Why is my Norwex or e-cloth Mop Leaving Streaks?

Pretend I’m you for a moment. You just received your new e-cloth mop in the mail…

I did it! I read Kate’s great reviews of the e-cloth (and Norwex) mop and I splurged and got myself one. After all, I TRUST Kate. She tells it like it is. She wouldn’t lie to me.

My mop arrived in the mail today and here I am, happily putting it together and mopping my floor. La-dee-da, ain’t life grand?

But wait now. What is that? What the heck?! Are those STREAKS on my floor? Kate most definitely didn’t say anything about streaks on my floor! Oh… my… God! Those ARE streaks on my floor!

OK, now I’m Kate again…

So you’ve got your new e-cloth (or Norwex) mop and what you thought was going to be great has turned into a streaky nightmare and you’re cursing me.

Please stop cursing me. I think I can help.

3 Reasons Why your e-cloth® (or Norwex) Mop may be Leaving Streaks

1. The mop pad is too wet – The damp mop pad should be just barely wet. If you can wring any water out of it, it’s too wet. The pad should be “just damp” so that your floor will dry almost immediately. If you finish mopping a room and the spot where you started is still wet, the mop is too wet (unless the room in miniscule).
2. The mop pad is dirty – As you mop your floor, the pad will become dirty. It’s important to rinse the pad off as you use it. How often you need to rinse is going to depend on the condition of your floors. In the spring and fall – the “muddy” seasons – I typically have to rinse the pad after I finish every room or two thanks to the tracks my kids and dog bring in. In the summer and winter, I can easily do half of my downstairs area without rinsing. Take a look at the pad as you’re mopping. If it’s dirty, rinse it. Hot water will open the fibers so the dirt can be released. Then wring it out really well and put it back on the mop.
3. There is cleanser or polish on the floor – If you’ve used any sort of cleanser or polish on your floors in the past, it may take a few uses of the e-cloth (or Norwex) mop to remove it. Each time you use the e-cloth mop, it will remove a bit of that cleanser/polish and the floor will look streaky. Once you’ve used the e-cloth mop enough to remove all the cleanser/polish, you should no longer see streaks and you’ll find that the mop glides more easily over the surface.

3 Ways to Eliminate Streaks from your e-cloth® (or Norwex) Mop

This is kind of a repeat on the info above, but just in case you missed it:

1. Use the dry mop pad first to sweep the floor and get rid of any loose dirt. If it’s spring/fall (muddy season), I sometimes wait until muddy paw prints have dried on my floors and then I sweep them up with the dry/dusting pad. Getting rid of most of the dirt with the dry/dust pad means you’ll have to rinse your damp pad out less
2. Wring out the damp pad well before you use it. It should be just barely wet.
3. Rinse the damp pad regularly as you use it. If it looks dirty, it IS dirty. Rinse it, wring it and continue.

Hopefully this helps. If not, feel free to contact me and we’ll see what else we can do.

And if you haven’t tried the e-cloth mop, what are you waiting for? Did you know it was voted Best Washable Mop by REAL SIMPLE magazine last year?

7 Days of Poop – Day 6: Message from Above

I dropped Zander off at school this morning and on the way home, a bird pooped on me.

It’s my lucky day.

7 Days of Poop – Day 5: Poopin’ Solo

“Everyone Poops“. Have you read it? I suppose it’s meant to help with potty training but we just thought it was a good read.

Another one is “The Holes in Your Nose“. Fantastic! I like the part where it tells you that the holes in your nose are NOT pockets. Important information for any child, don’t you agree?

Anyhow, everyone poops.

