Soft Scrub with Bleach Cleanser

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
"Soft Scrub with Bleach Cleanser cleans and starts disinfecting on contact, killing 99.9% of household germs.*  This powerful formula is tough on stains and gentle on surfaces, so it's easy to achieve a sparkling, scratch-free shine on most surfaces.  

*Leave product on surface for 3 minutes."

REVIEW
Cleaners that do what they claim are hard to come by.  Do they actually knock out the stains without damaging the surface?  Do they really kill 99.9% of germs?  Will it be worth my money?

The Good
The good about this product is that it is worth its cost and then some!  Okay, so it may seem odd that there is a review of cleaner on a blog that does mostly book reviews, but a few products, most of which are baby related.  This product just impressed me that much!

A little background: my kitchen sink was grubby.  I don't like grub.  Try as I might, the brown stains were just barely lifting when my trusty scrubby and I tackled it with all our combined might.  My kitchen sink is porcelain, and it actually isn't mine - it belongs to my in-laws, so it especially bothered me that it was stained.  I originally bought the Soft Scrub to scrub out my bathtub, which is growing a ring due to the muddy antics of my one-year old, but upon getting frustrated at the sink, I spied the Scrub under the sink and decided to give it a try.

I wish I had a before and after picture.

I didn't realize it was going to work so danged well!

I really wish I had a before and after picture.

Let's just say my husband said "holy...." and didn't finish the phrase when I showed him the sink.

Soft Scrub with Bleach Cleanser works amazingly well!  Now, I expected it to soften the stains so scrubbing them would be easier, maybe to lift them a little bit since there was bleach.  I did not expect it to completely annihilate the stains...which is what happened!!  After leaving the product on my sick for the required amount of time, I returned to scrub the sink and was pleasantly surprised to see a nice, sparkling white sink!

I'm not a chemist.  Chemistry is not my favorite portion of science (I'm partial to biology).  I don't understand the chemical stuff that happened.  What I know is that my grubby sink is nice and white.  It's neighboring sink is nice and white.  The toilet I subsequently dumped this product into is almost nice and white (there is still a bit of stubborn limification that I need to get rid of, but for the most part it is completely clean).

It is amazing what clean sinks can do for a momma's mood.  : )

The Bugly (bad/ugly)
Um.....it is toxic.  That may seem obvious, but in a house with a toddler present who likes to stuff everything into his mouth, a toxic chemical is a bad thing (this kid keeps figuring out the safety latches that go on the sink doors...for now we've got one on it he has not defeated...yet).

It didn't work quite as magically in the bathroom sink as it did everywhere else.  It removed most of the grub, but the stuff left behind is more oily in nature.  Not sure how in the heck that happened or where it came from, but some elbow grease will be required to get rid of those stains.

Overall
Overall I wish this product could be used on more surfaces, and that it came in a larger container.  Seriously, I love it!  Anything that could get rid of those nasty brown stains in my kitchen sink and make the sink sparkly white with no more elbow grease required from me than that used to spread it around the sink gets high marks!  LOVE IT!!!  Sure, it is poisonous, but that is kind of a given "duh!"  I'll buy this again, and recommend that you do as well for your kitchen/toilet/sink needs!

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this product a 9.

"Running Into the Darkness" - D.A. Bale (Tribute Books Blog Tour)

BLURB
"Death follows Dr. Samantha Bartlett throughout her life until it claims everyone close to her. There's one powerful man responsible on whom Samantha sets her sights for revenge. The price is her soul. For centuries, sex has been the weapon of men...now it's her turn.

“I never intended to kill the President. As a doctor, I swore an oath to protect life – not take it. But that was before...”

Second year resident, Dr. Samantha Bartlett, is swept from the frigid New York winter to once again confront the sting of death back home – and face those she left behind. But she’s not alone. A strange man she dubs Shades haunts her every step as she seeks answers to the inferno which claimed her grandmother, an eerie reminder of her parents’ deaths. The secrets Samantha uncovers forever changes her image of those she only thought she knew.

Confronted by Shades, Samantha joins a secret underworld known only as the Elite, where a web of power and control is woven deep within governments worldwide. Their sights are set on the power structure of the United States, and Samantha becomes the unlikely key to infiltrating the White House at its most intimate levels.The quest for blood threatens to destroy Samantha. From the darkness there is no escape. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sometimes life emulates fiction.

Life is filled with tragedy and Ms. Bale's writing reflects this reality. However, there is always a silver lining...even if one must spend their entire life searching for it.

