Here is a resource for a serious problem that affects an unfortunate number of seniors, nursing home abuse. The estimate is that 5% of those in elder care suffer abuse. This organization's website gives good background on the situation and solutions for the problem if you have a loved one who might be undergoing this. https://nursinghomesabuse.org/

This product was suggested to me by someone at my hardware store. Krud Kutter, marketed as a nontoxic cleaner, cuts through tons of stuff. It's my nontoxic go-to for miscellaneous sticky propositions. A great product!

I've been cleaning for many years. At a certain point I started encountering newer-style large shower stalls that require walking into the space to clean the walls. Cleaning shower walls often involves scrubbing using a spray cleaner and then rinsing. So the quandary was how to rinse shower walls while standing in the shower without getting my shoes all wet. Maybe you've encountered this problem in cleaning your own shower. The solution: shower caps over one's shoes. These can get wet because they are easily removed after stepping out of the shower..

Though we are mostly trying to live as though the pandemic is over, it really isn't. In fact, cases are on the rise though infection rates are still considered low in the metro area. Fortunately, deaths are down greatly and the degree of sickness is less than it was earlier in the pandemic, but long haul continues to be a debilitating outcome for many.

In my cleaning, I continue to take precautions. I wear a mask and social distance when others are around and ask that my clients do the same. I try to work without others in the immediate area as much as I can.

A little reality check would help us all I think.

A good source of pandemic news: www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/the-latest-on-the-coronavirus/

If you use hairspray, you probably encounter the issue of the spray drying on surfaces of the bathroom. These surfaces can become very slick when wet--a hazard on floors and in shower-stalls particularly--and very hard to remove with regular cleaners. Isopropyl alcohol (70%) will do the trick. Try five parts water to one part alcohol for starters and increase the alcohol if needed.. 

In a pinch Dawn dishwashing liquid in water will cut grease more effectively than many other grease cutters. The suds helps the process. Not a green product but a good resource of last resort. 

Bartender's Friend is a uniquely adaptable cleanser that cleans many surfaces and kinds of dirt. One of its uses is removing stains--on porcelain, countertops, etc. I've found nothing else that works so well at this.  It's got one ingredient that's made in a laboratory so I don't use it as part of my standard toolkit. But, in a pinch, it's a handy product to have around.

I use ecofriendly products as much as I can, probably about 95% of the time. But there are moments when you need something to blast through a super build up of dirt that goes a step beyond. This is the first in a series on products to use in a pinch when nothing else will work.

Bathroom showers and tubs can built up soap scum that is really hard to get clean. When even my best bathroom product, Ecover Bathroom Cleaner, won't do the job, I turn to Zep Bathroom Cleaner. It's the most potent soap scum remover I've found!

Here is a product I used to great effect. Unnecessary backstory: I tried an experiment of keeping my loud new cat in the basement during the night and my new cat experimented with clawing the wood basement door, trying to get out. Mineral Bee Wood Conditioner, a food grade mineral oil made with beeswax, covered up the scratches beautifully. I'm looking for other uses too. The cat, by the way, won. No more basement. Ear plugs are doing the trick.

This homemade recipe is from Annie Berthold-Bond's Clean and Green, a pioneering book on eco-friendly cleaning. Start with two cups of water. Add in three tablespoons of white vinegar and a quarter to a half  teaspoon of liquid soap (vegetable-based)  and put in a spray bottle. Simple and effective!