Household Cleaning Liquid

[HappyLuck]

Barcolene

This is in reply to Andy M., way up top, who had asked, in May of 2014, about the availability of Barcolene.

Back in the 1980's, I lived in Massachusetts, too - on the Cape - where I was a gardener/all-around-handyman. We would often have to clean vacation homes before the client came for the Summer and, doing that, I was introduced to Barcolene by the man who had been mentoring me. He'd been using it for decades and swore by it.

I found it to be a great all-round cleaner and its added attraction was its low price compared to the Big Names. I used to buy my supplies at Stop'n'Shop and they always had it in stock.

The thing is: I'd recently purchased a bottle of liquid Spic'n'Span and found that it didn't smell as pleasantly as the boxed, powdered Spic'n'Span I used to use. It got me wondering whether the original was still available and so I Googled it and found confusing results. With my mind wandering, Barcolene came to mind and so I Googled that, too, and found your post in this Forum.

From what I could gather on-line, Barcolene is no longer made - and neither is the old and excellent Spic'n'Span - or so I think, anyway. As I said, it was confusing.

From Googling, I learned that Barcolene had first been on sale in July of 1939. Also, it appears that their Trademark had been cancelled in 1991 or 2.

Sorry I couldn't give you the help you needed, Andy M., but I'm glad that you remembered what was once a great and inexpensive product.

 

[Addie]

Getting back up is the problem!

Oh how well I know that. One time I had to call 911 because I couldn't get up on my own. Even using the furniture was no help.

My legs are just plain short. I am lucky I can still walk around my apartment.

 

[lyndalou]

Krud Kutter!! It's by far the best cleaner I've ever found and I buy it by the gallon at Home Depot. Really remarkable stuff..and the perfect name!

Krud Kutter 1-gal. Original Concentrated Cleaner/Degreaser-KK01/6 at The Home Depot

I have pre-finished wood floors. Would it work on them?

 

[Mad Cook]

I have an idea that this may be a cultural reaction from your British co-workers. "Servants" have never been the norm here. Some people here have "live in help", "cleaning ladies", or "maids" but to my knowledge they've never had the British equivalent of servants.

They were just jealous you had a cleaning lady, and they didn't.

Of course people have servants in America. How do you think the White House is run? I don't expect Mrs Obama gets the vacuum cleaner out every morning. They just don't call them servants.

One set of my great grandparents on my mother's side were servants from a long line of servants. He was either the butler or the valet to Earl Ferrers (off-hand I can't remember which) and she was the housekeeper here -
http://www.stauntonharoldestate.co.uk/http://www.stauntonharoldestate.co.uk/http://www.stauntonharoldestate.co.uk/http://www.stauntonharoldestate.co.uk/

They later went on to run hotels and employed servants of their own to work in the hotels. What's wrong with being a servant if you are treated with respect as they were? Obviously, if you were a maid of all work skivvying for a family who didn't know how servants should be treated it was a different story.

 

[Mad Cook]

This is in reply to Andy M., way up top, who had asked, in May of 2014, about the availability of Barcolene.

Back in the 1980's, I lived in Massachusetts, too - on the Cape - where I was a gardener/all-around-handyman. We would often have to clean vacation homes before the client came for the Summer and, doing that, I was introduced to Barcolene by the man who had been mentoring me. He'd been using it for decades and swore by it.

I found it to be a great all-round cleaner and its added attraction was its low price compared to the Big Names. I used to buy my supplies at Stop'n'Shop and they always had it in stock.

The thing is: I'd recently purchased a bottle of liquid Spic'n'Span and found that it didn't smell as pleasantly as the boxed, powdered Spic'n'Span I used to use. It got me wondering whether the original was still available and so I Googled it and found confusing results. With my mind wandering, Barcolene came to mind and so I Googled that, too, and found your post in this Forum.

From what I could gather on-line, Barcolene is no longer made - and neither is the old and excellent Spic'n'Span - or so I think, anyway. As I said, it was confusing.

From Googling, I learned that Barcolene had first been on sale in July of 1939. Also, it appears that their Trademark had been cancelled in 1991 or 2.

Sorry I couldn't give you the help you needed, Andy M., but I'm glad that you remembered what was once a great and inexpensive product.

