Cleanliness is next to godliness...

Hi, my name is Amanda and I am a clean-freak. This will come as no shock to anyone who has ever even so much as shook my hand. I used to think I was OCD until I saw that Jack Nicholson movie where he can't step on cracks and everything else. But I don't know, I might still have a mild case of it.
Anyway, I have a pet peeve about cleaning showers and tubs. Depending on the frequency of use and frequency of cleaning, sometimes dirt and build-up just settles in these impossible nooks or under the grout and it will never be as white as it once was. So, we built a custom glass tile shower that is something like 4' x 7' and the tiles are 2" squared. That's a lot of grout and I am mildly terrified of it. We have not been using it since the doors are not on, but I already have a grout pen (like a white-out pen) and a designated grout cleaner brush thing for when we start using it.
However, that is not what this post is about. This post is to talk about our guest bathroom tub, which we have been using to wash ourselves in the absence of our shower. We had a tub at our last apartment, and is was not sparkling white by the time we moved out 2 years later for a couple reasons - 1) there were large separations between the tile sides and the tub where mold and calcium and whatever else built up in there and made it pink-y, and 2) the tub had that annoying grip-y grid stuff on the bottom which is impossible to restore to blindingly white once scum and dirt settles in those microscopic grids. In our new house, we were able to customize just about everything, so I was looking forward to specifying I wanted a one piece, perfectly smooth tub. However, the builder threw that in before we got a chance to opine, and I got a smooth-sided tub (no tiles up the wall) but it had that annoying grip stuff on the bottom. If you've ever seen a house go up, you know there is mud and dirt and dust and grime ev-e-ry-where! I was happy to learn they hired a cleaner once they're done working, but of course it was nowhere near my standards. So the tub bottom didn't even start out white, and I was horrified. Every morning I would step into the shower and fret about how to get it to its original condition. Scrubbing Bubbles and a sponge only get you so far with that grid, as do bleach and Brillo pads. I had even tried a tiny nail brush on our last tub! So, last night I went to get in the shower and I just couldn't take the dirt anymore. I rummaged around the house for anything that could dig into that grid and make it white, and I stumbled across the grout brush I had bought for our shower. It had pretty rough bristles and a long handle, so I took to the tub with it, excited about the possibility! And right away the tub was filled with a disgusting, grimy mix of scum, house stuffs, and scrubbing bubble foam! It was working like a dream. And I cannot even put into words how happy that made me. For the rest of my life, I know how to get a tub sparkling white. I will not have to keep replacing tubs as they get dirtier than I think anything should be in my house, and the house grime I thought was irreversible was washing down my drain with barely any elbow grease! I squealed loudly and tried to express to my husband what that meant, and he, good husband that he is, humored me and tried to match my excitement level. But this was literally a pivotal moment for me, and it made my week, nay, my month even. I know all I did was clean my tub, but this means my tub can stay mostly white for years to come! This grout brush is my new favorite tool in our house, and I think I will even buy another one, specifically for the tub! And I am no longer terrified of using our beautiful custom shower with miles of white grout! I cannot stop thinking about how this will revolutionize my approach to bathroom cleaning!!
And if this blog entry bored you to tears, I apologize, but cleanliness is my life so it only makes sense I would be shouting this from my virtual rooftop! So, there you go - that is the highlight of March 2010 for me.