a review

Gracias to each of you who gave their input on the last post!  I found it really interesting to see the rationale behind why you spend money on the things you do. I must admit, there was a huge contingency out there who promoted coughing up the money for a pair of designer jeans, and it made me willing to open that door and peek in.  Maybe I'll go try on a pair and see if I can see the difference so many of you do.  

I also thought a good rule of thumb that several of you suggested is to never buy anything you don't love.  I have been burned by ignoring that philosophy in the past, and I really would like to try and live by it.  Cheap is not always better, and sometimes it's worth it to do with less but really have more, than vice versa.

Now on to a product review.  Today I have been blown away—nay, stunned—by the Magic Eraser.  

This miracle product has come through for me in a way that I really would not have imagined, making me a life-time believer in whatever "magic" it has tucked away in that non-assuming white sponge.  

Before I tell you what the this dynamite product did, let me back up and give you a little insight into my problem.  Six years ago this month we moved into our house.  Nathan and I built the house, which meant that I picked out most everything, including the flooring.  Having never owned a house (I was all of 21 years old when we were building it), I didn't know much about the practical side of things, and that is the only explanation for the huge WHITE tiles I picked to go in our kitchen, entryways, and bathrooms.  And to add insult to injury, not only were they white, they were unsealed.  I didn't know it at the time, but what that translates into is dirt getting stuck in the tiny, microscopic crevices and pits in the tiles, making my floors always appear dirty even after they are freshly swept and mopped.  It has been my biggest household nemesis in the six years we've lived here, and after the long, hard, never-ending battle for clean floors, I was just about ready to throw in the towel and hire the big guns to come out and do some kind of crazy expensive cleaning.

But before I did that, I decided it couldn't hurt to give the Magic Eraser a try.  Sure, nothing else—bleach, brillo pads, or any amount of mopping—had ever worked, but what could it hurt?

I started on one tile, and before I had scrubbed ten seconds I knew we had a winner.  Tile by tile, I watched as the grime that had been stuck in the pores magically disappear. 

I got so excited I grabbed my camera and  started snapping pictures.  This first picture is my tile as clean as I could get it prior to the Magic Eraser.  

Doesn't it just scream, "Grimy!"  I hated the tiny black spots that were everywhere, making my tile always appear dingy.  

Now this is the after picture of the same tile.

Gleaming, clean, and exactly as it was when it was first laid.

Here is a shot of treated and non-treated area side by side. 

 I don't think I need to tell you which tile got the Magic.

And finally, a shot of the section of kitchen I finished tonight.  

A sight for sore eyes.  I wasn't able to finish all of the tile in my house with the four erasers that came in the package, but let me tell you, it is well worth every dime I spend. I don't know what else these little sponges will work on, but if you have a problem area, I say give it shot!