I’ve got few doozy poop stories I could share from my year in Africa:

• the dreaded meat-stick story which involved me pooping over the side of a barge in the middle of Lake Victoria with 70+ spectators
• the dangerously expanding hole in the drop toilet at a beach in Malawi
• me getting caught with my head between my legs, trying – on doctor’s orders – to determine the colour of my poop before it dropped into the abyss
• need more?
• How about walking through reeds along a river and wondering why there’s “mud” at waist-to-shoulder height only to find that I’m walking through – and covered in – hippo poop
• or the night I spent running back and forth the 100 m, NAKED, OUTSIDE, to the outhouse/toilet in front of two watchmen
• or the time I was actually having a healthy poop and two women came in and chopped the head off a chicken
• should I go on? I’ve got a few from my time in Asia too…
• like the time I pooped my skirt
• or the pigs following me into the woods to “clean up” after me in West Papua

Oh the stories I could tell. But today, there really is no story. It’s just me…at home…all by my SELF!

Getting alone time in the bathroom is a luxury for me and the “daily doody” frequently turns into the “daily multi-duty.”

The other morning I thought my body had timed it perfectly – the dog was outside and the boys had just sat down to eat breakfast.

No sooner did I sit down than Zander had gotten up and let Roxy in. And they both joined me in the bathroom. Then Remy arrived. Honestly, this is less than 30 seconds after I closed the door.

Our downstairs bathroom doubles as the laundry room so the washer/dryer are in there, along with a big cupboard full of dog food and stuff.  That bathroom also has a pocket door that Remy is positively obsessive about closing. So he closed the door and the 4 of us are inside. And I’m kinda trapped on the toilet.

And things start to happen:

• like Remy decides he HAS to feed the dog, even though she’s already been fed so I’m reaching waaaaaay over to stop  him
• like Zander decides that he HAS to clean his feet because he stepped outside for a split second when he let Roxy in and he has gone into the shower and turned it on – fully clothed and with SOCKS on
• like Roxy, seeing that she isn’t going to get food after all, getting disturbed by the close quarters and wanting out of the bathroom. But I can’t reach the door to open it so she comes over and plants her head in my lap to be patted
• Like Remy, seeing that Roxy is getting attention, comes over and climbs onto my lap
• And Zander doesn’t want to be left out so he – wet – also climbs onto my lap

And someone who lives here actually scoffed at me when I commented on the “luxury” poop he had other night when he spent 20 minutes in there alone with the iPad.

But today it’s me that’s laughing because it’s just me and the dog at home and if all goes according to schedule it’ll be an off-duty-doody for me today.

 

7 Days of Poop – Day 4: Oral Hygiene

Just when I thought I wouldn’t have a good poop story to share today, the boys came through for me once again.

Zander didn’t wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning: he woke up on the “I’m going to make your morning miserable” side. Grumpy, challenging me at every turn and insisting that he ABSOLUTELY IS NOT GOING TO SCHOOL TODAY!

This is the type of morning that I wish Dad would just stay home for an extra hour. Because this is the type of morning that requires 2 adults. Because this is the type of morning that if you focus on one child, the other one is going to do something you’ll regret.

Generally Zander is great at getting ready for school – picks his cloths, dresses himself, gets everything to his bag. He just needs help with tooth brushing and face washing.

Generally.

But not on a morning like today. Nope. On a morning like today, everything is a fight. I have to pick the clothes (there is no sense in even offering a choice today because everything will be wrong), I have to tear his pj’s off. I have to dress him. I have to PIN HIM DOWN as I dress him otherwise he wiggles out of his pants as I put his shirt on and vise versa.

You get the picture.

And on mornings like this, I do all the “Zander” stuff FAST because if I linger, Remy gets himself into trouble.

So here’s what happened this morning:

1. Zander poops – and as an avid reader of my blog (hint! hint!) you’ve already guessed that he didn’t flush the toilet and that I had to wipe his butt
2. Zander flies off the toilet after the ritual wiping and starts going downstairs
3. I leave the poop in the toilet for the moment because I don’t have time to chase him all the way down stairs and bring him back
4. We wrestle as I get him dressed – all the while I’m telling him about all the great things that are going to happen at school today
5. I realize that I’ve forgotten to get out fresh underwear so I turn to get some and he bolts down stairs
6. I check on Remy – he’s playing with his “buttons” (the calculator he’s been carrying around with him for the past 4 days – look at him, isn’t he cute?!)
7. I chase Zander down and find that he’s already got his shirt off.
8. I swear to myself, look at the clock, scoop him up and head back upstairs.
9. That’s when I hear it. My electric toothbrush. And water splashing. And Remy saying his two favourite words (although they’re not often said together) “hello poop!”
10. Oh $@#% !!!! (this was said out loud, NOT to myself)

