Day Twelve: Blacklisting Dirt

I don't know if it's this Martha project or if I'm naturally obsessive-compulsive, but I've become suspicious that my house is harboring all sorts of hidden dirt.  If Martha Stewart and Senator McCarthy had a child, it would be me:  rooting around the house in the middle of the night hoping to sneak up on some unsuspecting dust.

Just the other night I got up to use the bathroom and I started to check out my bathroom trashcan for cleanliness. After cleaning my kitchen trashcan I was concerned.

My suspicions have mostly been unfounded, but today I discovered something shocking in the most unsuspecting place.



Dum-
Dum-
Dum...



My washing machine.

This is the rubber seal of my front-loading washing machine, which one can (only) see if you happen to be squatted in front of the machine with your body twisted in a somewhat awkward position and your head halfway in the drum. (Prepare yourself. This is not for the weak at heart.)

Seriously, this so disgusting I was ready to call in a HazMat team.  So I was surprised when I found the topic covered in Martha's Homekeeping book with complete nonchalance.  She devotes two paragraphs to "Fighting Washer Mildew" and I never knew I was supposed to be cleaning my cleaning devices.

Fast-forward through me (in a very fetching pair of elbow-length rubber gloves) on my knees scrubbing this thing with half a bottle of bleach. Now my washing machine is mildew-free and I'm on the hunt for any more subversive dirt.

Watch out, dishwasher.  You're next.


MS Homekeeping, p. 368.