr had come running in with muddy sandals on when he got a bloody nose that morning. I learned that it does need to be rinsed with water to avoid filming over slightly, but it cleaned really well. The only variety they had at Costco was the purple one, lavender scented, and wow is it a strong smell. Not unpleasant, but overpowering even when diluted. 

Today I devoted all of my time and energy to deep cleaning the bathroom. It was long overdue, especially since I'd barely done more than do a quick disinfecting for most of this year so far. I went top to bottom, all the way around, and I mean I was actually on a step stool, getting accumulated dust off the walls, all the way to kneeling on my bath mat, using a magic eraser to get the edges of the floor tile, and everything in between. My nose is somewhat numb to the lavender now, but when the Mr came back from his evening meeting, he sure noticed it. 

Overall impression: those people were right. This is an amazing cleaner. Not sure how long the smell will linger. I wore disposable gloves for most of the work, but even when I didn't, it didn't irritate my hands. They're a little dry, but that's all. I'm pleased with my purchase. Five stars, would recommend.