I'm Cleaning My Floors With Oranges These Days (Stealing-Your-Thunder W/O)
Written: Feb 22 '04
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Product Rating:
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Pros: It cuts the mustard, and other icky things you want to clean up!
Cons: none for me
The Bottom Line: It works great and smells good, too!
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| ed_grover's Full Review: Pine-Sol Orange Energy All Purpose Cleaner |
This is another entry in Bruguru's Stealing-Your-Thunder Write-Off write-off. Please click on the hyperlink to visit his page and get the rules.
The poor orange growers in the US of A are crying the blues because everyone that's on low-carb diets these days has stopped drinking their pre-sweetened products (me included). If there's any truth to the fact that orange oils cut grease and helps in cleaning, they should shut up and count their blessings. They can now concentrate on selling their excess oranges to the manufacturers of cleaning supplies. BTW whole oranges aren't Verbotten on some low-carb diets, just the processed juice. In fact The South Beach Diet recommends an orange every now and then in Phase III just for the fiber.
I was seriously in doubt of the cleaning abilities of oranges when I started seeing all those awful commercials that promoted Oxy Clean and orange products for $19.95. I have a tendency to turn them off as fast as I see them on TV and file any information I may have gotten in a sort of mental file 13. I started seeing people using the stuff in the laundry room and I saw empty plastic bottles of different products in the recycle bins. I guess I have to admit I was wrong, and since everyone is on the orange bandwagon, I might as well join him or her.
Last week a young man in the building got a new job somewhere and made an emergency move. He left all kinds of things behind because he couldn't fit them in his van. Fortunately there's a space at one end of the laundry room that holds castoffs, give-away items and issues of old magazines. This is one of Curtis Ray's better ideas and since I live only two steps away from the laundry, I'm one of the first people to get there when anyone moves out and leaves stuff up for grabs.
I find all kinds of goodies and generally leave it where it is. This time there was a whole box of cleaning supplies and with my budget to consider, I just grabbed that sucker and hauled it into my apartment before I went through it. There wasn't much I didn't keep; the only thing I put back out in the laundry was a container of that awful fabric softener stuff that clogs up all the absorbent qualities of any cotton it touches.
One of the products I grabbed for my own was an unopened bottle of Pine-Sol Orange Energy All-Purpose Cleaner. I've never gotten into writing about these kinds of product reviews. This time I read a review of nanct's on the above product and decided to give it a try. Maybe I can make a few extra pennies if I change my habits . . . if ya get my drift.
The ceramic tile floors ion my kitchen, hallway and bath were desperately in need of cleaning. I moved what I could out into the living room and started the running hot water to fill my handy-dandy recycled mop bucket. I added the recommended amount of cleaner (1/4 cup to a gallon of water) and put in the twist mop and squeezed out some of the excess. Then I liberally sloshed around the area next to the stove where there were some nasty spills and went over the area where the waste basket and recycle containers sit. The bottle directions say there's no rinsing so I didn't . . . what does an old man know about cleaning anyway?
On general principles I let the solution stand for a while, but I didn't really need to. It ate right through the crud on the floor and in no time I was on into the bathroom doing the tiles in there. The resulting odor wasn't overly orange-y; the scent was fresh, not overpowering like the regular Pine-Sol Pine cleaner that will really clean your sinuses as well as your floors.
While I was at it I put some water and a splash of Orange Energy in the plastic garbage pail. Ditto for the plastic container that holds recycled plastic, glass and metal. Although I always rinse any food and cleaning containers out before I toss them, there always seems to be some accumulated drips of gunk that need to be gotten rid of. After waiting a good 15 minutes I swabbed around with a long-handled brushy thing, rinsed both container real good and set them out on the back steps, upside-down, to drain dry. Between the cleaner and the freezing cold weather they came back in smelling sweet and clean.
The web site at http://www.pine-sol.com tells me I can use this stuff on "floors, walls, sinks, countertops, range hoods, stoves, refrigerators, microwaves, bathtubs, shower stalls, toilet bowls, garbage bins, pet areas, and diaper pails." It also tells me to avoid using it doing "laundry, dishes, hardwood floors and cabinets, cars, and carpets." I found a note that it was safe for no-wax floors so the next day I made a milder solution of the cleaner and went after the refinished floors in the living room and bedroom.
They were re-done some time ago when Illona's soulmate, Curtis Ray, arrived as building manager for the new rental agency. He's such a one, who knew there were oak floors under all that old carpeting? He did. I stayed with my friends in the country for a long weekend while everything was refinished, but it was worth it . . . even the resulting rent increase. Curtis Ray put a polyurethane finish on the floors; this stuff cleaned everything just fine and didn't leave any streaks or blotches.
I even gave the old college try to the semi-gloss paint I have on the woodwork and on the switch plates for the lights. The dirty fingerprints came off with no problem and left the paint where it was. I may try this stuff on the kitchen walls, especially around the stove where there are some splatters that need to come off. It's either that or repaint!
I have to add that I hate commercials of any kind and I can't say I'm thrilled with their TV spokesperson who shouts at me. "Honey, are you still moppin' with dirty water? Well don't!" To her I say, "Get off my TV and leave me the hell alone." To Pine-Sol, I say, "I'm more than happy with this product and I'll go and get another bottle when this ones empty.
As for their claim that the dirt particles separate out and drop to the bottom of the bucket, I say, "Huh! How ya gonna get the mop back in there, rinse out the dirt that's on it and then get the semi-clean part of the solution out without waiting 10 minutes for it all to settle?" I think that's just an advertising ploy and I'd rather just dump everything and start with a fresh bucket. That worked fine for me.
Ed Grover - 2004
Recommended:
Yes
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ed_grover
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Member: Ed Grover
Location: Milwaukee, WI
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