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I was recently boasting to a friend about my ability to completely clean a toilet bowl, seat and cover in 30 seconds flat, not really what you’d call a "marketable skill", but it’s the sort of topic cleaning enthusiasts often discuss over lattes. She countered that her 2-1/2 year-old son cleaned the bowls at their house using a clever new product, the Scotch-Brite™ Disposable Toilet Bowl Scrubber. Trumped, I decided that unless this tot was extremely advanced for his age, the people at 3M had come up with the ultimate in easy-to-use toilet-cleaning technology.
The tool is indeed smartly designed: a foot-long curved plastic handle onto which you slide a fibrous scrubber pad, which locks in place at the handle’s business end. The pads are individually-wrapped and contain "built in cleaner" that’s activated when it hits that water (turning the water blue), to help clean and sanitize the bowl as you scrub. The contoured handle lets you clean under the rim more easily. When you’re done, you just hold the handle with the scrubber end over a wastebasket, slide a small button forward until the scrubber pops off and drops into the trash, then stow the handle until next time you need it. It’s a very sanitary, no-touch process. And there’s something about blue water in the toilet bowl that will always say, "hey, I’m clean!"
The reusable handle with four scrubbers sells for $4.54 at Target; replacement scrubbers cost $4.54 for a 5-pack, and $4.99 for a 5-pack of scrubbers with extra rust- and stain-removing capabilities. To economize, you can use a scrubber several times, but the built-in cleaner is only good for the first session. At least that’s the only time you get blue water.
Note: Cleaning products containing strong chemicals are not recommended for use by young children.
Tom McNulty is the author of 
