My wife has been on a continuous improvement kick. The main event is death cleaning. She’s going drawer by drawer, room by room, closet by closet, a household version of the Terminator, focused on a mission.
Part of this mission is finding new things for the house. It started with the lights. We’ve put in new light fixtures in five areas. The old ones went to Habitat for Humanity. All were in good condition.
The pillows were changed next; smaller pillows were purchased. Pillow cases were changed. The old stuff found their way to local Hospice Boutique for resale to support hospice patients.
Last week, a package arrived. Inside were two slender pieces of metal. Each had an edge about an inch wide and look like stainless steel.
“Those are for the stove gap,” she said.
Yes, I got that immediately. The ‘stove gap’ is the space between the range and the counters. Why, it’s almost 3/16″ on either side. Things get spilled in there. Unacceptable! These were the solution for them.
After installing them, I admit, they looked good and closed that gap. Exactly matched the stainless-steel range. They use metal cutouts that are springy which create tension when they’re spread and put into the gap. Yep, I’m impressed.
Next was La Pink Stuff.
This arrived Sunday. Its real name is “The Pink Stuff“.
“It’s supposed to fix the cracks in the glaze in our ceramic dishware,” my wife explained.
The stuff is a pink paste. Comes in a jar, less than 18 ounces. You’re supposed to use it undiluted on a soft cloth or sponge, but don’t let it dry, they warned. After gently rubbing it in, rinse with hot water, then dry.
I tried it on a plate.
Didn’t work.
“Oh well,” my wife said. “It’s only six bucks. Worth a shot.”
I agreed.
“It’s supposed to work on stainless steel,” she added.
I checked online. “Consumer Reports advises against that,” I reported.
CR called it ‘liquid sandpaper’. Reading about it, I decided to try it on the stainless-steel sink.
“But that’s stainless steel,” my wife said.
I shrugged. “It is, but it’s different. The sink’s bottom is scratched. So using this stuff will be okay.”
The results blew me away. It took only fifteen minutes on each sink. I did the disposal side first and showed my wife.
“Wow,” she said. “It looks brand new.”
“Yes, it looks great,” I agreed.
I had another target already in mind and was going off-piste.
Our water supply is hard water.
We have a walk-in shower with tiles and glass doors. The hard water clings to both. The hard water buildup is so ugly.
I’ve tried a dozen different cleaners and methods to get them clean. Most have marginal and temporary results.
I took to the glass door with The Pink Stuff to do a small test area. I’d noticed a difference when working with it with water in the stainless-steel sink. Leaning on that observation, I wet a small toothbrush, dipped it into the pink stuff, and scrubbed a small section of the glass door.
Holy cow.
Encouraged, I expanded the test area.
It looked fantastic. And there was no mess, no nasty smell, all that.
I abandoned the toothbrush for a wet cloth. While that worked great, some of the harder water buildup areas were still visible. A dry cloth with the pink stuff was used.
Rinsing it off and drying it, I stepped back and gawked in amazement.
The Pink Stuff really worked.
I did an entire panel and then brought my wife in so she could verify that I wasn’t imagining the improvement.
Her eyes went big. “Wow. That looks great. At last, something that cleans that hard water off that glass.”
Beaming, I was nodding along, saying, “I know, right?”
“Well, that’s certainly worth the six dollars,” she said, leaving.
By day’s end, I’d completed the glass portions and tried it on the hard water on the tiles.
Worked there, too.
I wholeheartedly recommend The Pink Stuff. Just test small areas first.
I still have 3/4 of the jar left. Next up for it: the grill on the patio.
Michael Seidel, writer 