Scouring powder

Taken from WIKI :

"Scouring powder is a household cleaning product consisting of an abrasive powder mixed with a dry soap or detergent, soda, and possibly dry bleach.

"Scouring powder is used to clean encrusted deposits on hard surfaces such as ceramic tiles, pots and pans, baking trays, grill, porcelain sinks, bathtubs, toilet bowls and other bathroom fixtures. It is meant to be rubbed over the surface with a little water. The abrasive removes the dirt by mechanical action, and is eventually washed away, together with the powder, by rinsing with water.

"Scouring powders are similar to scouring soaps and scouring creams in general composition and mode of action, but differ somewhat in the form (dry powder, instead of a bar or paste) and in the primary intended applications. Scouring powders compete in their intended uses with scouring pads and steel wool."

If you are unlike me, you are probably saying, "So! Who cares?"

There are still many of these products on the market in the United States. Some of the more popular names are Ajax, Comet, SOS, Bon Ami, Old Dutch, and Bar Keepers [sic] Friend. They have been around forever. There were competitions on television over which one worked better, faster, or with less elbow grease. Over time, they seem to have fallen the wayside. I still keep a bottle under the sink in the kitchen and the bathroom to wipe down the surface, but these days everyone seems to use liquids. And the notion of using abrasion to remove stains or grime has also gone out of fashion. There is a looming or lurking fear that the process will somehow permanently damage the heirloom that is being cleaned.

Sometimes I worry more about the toxicity of the chemicals that are used in the name of cleaning. Yes, I have bleach and ammonia and am very careful never to mix the two. But I also have twice as much vinegar in the house and that works just fine to clean the stove and the window. And I don't mind using old wash cloths that don't serve as showering wash cloths on my skin.

There are times when I realize that I have old fashioned ways of doing things. I have not joined the multitude that cook with electricity and I use a stove that is so old that it sometimes needs a match to start a flame. I'm not totally against electricity for cooking... I just use it in moderation (i.e., a microwave for reheating or a tea kettle for small amounts of boiled water).

There is something comforting about having access to the old methods and the ability for one to say, "They still work. If it ain't broke, don't fix it." Anyway, it's not like I breath in the fumes as I clean. (I save that activity for when I pump gas!).