Gwenoakes wrote: My mother used to spit on it first though...
Yes, well I did say 'damp' - didn't specify how.
lancashire lass wrote: I have been racking my brain for what we used before wipes, sponge cloths and scouring pads and all other plastic things ever came into daily use - I remember wire wool, scrubbing brushes (with natural stiff bristles, no idea what they were made of, on a wooden base, sweeping brushes with soft bristles on wood with wooden handles), a straight sided block of green soap was in the kitchen (it wasn't for handwashing - I seem to remember it was used for lots of things like rubbing onto stubborn stains on clothes before putting in the (twin tub) washing machine, or even using it on the wooden scrubbing brush to clean the floor ... not that I want to be getting on my hands and knees to do that again!), and cloths and mops were .... wait for it, old knickers and vests that had gone past their best but too good to throw away. Buckets (and mop buckets) were zinc or enamel, floor mops made of string. Which takes me back to ironmongers shops - before Wilkos and supermarkets, a lot of these were from the hardware store and they used to have a distinctive smell about them (along with the paraffin and paraffin lamps) Sigh, fond memories.
Well I don't use paraffin but most of the rest, including a bar of the Fairy laundry soap, and the 'use once then chuck' rags can be found in my kitchen.Most of the scrubbing brushes are plastic though.