Cleaning Products You Miss.....

[danemodsandy]

Does anyone else have memories of cleaning products that worked well and that you loved, but which are not available any more? It seems that anything I learned to use when I was younger is NLA or MIA or any of those other acronyms that mean you're SOL.

Each item on my list filled a purpose that nothing today does quite as well. Here goes:

- Original Spic 'n Span. Yeah, they still make the powder, but it's now another scent, not the "clean on steroids" smell the product used to have.

- Oxydol. I use today's Oxydol, but I snort every time I look at the box and see the words "Original Scent." Obviously, no one at the company making Oxydol today ever got a whiff of the original.

- Miracle White. My sainted paternal grandmother, Mama Mac, swore by this stuff, and for excellent reason. She could take the grimiest sneakers and make them look like they just came from Thompson-Boland-Lee, the premier Atlanta shoe store when I was a kid.

- Original Pledge. Every Pledge formulation today is oily, not the "hard shell" finish of the original 1958 product, which was made until about ten years ago. It was especially great on hard plastics, like portable TVs and stereo turntable covers. They'd be shiny as new and would repel dust for a long time.

- Glo-Coat. Absolutely wonderful on VCT flooring. Future is still around, and it's an excellent product, but it's just not the same, somehow.

- S-O-Ettes. These were blue foam pads with a thin layer of SOS Pad bonded to one side. You could scour without tearing up your fingertips - or manicure.

- Electrasol. Chock-full of lovely, wonderful, deadly efficient phosphates, so that you never, ever had to worry if the dishes were coming out clean. Well, not unless you had am impeller machine, anyway.

- Texize Dish Detergent. Dawn can't compare to the grease-cutting ability this stuff had. If your hands came out of the dishwater looking like you boiled them along with the lobsters - well, cleanliness always comes at a price.

- Soilax. We used to wash walls at least once a year. Why? Well, you've seen people smoking on Mad Men. Except that Mad Men shows about one-one-hundredth of the smoking that actually went on at that time - my high school had a student smoking area. I can't tell you how popular sandalwood tan walls were for living rooms then. The color hid everything until it was time to get out the Soilax again.

What are your late, lamented cleaning products? And what was it that was so great about them? Have you found any substitutes? Enquiring minds want to know!

 

[danemodsandy]

And One I DON'T Miss:

Original Comet with Chlorinol. Josephine the Plumber has a lot to answer for.

Why? Because Comet used to be about the grittiest substance known to Man. If you've ever seen a wonderful midcentury bathroom with a tub that looks like it's worn almost through to the cast-iron - or a Hudie ring-mounted turquoise Kohler sink you'd kill for in good shape that is worn down to the cast-iron - you're almost certainly looking at Comet damage.

Sadly, today's bathroom cleaning sprays like Kaboom! and Scrub Free hadn't been invented yet, and Comet was the only thing most people knew about that would cut bathtub ring. A very few enlightened folks knew about Bon Ami, with its feldspar polishing abrasive, but most people thought it was just another cleanser, and weren't those Josephine commercials cute?

Today's Comet (and Ajax) use a different abrasive, and aren't nearly as damaging as the old, pumice-based stuff. But while Comet was Comet, it was tearing up good porcelain like nobody's business. [this post was last edited: 5/13/2013-20:16]

 

[ptcruiser51]

Kleen & Shine

Or maybe it was Klean & Shine. Great job on everything! Also smelled like 7-up.

My sister bought a case of it when she heard it was going out of manufacture. We split it, lasted us about five years.

Linit liquid starch (for curtains).

 

[danemodsandy]

I Forgot!

When I mentioned Glo-Coat, I forgot to mention the best way to put a thin, even layer of the stuff down on the floor - the Fuller Brush wax applicator.

It was a metal handle the length of a mop handle; it had a clamp-on pad that had a gazillion little fibers sticking out of it - something like velvet, only much heavier and bristlier.

You could put Glo-Coat down with a regular mop, but it was never as even. If you used the Fuller Brush applicator, you got the deep, even luster the Big Three wax brands (Glo-Coat, Klear and Aero Wax) featured in their ad shots.

Sadly, Fuller Brush discontinued the product a couple-three years ago. Feh!

 

[mich]

I still use Electrasol & Cascade Complete with Phosphates

What I really, really miss, is old-old Vintage ALL Powder (the stainlifter LOADED with Phosphates) I swear the stuff was Magic

 

[volvoguy87]

Linit.