In her previous career, Ms. Bale traveled the United States as a Government Relations Liaison, working closely with Congressional offices and various government agencies. This experience afforded her a glimpse into the sometimes "not so pretty" reality of the political sphere. Much of this reality and various locations throughout her travels make it into her writing.

She dreams of the day she can return to visit Alaska.

Website  -  Facebook   -    Twitter   -   Goodreads   -   Book's Goodreads   -   


REVIEW
For some reason, we seem to enjoy a good crime thriller.  Maybe it is the psychological Gestaltian moments of "ah ha!" that we love as we learn something new about how a crime scene works, or when we finally figure out whodunit.  Perhaps it is purely an interest in the macabre that draws us to this genre.  Maybe, perhaps.  What is assured is that this genre is so popular that many have delved into works depicting various aspects.  "Law & Order" is insanely popular in its many incarnations, "Castle" has many devoted fans (myself included!), etc.  Stories are done and done to death.  Multi-millionaire dead?  Suspect children.  Beautiful model bit the dust?  Try a rival model, or jealous boyfriend.  We kind of know what to expect...

Not here.

"Forgive me, Alex" - by Lane Diamond (Novel Publicity Blog Tour)

Blurb

"Tony Hooper stands in shadow across the street, one amongst many in the crowd of curiosity-hounds gathered to watch a monster’s release. Seventeen years after Mitchell Norton, “the devil,” terrorized Algonquin, Illinois on a spree of kidnapping, torture and murder, the authorities release the butcher from psychiatric prison.

Tony longs to charge across the street to destroy Norton—no remorse—as if stepping on a cockroach. Only sheer force of will prevents his doing so.

“The devil” walks the world again. What shall Tony do about it? Aye, what indeed.

After all, this is what he does. It’s who he is. “The devil” himself long ago made Tony into this hunter of monsters. What a sweet twist of fate this is, that he may still, finally, administer justice.

Will FBI Special Agent Linda Monroe stop him? She owes him her life, so how can she possibly put an end to his?

Tony Hooper and Mitchell Norton battle for supremacy, with law enforcement always a step away, in this story of justice and vengeance, evil and redemption, fear and courage, love and loss."

About the Author

"I write fiction, long and short. My writings cross over many genres and focus on diverse subjects, ranging from the mysteries of the human mind, with its fragile psychological and emotional states, to the everyday joy and anguish of life on Earth. Ultimately, characters move me – as both a reader and an author. It's all about the people. When not writing, I'm Publisher and Executive Editor at Evolved Publishing. Connect with me on my website,  Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, or via Evolved Publishing."

REVIEW

“Criminal Minds” is my favorite television show as of late – as a psychology major who has always been particularly interested in what prompts criminal activity, I appreciate that the show delves deeply into the criminal's mind. Viewers are given psychological profiles that help explain, not excuse, an individual's behavior (and, in some cases, remind us that rapists and murderers are people too). Reading Forgive me, Alex was akin to watching a movie-length episode of “Criminal Minds”.

"Speculation" - by Edmund Jorgenson (Novel Publicity Blog Tour)

Blurb: 

"Andrew Wrangles has a decision to make. His best friend Sothum, a philosophical and financial genius, has just died and left him a choice in his will: ten million dollars or a sealed envelope.

Andrew’s wife Cheryl doesn’t see this as much of a choice. She wants Andrew to take the money, and what little patience she has for his speculating about what could be worth more than ten million dollars is wearing thin very quickly.

But as Andrew digs deeper into the secret life that Sothum lived, he finds more questions than answers. Does the envelope contain the fate of a vanished mutual friend? The answer to a terrible cosmic riddle? The confession to a crime? Is Sothum just playing a final private joke? Or has Andrew become a pawn in a game–a game that Sothum died playing against a bigger opponent than Andrew can imagine?"

About the Author

Edmund Jorgensen was born in Chicago. He studied classical languages and has maintained a love for all things Greek and Roman. He fell in love with his wife in Mexico; they now reside, happily but considerably more chilly, in Watertown, Massachusetts. Edmund is currently hard at work on his second book, a set of interconnected short stories. Connect with Edmund on his website,  Facebook, Twitter or GoodReads.

Get Speculation on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

REVIEW

I like books that make readers think.  I like plots (screen and paper) that are unpredictable and not some tired old rehash of something the public has been exposed to a million times already.  Here is a work that is absolutely refreshing in so many ways - an unpredictable plot, intriguing premise, and nifty framing!!