TIP: If one of your kids is having a rough morning and simply doesn’t want to go to school, let them watch a sibling play in the toilet with your electric toothbrush and an un-flushed poop. Instant mood-swing!

7 Days of Poop – Day 3: Bath Night

All I Really Need to Know, I Learned In Kindergarten. If that was true, my son would know how to wipe his butt.

Zander: “Mom, did you know they have a zipper club at school”

Me: “Really? Are you in it?”

Zander:  “Oh yeah, because I can do my own zipper”

Me: “Great! Do you think a “Bum Wiper” club would be a good idea?

Zander: “Mom, I don’t need a bum wiper club because YOU wipe my bum.”

Mission UN-accomplished.

I suppose in most houses, bath night is the night before school. In our house, it’s the night OF school. This is related to a certain someone’s inability/lack of desire to wipe his own butt and the resulting skid marks on his underwear after a day at school.

Yesterday was a school day, so last night was a bath night.

I just have to digress for a moment to give you a bit of info on my 2 boys. Read it, because it’s important to what happens next.

1. Remy is almost 2 and lately he’s taken to talking to me upside down. Essentially, he’s in a downward facing dog position (for you yogis) – bent at the waist with head down almost to the floor, bum up in the air and legs almost straight. He straddles his legs enough that he can see me through them. And then he starts talking. Usually I’m laughing too hard to hear him so he starts yelling. It’s a bizarre form of communication.
2. Zander is 4. He’s in Kindergarten and is all about “doing it himself” these days like the “big boys” do. But if he thinks he’ll get a laugh, he’ll regress to what his younger brother is doing.

OK, back to bath night…

Being his new independent self, Zander ran upstairs ahead of us last night and got his cloths off, ready for the bath. But Remy and I took a while to get up there so Zander decided to go ahead and brush his teeth.

To brush his teeth, Zander gets up onto the vanity counter so that he can reach the faucets.

So Remy and I get upstairs and find Naked Zander brushing his teeth on the counter.

I turn my back to him to start running the water in the tub. Which is when Remy decides he needs to tell me something. So over he bends over and starts talking. (see bullet number 1, above).

I giggle. Which leads to the underlined part of bullet 2, above.

Zander says “mom, smell my bum!”. And I turn because my back was to him – and because I’m an idiot – to see that Zander is talking to me Remy-style.

But he’s naked.

And on the counter.

So his “kindergarten-didn’t-teach-me-how-to-wipe-my-butt” butt-hole is RIGHT IN MY FACE!

For all the great things kids DO learn in kindergarten, give this a read. Note that it says “flush” but no mention of bum-wiping!

e-cloth 101: Cleaning Calculators and Phones

Remy goes through 3-4 day obsessions with things. He’ll pick something up and decide to “love” it for a few days. “Love” means carrying it where ever he goes, sleeping with it, kissing it, getting me to kiss it, taking it in the bathtub, sharing meals, you get the idea.

Last week it was little plastic rings, which were a real nuisance because they were hard to keep track of and if one was missing… FIT!

This week, it’s a calculator.

So what happens when an almost-2-year-old decides to share his honey-toast with a calculator? It get’s damned sticky, that’s what!

But look at how cute that is – how could I take it away from him?

Off to the kitchen I go to get a damp General Purpose cloth and while I was gone, Mr. Sticky picked up the phone too.

He’s all business!

But no worries. Phone, calculators, remotes, keyboards, anything with small buttons is super easy to clean with a General Purpose e-cloth. Just dampen the cloth and wipe. It’ll get between the buttons and pick up the sticky, bacteria and any old dirt/grime too.

