I am proof positive that you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Almost a month has passed since I began my new Corona Time Quarantine Lifestyle (CTQL). That means six weeks have passed since my Cleaning Genie snapped her fingers and magically made my condo glisten and gleam. It’s amazing to me how grimy a place can get in six weeks! Other than grass clippings and twigs the dogs bring in after each walk, and dust blowing in through the screened-in lanai, there are few sources of dirt infiltration. Clutter – I create plenty of that, but not dirt.

Six weeks of constant 24/7 living makes a difference.

My pool chatter talks with the ladies used to cover new restaurants, happy hours, where to buy a new bathing suit, dress, shoes, lotions and potions, juicy gossip – the usual critical facts of life. The focus now – Cleaning Products! The Cleaning Genie usually brought her own. I’m close to clueless. I’m good with the old standbys – Scrubbing Bubbles, Windex (though I’ve been upgraded to Fabuloso for glass), Dawn and white vinegar for almost anything, Lysol, Swiffer, etc. But now the shelves are loaded with too many choices and the stakes are high.

Two weeks ago, I bought a bucket – my first recognition that I am the New Cleaning Genie. I still haven’t figured out what I need to do with that lovely white bucket. It’s not the right size or shape for my mop so it currently holds dirty laundry.

Now, pool time discussion and phone calls and text messages have become my Cleaning Squad resource. The lanai is covered with black soot. How do I clean that? What about the grout? Should I have had the grout sealed? Do I use the same stuff on the bathroom tile as I use on the lanai floor? One’s shiny the other isn’t.

What do you mean you cleaned your screens with the wet Swiffer? Why?

How do I get rid of the burned on stuff in the oven? My exhaust hood over the stove is greasy. Does that mean the hood fan is greasy too? What do I do?

My pal back east is researching products to clean the toilet. I was able to help out there since I happen to have good experience in that category …. although it seems that my prior Genie went through two containers and left the empty ones for me in quarantine.

Since there’s not a lot going on during the CTQL, cleaning is now on the top of my To Do List. I’m determined to restore the sparkle to my castle quarters.

Dolores recommended Roomba’s iRobot 900 series and Amazon delivered. It took two days, several readings of the Use Instructions and a call to Dolores to realize Robie (my robot) had to be removed from his dock and placed in an area to clean before he would go to work. I expected him to be more of a self-starter. His Artificial Intelligence is less that I hoped for. He was not yet reading my mind. But he did a fine job cleaning the great room, dining room and kitchen wood floors – and entertaining Sophie and Bodhi. Last night, Robie was placed in the bedroom to tackle the carpet. Again, boffo job before he ran out of energy. The debris collected was disgusting!

Then there’s the matter of the truly dirty lanai floor.

My standby has always been the trusty Swiffer – dry and wet pads. (I was not an early adopter with this tool but have grown to love it.). First, the dry Swiffer to collect the top layer of grime. It’s as if I lived next to a coal-fired plant the soot is so black. Then the next pass is with the wet pads – until they run out. “You can’t keep using a dirty mop – it will just move mud around,” warned my very talented mother many years ago. (She typically scrubbed the floors on her hands and knees.).

A quick trip to Publix, Walgreens, Ace Hardware – and there are no wet Swiffer pads anywhere. They’ve been out for weeks and don’t know when they’ll be restocked! So now I learn about Bona. Similar to the Swiffer Wet Jet, which I have never tried, Bona is another stick mop with a cleaning solution attached that sprays on the floor in anticipation of the large microfiber mop head to follow. It’s brilliant. The mopping cloth attaches to the head with velcro so it peels off easily for a rinse-and-wring cleaning. And the cleaning solution does the job with no streaks or residue to go back after. And – it doesn’t matter that it doesn’t fit in the white bucket – no bucket needed.

In one week I’ve become a floor-care expert offering advice on carpet, wood, and porcelain tile! I haven’t tackled the grout yet but Tom recommends Grout 66. And I don’t know the answer to the sealing question but am working on that.

Next week I plan to attack the kitchen – the oven, stove, microwave, fridge and freezer. Maybe, even the pantry which is totally chaotic.

If you have any recommendations or helpful hints, please share! Where’s Ask Heloise when you need her? And who was Heloise anyway? And don’t forget to check the box to be notified of the next 58 posting.