Beating the Dirt with a Stone

Tonight I had to do two of the more disgusting jobs I think I've ever had to do: clean caked on grease off the stove and scrape old poop off the side of a toilet.

I started with the stove, thinking it would be the easier of the two. The grease came off like black, greasy pudding. Lets just say a box of Brillo pads and a can of oven cleaner and its not clean, by far. The stove top is mostly done. The oven cleaner melted the paint off the front (the part that tells you which knob turns on which burner) and did a number on my lungs (not for future, do not breath oven cleaner), but didn't clean the grease on the top after several applications. It got most of it, but there are still spots of super baked on black grease. The sides are partially done, as is the hood. The inside hasn't even been touched.

In between bouts with the stove I started the toilet. I tried the pumice stone method since acid sounded a little extreme to start with. It worked, but slowly. Tony tried after I quit after 45 minutes of scrubbing. He got fed up and took a hammer and screw driver to it. He scratched the bowl a little bit but it came off. I'd rather have the scratches than the cakes on poop. The pumice, which started the size of a bar of soap, has diminished about 3/4 in size. That should be enough to get the underside of the rim.

Tony also got the dining room table cleaned and set up in the living room. He also started a second scrubbing of the kitchen floor. We are contemplating what it will take to get the smell of cat urine out of hardwood floors. I'll look into it. The next assignment, after the oven and the basement, is the fridge. I think that actually may be equally as gross.