Rays of Sunlight - Four

In this feature of Ghulf Genes I intend to lift into view admirable people, products, or events in a time of unrelenting gloom. The occasion of a little fall cleaning last Saturday suggested that I finally acknowledge three of my great favorites. In alphabetical order, today I name Ajax the powder, CLR the liquid, and Windex the spray. There is something deeply satisfying in using product you can rely on to do the job as you reach into the cupboard. Ajax and Windex go back into the past of my cleaning pre-history. CLR is a stand-by, but I hadn’t used it myself until I discovered, recently, that a very clean tub or sink can be made yet more gloriously white and, indeed, shiny if the last residues of invisible hard water have been dissolved by the liquid in the strange little grey bottle. The product removes calcium, lime, and rust.

To name names, Ajax is a product of Procter and Gamble, dating from 1958. Windex is three years older than I am, made and sold today by SC Johnson. CLR is the product of Jelmar, originally a sales organization that evolved, over time, into a maker of products, in this array the youngest of the lot. The fact that I must seek my cheer in the humble chores of cleaning house says something about the times, but to use an old wrestling expression, catch-as-catch-can.