Cleaning Product Junky Review: Scrubbing Bubbles’ “Mega Shower Foamer”

My last cleaning product review was on the Magic Eraser Mop, which turned out to be a real winner despite some durability problems. I continue to really like the mop, but also continue to wish it would last a little longer (similiarly to how I feel about the Magic Eraser itself).

The “Mega Shower Foamer” by Scrubbing Bubbles, however, satisfies me much less. This shower cleaner actually works relatively well and would probably earn a fairly high mark if it weren’t for its outlandish claim to make scrubbing “virtually obsolete”. Now, I’m suspicious of any cleaner that tries to tell me I’m not going to have to do any of the work. Call me old-fashioned, but I just don’t see how any chemical corrosive enough to eliminate all those soap scum and mineral deposits without a bit of elbow grease should be that close to my nakedness. Turns out, my suspicions were well grounded: though the product worked fairly well, I still had to get down on my hands and knees and scrub to get satsifactory results. Here’s the rundown:

The Pros:

• The product smells fresh and the chemical odor isn’t overbearing.
• Easy to apply to the tub and tile, even with the canister upside-down.
• The foam does seem to cling and cover the entire area better than more liquidy cleansers.
• The product left my tile/tub quite shiny and removed the hard-water deposits/soap scum from my chrome.

The Cons:

• I still had to scrub!
• Product ran out way too quickly: I emptied the entire canister of “foam” after only three cleanings.
• I still had to scrub!
• Pricey: Even though I got it on sale, one can set me back over $4 at the local grocery store.
• I still had to scrub!

Ultimately, my beef isn’t with the scrubbing, but the fact that a product is being marketed as a miracle worker and clearly not standing up to its end of the bargain. If I’m going to have to scrub my tub regardless, I’d much rather use a cheaper product that goes a lot farther.

Cleaning Product Junky Review: The Magic Eraser Mop

Lamar says: “How can you go wrong with a mop that has a bald white man on the front?”

Apparently you really can’t, because the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Mop is one of the best cleaning products I’ve reviewed in a while (though in fact, it’s probably the only cleaning product I’ve reviewed in quite some time).

The Pros:

• This mop did a great job of removing both the everyday dirt on the surface of my nasty old linoleum and the ground in grime. It even removed the black streaks from Lamar’s dark rubber-soled shoes (normally a hands-and-knees job). As I mopped the floor I could literally see the difference in color between the bright white newly cleaned sections and the still dirty surrounding areas.
• Like the original Magic Eraser sponge, the product can be used without any additional chemicals, though the box does recommend adding an all-purpose cleaner to your mopwater for extra oomph.
• The price (about $13 at Target) doesn’t completely wipe out my cleaning product budget for the month.
• Yes, I do budget for my cleaning products!

The Cons:

• Unfortunately, like my  beloved sponge Magic Eraser, this product is going to wear out pretty quickly. Although the information on the box says the mophead wears out “after many uses over a long period of time” I can already tell that this little puppy probably won’t last more than a dozen moppings, which makes the cost of use significantly higher than just the start-up cost (replacement heads are somewhere around $5 each).
• This mop is not safe for wood or laminent floors.
• This mophead is soft throughout (no abbrasive “scrubbing” area), which means I still had to get down on my hands and knees to scrape the dried tomatoe seeds off the floor.

Squeaky Clean Analysis: I like the fact that this product (mostly) gets me up off my hands and knees while still getting the floor really, really clean, but I wish the goodness would last longer.