Has the product changed it's name? I have been hunting for a particular product for the cough the horse has got due to dusty straw. Couldn't find it anywhere until am email to the manufacturers received a reply that they still made it but had changed it's name!

 

[Kayelle]

I have pre-finished wood floors. Would it work on them?

It would most certainly clean them lyndalou, but I can't find anything about using it on pre-finished wood floors.

 

[RPCookin]

Of course people have servants in America. How do you think the White House is run? I don't expect Mrs Obama gets the vacuum cleaner out every morning. They just don't call them servants.

One set of my great grandparents on my mother's side were servants from a long line of servants. He was either the butler or the valet to Earl Ferrers (off-hand I can't remember which) and she was the housekeeper here -
http://www.stauntonharoldestate.co.uk/http://www.stauntonharoldestate.co.uk/http://www.stauntonharoldestate.co.uk/http://www.stauntonharoldestate.co.uk/

They later went on to run hotels and employed servants of their own to work in the hotels. What's wrong with being a servant if you are treated with respect as they were? Obviously, if you were a maid of all work skivvying for a family who didn't know how servants should be treated it was a different story.

I think its just semantics. I see a "servant" as someone who works mostly for board and room, usually in a subservient position - the classic servant role. Today, most people in that line of work are paid employees. They may also get room and board as part of the deal, and in many cases that is a huge perk, but here they would be taxed on that as income, just like any other employee.

I'm certainly not denigrating the position. While we were both still working, we had a housekeeper, not live in, but who came in one day a week to keep things shipshape. She was not a servant, she was an independent contractor.

 

[Kayelle]

I have an idea that this may be a cultural reaction from your British co-workers. "Servants" have never been the norm here. Some people here have "live in help", "cleaning ladies", or "maids" but to my knowledge they've never had the British equivalent of servants.

They were just jealous you had a cleaning lady, and they didn't.

Of course people have servants in America. How do you think the White House is run? I don't expect Mrs Obama gets the vacuum cleaner out every morning. They just don't call them servants.

One set of my great grandparents on my mother's side were servants from a long line of servants. He was either the butler or the valet to Earl Ferrers (off-hand I can't remember which) and she was the housekeeper here -
Staunton Harold Hall

They later went on to run hotels and employed servants of their own to work in the hotels. What's wrong with being a servant if you are treated with respect as they were? Obviously, if you were a maid of all work skivvying for a family who didn't know how servants should be treated it was a different story.

That's exactly what I said MC. The White House staff members are not called servents. There's no right or wrong to the terms.

 

[GotGarlic]

One set of my great grandparents on my mother's side were servants from a long line of servants. He was either the butler or the valet to Earl Ferrers (off-hand I can't remember which) and she was the housekeeper here -
http://www.stauntonharoldestate.co.uk/http://www.stauntonharoldestate.co.uk/http://www.stauntonharoldestate.co.uk/http://www.stauntonharoldestate.co.uk/

I think this is the difference - we've never had "long lines of servants," as in inherited jobs, just as we've never had royalty, nobility or peasants.

 

[GotGarlic]

I have pre-finished wood floors. Would it work on them?

I'd use a wood floor cleaner to avoid damaging it with something that's too strong.

 

[Kayelle]

I'd use a wood floor cleaner to avoid damaging it with something that's too strong.

I guess that's the safest idea for wood floors GG, although that Krud Kutter worked miracles on finished wood kitchen cabinets I cleaned to get ready for a rental. The cabinets hadn't been cleaned in years, and by the time I got done they looked like new, instead of having to refinish them. A quick wipe of wood polish did the trick once they were clean. That Krud Kutter has the best name ever, it really cuts the crud.

 

[Addie]

Because so many Irish immigrants landed in NY and Boston, work was unavailable for them. Signs went up everywhere "Irish need not apply." The only work they were hired to do was that of servant. And they weren't treated very well. Today you can still find folks who mothers worked as servants. Then came The Depression. A lot of upper class families lost a good part of their income. They could no longer afford to keep servants. Or if the did, the numbers were reduced. Along came WWII. A lot of women found they could make more money working for the war. They no longer needed to work as servants. Now there are independent cleaning ladies.