I still buy Linit liquid starch by the jug at Remke-Bigg's.

Dave

 

[cuffs054]

Dane, you made me laugh (or was it cry). I bought my first new "lux" new car, a Chrysler New Yorker. Went to see Dear Ole Dad in FL at the height of love bug season. Wanted to show off and stopped to wash car in one of those DIY places. Guy next to me had some Comet said it was good to get rid of the lovebug carci. He was right. Got rid of bugs, paint and scratched the s**t out of windshield. Dad was "so" proud of his son...

 

[mixguy]

Glass Wax

Used Glass Wax on Barclay tile, and chrome appliances, helped make polished stainless steel look new too.

 

[autowasherfreak]

Janitor in a Drum and Spic and Span powder

 

[fido]

This was not so long ago, perhaps 15 years but I bought a small tub of a pink paste called "So Easy Your No. 1 Enviromentally Friendly Multi Purpose Household Cleaner"
(yes, the miss-spelling of environmentally is as copied from the tub). I don't normally buy from cold callers but this chap demonstrated the stuff on my corroded brass door knocker, which came up like new. I lived on the sea front at that time so everything was constantly blasted with salty spray. I've never seen this product in any shops but the manufacturer, E M P Howe Products appears to still exist.

 

[frigilux]

I'd forgotten all about Spic & Span powder. My mom used it quite often, and it did have a powerful scent!

 

[washer111]

Any Phosphated Products!

Whilst not all of the stuff over here has lost the stuff, the reports of lost cleaning ability (even in soft water) are horrid. Despite our soft water, 10-30% Phosphated Finish is still great (It was still full of STPP as of early 2012).

 

Most laundry detergents (However) are no longer phosphated, as they obviously represent like 99% of the washing up market - and the greenies despise the stuff. "Radiant" detergent still has Phosphates, is low sudsing and is working for me so far. With the water so hard here, you need it, unless you soften it like us.

 

Powerful drain and toilet cleaners are missed, as are "septic tank cleaners" that you could clean everything with (That were probably very nasty), but kept drains, sinks, laundry's etc clean, and your septic tank/grease traps cleaner. I've heard stories about stinking septics being clean and functional after the use of that stuff. Its not made anymore, unfortunately. 

 

[danemodsandy]

And Oh, Yeah....

Oven Gard!

Before there were self-cleaning ovens in my life, there was Oven Gard, a Drackett product that you sprayed onto the liner of a clean oven. It was colorless.

It was some sort of coating, possibly silicone-based, that made oven grime wipe away without use of oven cleaner - the crud would not stick to Oven Gard. While it did not eliminate oven cleaning altogether, Oven Gard sure minimized it.

I think cheap continuous-clean ovens killed the product off - for a while, continuous-clean was so ubiquitous that conventional-clean ovens became hard to find if you didn't want a self-cleaner. Thankfully, everybody got wise to continuous-clean, eventually; it pretty much seems to have gone the way of the Edsel and the 8-track.

 

[retromania]

Mama complained that when they changed the formula of Wisk that it was never as good. Said it was strong and would burn your skin if you got some on you and didn't rinse it off thoroughly. Our family owned a construction company and although my dad was not a carpenter he was out on the job sites a lot and would perspire. His shirts went to the cleaners, but not before the ring around the color got a dose of Wisk. She said the same thing Sandy said about Future being ok, but it is not as good as Glo Coat.

 

[polkanut]

I miss LaFrance and Blu-White powdered laundry bluing.  So much easier to clean up if any was spilled.  Also miss Axion, and original P&G BIZ.  Extra strength Comet in the red can.  Original Oxydol & Tide formulas. 

 

[norgeway]

No Bugs My Lady shelf paper and

That great wax that killed bugs, When I was a kid, most people did not have ac, or at least very few did, I remember how bad gnats and flies were, that wax was so good if any kind of bug got on the floor, it would be dead in a few minutes, the same with the shelf paper, you never worried about spiders or ants, they were dead before the got into anything.I wish I could remember the name of that wax!

 

[westie2]

Energine

That stuff was great for oil spots on things and also getting our ball point ink.  Mom used it on our dry cleaning stuff befoe going to the do it your self dry cleaners.

 

[kevin313]

I probably miss Glass Wax and the original Ivory liquid detergent the most.

 

[daveamkrayoguy]

The powdered Spic 'n' Span! My grandma had a box of it in her cleaning supplies cabinet!