And you can use it on sticky little hands and faces too, just make sure to get them before they leave the table unless you want to be wiping walls and furniture too.

7 Days of Poop – Day 2: When Poop turns into the “S”-word

In a day of dealing with poop, it’s best to never let your guard down.

Bummy-Wiper

Zander (the 4 year old) has a nickname for me: “Bummy-Wiper“. He’s physically able to wipe his own butt but he says he won’t do it until he’s 5. Why not? “because when I’m 5, my poop won’t be as sticky“. I’m not sure whether he means sticky or stinky, or both. Either way…Hmmm. Probably for the best anyway since he’s a lousy bummy-wiper. I know this because I see his underwear after a day at school.

So after every poop, he yells out “Bum Wipe!“. Sometimes it’s “Hey Bummy-Wiper, I need a bum wipe!“. It starts out quietly and gets louder and louder until I get there. Loud enough that my neighbour has commented on it. And he absolutely won’t do it himself. He’ll just sit there yelling “Bum Wipe!” until I can’t stand it anymore!

He’s the undisputed bum-wipe-standoff winner.

Zander also won’t flush the toilet. EVER! In 4-year-old logic tells him that if he doesn’t flush the toilet, he doesn’t have to wash his hands because: “my hands didn’t touch the toilet“. Apparently wrapping his fingers around the seat (so the tips are under the seat, touching the rim) as he sits there doesn’t constitute “touching” the toilet.

So I wipe his bum and flush the toilet. I am, indeed a Bummy-Wiper.

(note: we DO wash his hands afterwards)

Confirmation

Remy (the-almost-2-year-old) won’t poop on the potty but he WILL tell me when he has pooped. But it’s like he questions himself:

“Mom! I pooped!… Mom… POOP! … Mom-Mom-Mom-Mom-Mom…PooooooooooPPP… Poop? Mom?“

… then he sticks his hand down the back of his diaper to confirm. If there’s poop, he pulls his stinky, poopy hand out and yells “POOOOOOOOOOP!”. If there’s no poop… well, there NEVER IS NO POOP. His hand always comes out poopy.

You can add “Hand-wiper” to my Bummy-Wiper title.

Poopy-Eater

As a dog-owner, I’ve come to appreciate certain times of the year that most might not think twice about. Like late fall/very early winter, when the temperatures dip below zero and Poopsicles make their first appearance. Poopsicles are a poop-picker-upper’s friend. They’re generally available all winter, but the late Fall/early Winter ones are the best because you don’t have to deal with the snow. The non-snowy-poopsicle is most definitely the BEST.

WORST is the “spring-melt” poop that you find after all the snow disappears. A close second is the “I-really-should-have-picked-that-up-before-it-rained” poop.

Somewhere in the middle is the “grass” poop. Which dangles from your dog’s butt until you pull it out. As long as you’re properly prepared (bag on hand), this – surprisingly – seems to be more disturbing to the dog than to the dog-owner.

But having a dog isn’t just about picking up and dealing with their poop. It’s also about having to watch them EAT poop.

And this is where Poop turns into the S-word for me.

When you watch your dog run ahead on the trail and dig into a pile of horse manure, well that’s gross, but it’s still just poop to me.

When you watch your dog raise his nose to the air and start sniffing, then start trotting off the trail into the woods, nose held high, sniffing and tail wagging in anticipation, you’ve got trouble and you better act quick. Because if you don’t, your dog is going to have a little “treat” that just happens to be sitting beside, or under, a piece of toilet paper or kleenex and that, my dear friends is SHIT! to me.

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7 Days of Poop Day 1 – Always Judge a Book by its Cover

Last night I was sitting on my front porch enjoying a beer when I see a dog – off the leash – walk up onto my front lawn and take a dump.

“What’s this now?“, I ask myself.

I haven’t seen this dog before and I’m wondering who the a-hole is that’s letting his dog go free to poop on my lawn. Then his owner comes walking up the sidewalk.