When Boston was flooded with the Irish from the famine, they settled in South Boston and Charlestown. Both sections of the city have been upgraded with the rents going out of the reach of any immigrants coming from Ireland even today. Both sections are being "gentrified." So now The Irish are moving to other sections of Boston. Both sections are just mere minutes from Downtown Boston and employment. Very popular areas for working professionals. What used to be apartments for six or even more children, are now two or maybe three room apartments. And not very big.

Now the same thing is happening here in Eastie. It has already happened in the North End. Two areas that has been predominately Italian immigrants. Mostly from WWII. Here in Eastie we had a POW camp of Italian soldiers out at Wood Island. When the was ended, a lot of the POWs didn't want to return and sent for their families.

 

[GotGarlic]

I guess that's the safest idea for wood floors GG, although that Krud Kutter worked miracles on finished wood kitchen cabinets I cleaned to get ready for a rental. The cabinets hadn't been cleaned in years, and by the time I got done they looked like new, instead of having to refinish them. A quick wipe of wood polish did the trick once they were clean. That Krud Kutter has the best name ever, it really cuts the crud.

I almost said lyndalou should only use it if she had especially cruddy floors but I didn't want to insult her

 

[lyndalou]

I almost said lyndalou should only use it if she had especially cruddy floors but I didn't want to insult her

Made me smile. My floors are cleaned every week with Murphy's. My problem is that there are streaks when they dry. I use a Libby's rag mop..maybe need to get some other kind. It's driving me up a wall lol.

 

[Kayelle]

Lindalou , I had the same streaking problem on my kitchen laminate wood floors until I started spraying them with Windex and using a damp sponge mop. Streak free, every time.

 

[Katie H]

The thing is: I'd recently purchased a bottle of liquid Spic'n'Span and found that it didn't smell as pleasantly as the boxed, powdered Spic'n'Span I used to use. It got me wondering whether the original was still available and so I Googled it and found confusing results. With my mind wandering, Barcolene came to mind and so I Googled that, too, and found your post in this Forum.

From what I could gather on-line, Barcolene is no longer made - and neither is the old and excellent Spic'n'Span - or so I think, anyway. As I said, it was confusing.

Yes, the powdered version of Spic 'n' Span is still being made. Not too long ago I bought 6 boxes of it. I purchased it from a company that supplies goods to the area barge companies.

It's my "go to" cleaner for just about everything. One of the things I like about the powdered stuff is that I use it like an abrasive cleaner such as Comet, etc. But...it's not the least bit abrasive and I can use it on finishes that would be damaged by the other products.

I've never heard of Barcolene. As for your dilemma, Andy, I'd recommend Spic 'n' Span, in any form.

When it comes to hiring someone, I used to have a lady, Sylvia, who came every two weeks and only did our 3 bathrooms and the kitchen. She was a gem and beyond efficient and when she left, everything was surgically clean. I LOVED Sylvia and was sad when we moved and couldn't take her with us.

I was just beginning my own business at the time and had peons (children) to manage all the other cleaning tasks, but really didn't want to charge them with the bathrooms and the kitchen. Sylvia was the best!

 

[Kayelle]

I too used to swear by the powdered Spick n Span. When it became impossible for me to find it anymore I discovered Krud Kutter and imo it's even better than the old SNS.

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

Get Pine-Sol, that's all.

 

[Addie]

Getting back up is the problem!

Last year I stood up and turned around too fast. I got dizzy and knew I was going down. So I leaned against a piece of furniture and slid down to the floor. Well, I couldn't get back up. Right at that moment, the pharmacy guy was knocking on my door. I yelled for him to come in. He did and panicked. He saw me on the floor and started yelling for someone to call 911. The next thing I know is that the fire department is there and all I wanted was someone to help me get up. They wanted to call for the ambulance, etc. Did I need oxygen? Any broken bones? The next time I will just stay on the floor until one of my kids show up.

My legs refuse to support me when I try to stand up or try to climb. Specially my right leg with the wound. And getting into the chair van is impossible. I have to have the driver do a 1-2-3 Up with me. Grab me by the waist and lift me right up. I absolutely refuse to use the lift. I spent too many months using that when I was in the wheelchair. So now I sit next to the driver up front.

My daughter has a real steep set of back stairs. I have to up them on all fours. Not a pretty sight!