Along w/ her big box of Tide by the washer which always made her laundry area smell good!

-- Dave

 

[112561]

I miss Grease Relief and Aero-Wax. 

 

[aamassther]

I miss Lux dish washing liquid, Bowlene powder toilet cleanser, Miracle White, and the original Lestoil.
We used Lux in our bath water as kids, I still remember the scent in the bath. Great for dishes too.
Bowlene would get the rust off of anything in seconds flat.
When Miracle White had phosphorous in it, it was great in our hard well water, kept clothes from looking yellow.
When Lestoil had petroleum solvents in the formula it was great for anything greasy and dirty. We used it to get collar stains out before the advent of Spray N Wash. Oh yea, there's another. I miss the original Spray N Wash too.

 

[dirtybuck]

Hans,

It was called Freewax, and we used it somewhat religously on the den floor in our house in El Paso. I remember on a trip to KC in the 70's, my dad was looking for it to tell my aunt how it got rid of and killed bugs (very good on roaches), but no such luck in finding it.

I also miss the original versions of Dash, Bold, and Cheer. I really liked the scent Cheer had and the way it cleaned (especially whites).

In dish liquids, who remembers white Ivory Liquid and the "it even whips" commercials? Oh, the pranks we used to pull with that stuff. There was also Peach Thrill ("it leaves your hands with a peaches and cream complexion"), Swan, Chiffon and Lux Liquid.

One item I completely DESPISED was Janitor In A Drum. The scent was God awful and always gave me a headache.

 

[suds14]

The 2 products I miss most are LaFrance and orignal April Fresh Downey.

Other products I miss Dash in the red box, top job, origial spic & span in the box, Ivory shampoo.

David

 

[rp2813]

Original Wisk.  I liked the scent and consistency of it.

 

I still buy Spic & Span powder, even though it's not the same as the original.  Since his stroke, Dave has occasional "containment" issues and I like S&S because there's no need to rinse.  I recently found liquid S&S at the 99c Only Store.  It has a couple of different scents.  At that price I couldn't pass it up.  I think it's not being accepted by the average consumer because the orange coloring of the liquid takes on a brownish tint when mixed in a bucket that's any color other than white. 

 

Re: Future, I remember my cousin used it on her vinyl floor covering back in the 70's and it caused immediate yellowing.  She complained and got new floor covering free of charge.

 

[whirlykenmore78]

One I really miss

Original Finish powder. Not the crap out there today but the old formulation made by Ecolab.
WK78

 

[whirlpolf]

Mop Mate by Amway

Just love it. Nothing comparable here. The smell is just so "janitorial", it reminds me of school buildings (without the grumpy janitor alongside): Soapy yet wax-like in a way. Somewhat "bluish" just by the smell, yet so ozone-like and glassy (hard to describe smells though).

The ease of use, the shine it gives. It was worth every DM Pfennig (back then), every EU cent (now as it can't be had anymore).
Where can I get some?

 

[maytagbear]

I'm with Kevin313!!!!

REAL Ivory Liquid!!! Stuff sold today is NOT the same, either "ultra" or regular.

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[teknikleespekng]

Spic N Span powder. My Mom used that all the time. Nice scent and no real need for rinsing. I use Spic N Span in the bottle.

Glass Wax. I still have 1/2 a can. Bought it about 15 years ago. Wanna laugh? In the winter I have used it to stencil my windows. I used a stenciling sponge with a little glass wax and held the stencils on the window. When the holidays were over I would just buff it out

Wisk. I agree the new formula is caustic. I bought a bottle about 8 years ago and it took the silk screening off of one of my son's shirts. ATE RIGHT THROUGH IT. Needless to say I returned the bottle for a refund.

I also miss standard formulas. I cant stand these concentrated formulas - especially when washing dishes by hand. I can find regular Dawn in a little bottle at Walmart, but I regularly use Ajax with Lemon.

 

[xpanam]

Sani-Flush and Finish

whirlykenmore78. Are you talking about the Finish that had a list of approved DW manufactures? It went from the top to the bottom of the box. And was a blue and white power. I am not surprised that Sani-Flush is gone. Dose anyone know what was in that stuff? When you put it in the toilet it look like the water was boiling.

 

[stan]

Anyone remember

"Big Walley"
God only knows what it had in it... They didn't tell us then, it was in a can and sprayed out a foam.
It was a red whie and blue can, with a cartoon character of a muscle man.
The slogan was " takes off the dirt, and leaves the paint"