At the risk of stereotyping, I’ll tell you… the owner is a 20-something male, dressed in a white tank top, a sideways “ball” cap, and his pants are hanging low.

“There is no way in hell this guy is going to pick that poop up!“, I say to myself.

Remember, I’m sitting on my porch. It’s open but people don’t usually look up at it as they walk by, so they seldom notice me. This guy most definitely didn’t notice me.

But Gee Whillikers, he actually pulled a bag out of his back pocket, bent over, and picked that darned dog poop up!

Imagine me sitting there, nodding my head with raised eyebrows and with a cartoon bubble-cloud above my head that says “Well, waddya know!“.

I chastised myself by being so judgmental and vowed to change (a bit) as I watched him saunter down the street… and bend over and dump the poop – bag and all – down the catch basin!

Moral of the story: never underestimate my ability to spot a S_ _ _head.

 

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Kate’s Law – If you take their diaper off, they WILL pee!

…And if you think you’re safe for a while and decide to leave the diaper off, think again. Because then they’ll poo.

…And if you’re foolish enough to try to clean the floor before wiping their bum, well… you deserve(?) to have a poopy couch.

…And chances are, this will all happen closer to 5:30 am than 6 am, when you’re really at your mental “best”.

Ask me how my morning went. I dare ya!

The e-cloth® General Purpose cloth cleans pee-pee and poo-poo messes

On the bright side, the floors are now clean. I hand washed the pee-pee kitchen floor with a General Purpose cloth. Once I got started, I just couldn’t stop. Rinsed out the cloth then hung it to be laundered.

But then I used it again on the poo-poo couch and floor. Rinsed again and now it’s most definitely ready to be laundered.

I decided to spare you any pics of this morning’s mess BUT… if you’re interested, Google “poop on floor” and you’ll get lots of interesting images. There’s one where the boy painted his room with it. Nice. Betcha that Mom is wishing she had an e-cloth!

e-cloth® Father’s Day Sale – Let the Car Cleaning Begin!

My neighbour, who has always been meticulous about his yard maintenance (dare I say freak?), retired last year and has now become obsessed with keeping his 3 cars/trucks clean. Don’t get me started on my thoughts of a retired male with 3 vehicles. In any case, he’s been a good neighbour to us – the kind of guy that goes out with his snowblower and cleans your driveway and sidewalk in the winter – and I’ve been wondering how to repay him. Well now I know.

e-cloth® has a special Car Washing Bundle on sale for Father’s Day. Sure, he’s not my Dad, but I owe him. And if I play my cards right, maybe he’ll use his prezzie on MY car. It’s win-win, right?

So, what’s on sale?

1) The Bundle: It includes both the Interior and Exterior Car washing packs and by purchasing the bundle, you save $8 over buying them separately.

• Dual Action Car Washing Mitt
• Chrome & Glass Polishing Cloth
• Dry and Shine Cloth (better than any chamois you’ll ever use!)
• General Purpose Cloth
• Glass & Polishing Cloth
• Water Atomizer
• Laundry Bag

Click on the image below for more info.

e-cloth® Car Washing Bundle $36.98 – Includes everything you need to wash your car inside and out.

2) Singles: If the bundle is more than Dad needs, we’ve got three of our e-auto cloths on sale for $5.99 each (regularly $7.99 each)

e-auto Dry and Shine Cloth

e-auto Car Washing Cloth

e-auto Chrome and Glass Cloth

Of course, if you want to pamper your Dad instead of making him work, I don’t know anyone that doesn’t love the new e-body bath towel. Pure luxury and it dries you off like nobody’s business! I’ve got a couple of reviews of it here on my blog if you’d like my honest (and glowing) opinion of it!

 

How Long is the Sale on For?

Until Father’s Day (that’s June 16th this year). For US customers, please order by June 10 for delivery in time. For my fellow Canadians, you should probably order by June 5th if you want them there in time to make an impression.

For more information on any of these products or sales, please visit eclothusa.com