The world may have gone hygiene crazy in the last couple of years, but cleaning products are nothing new! Since the accidental discovery of soap more than 4,000 years ago, humans have refined this humble household cleaning agent into a thousand variations, some you might remember from growing up. From the beginnings of bicarbonate of soda to iconic dishwashing liquids that are still favourites today, let’s take a look back at some of the ultimate and retro cleaning products of the 20th century...
This cult-favourite stain-remover is a laundry soap bar and has been around for more than a century. It is said to remove greasy and oily stains including chocolate, sweat, and makeup, and is budget-friendly (unless you live in the UK as it will have to be imported). Originally developed in 1893, it's since had a few recipe changes but continues to score highly on Amazon reviews.
Borax is a powdery mineral that has been used as a household cleaner for decades. Although once a utility and laundry room staple the salt cleaner is now a controversial product and is banned in the UK and EU. It might be natural but it can be toxic to young children and young pets and lethal when ingested. It also has a PH of around 9.5 so can irritate skin and eyes.
Marigold made their first latex rubber gloves exclusively for washing up in 1950. They were initially sold in a bright orange (hence the name). In 1947 they were classed as a luxury item but are now a household cleaning staple. Now you can buy gloves for every occasion, plus cloths and scourers too. Do you have these under your sink?
Fairy Liquid by P&G has been around since 1950 and the white and green bottle with a red lid is just as iconic as the liquid dish soap. Housewives up and down the country were suddenly able to squeeze green gloop into their sinks, creating endless washing-up bowls of foam. Fairy remains the no.1 cleaning product in the UK today by far according to the provider of market and consumer data, Statista.com. You may remember its 1992 jingle: "Now hands that do dishes can feel soft as your face, with mild green, Fairy Liquid". Today you can even buy the ad's famous image (pictured) on Amazon.
The Clorox company website pays homage to Annie Murray, who after buying the company in 1913 decided to market Clorox liquid bleach to homemakers: "She gave away free samples and talked up the product's benefit a bleacher, germicide, cleanser and disinfectant." Consumers loved it and the rest is history. Today it's a familiar household name and is stocked in almost every supermarket in the US. Perfect for a satisfying cleaning job.
Not to be confused with Martha Stewart, Mrs Stewart's Liquid Bluing has been keeping laundry whiter than white since 1883. The simple spring cleaning go-to has a secret ingredient: an additive that alters the tone of the fabric to brighten and whiten. The blue liquid has an eco-friendly formula said to work magic on grey and dingy clothes. Plus it's long-lasting too, so if you see a bottle at the back of your nana's cupboard, finders keepers!
VIM scouring powder first appeared in our cleaning cupboards in 1904. A competitor to Ajax, its name is thought to refer to to the Latin word, 'vim' which translates to 'power'. The original powder form has now been discontinued, but VIM continues to clean plenty of homes in Canada, Sri Lanka and India with detergent liquids, creams, and gels.
Who can forget that famous advert of a housewife in heels, dancing about her living room shaking the powder onto her carpets to create fabulous flooring? The powdered carpet freshener was first sold in the late 70s, but the commercial and jingle made it popular during the 80s. It even shook in at 18th place in Channel 4's The 100 Greatest TV Adverts. Sing it with us: "Do the Shake n Vac and put the freshness back!"
Wright's Silver Cream dates right back to 1873. As well as silverware, the website states it's great for buffing metal kitchen appliances, porcelain tiles, cars, and even boats... if you have one of those lying around! According to Apartment Therapy, the ammonia-free silver shiner flies off the shelves during the holiday seasons, so stock up early.
One of the biggest household cleaning names, Flash, has been owned by consumer goods giant, Proctor & Gamble since 1958. It was originally designed to combat serious grime found on ships. In the US, the Flash brand is commonly known as Mr Clean and the product mascot is a famous muscular and bald character with folded arms, who some believe is a sailor.
This bright yellow box with the red logo is unmistakable. The use of Arm & Hammer Bicarbonate of Soda has been a popular way to clean your home like a professional since 1846! Back then it was packaged by hand into paper bags for distribution. The iconic Arm & Hammer logo was born in 1867 and symbolises the myth of Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, who would strike his mighty hammer on his anvil.
Introduced to US test markets in 1946, Tide quickly established itself as the frontrunner in the detergent industry and became a laundry room staple. The product is now in such high demand that there’s even a black market for the ‘liquid gold’! Despite being priced around 50% higher than the average detergent product, Tide is still very much America’s darling.
In a few decades’ time, 2020 to 2022 may well be known as ‘the disinfectant years’. Used to clean everything from streets to visors, the chemical agents have proved instrumental in tackling the coronavirus pandemic. Although we should all be taking precautions, spraying every corner of your house with disinfectant à la Lysol is probably not the best idea as its fumes are toxic. And don't even think about ingesting it.
A cleaner and polisher in one, Johnson's liquid, also called Jubilee Kitchen Wax, claims to remove dirt and protect surfaces. The multipurpose cleaner was phased out at the end of the 20th century before being revived thanks to popular demand. It’s still possible to buy the original formula today. See it used here by YouTuber Eidelweiss Patterns.
Yuri Gagarin’s successful orbital flight in 1961 led to an obsession with all things space. Capitalising on the trend, this 1960s Lestoil ad features a glamorous woman in a spacesuit with the caption: 'Women of the future will make the moon a cleaner place to live.' Half a decade on and men may be cleaning more but the moon remains dreadfully dusty, sorry Lestoil.
It’s always a relief to know that the cleaning product you just purchased is not likely to blow up your home or damage your appliances. Guaranteed to ‘go twice as far as paste or liquid stove polishes’, this X-RAY ad was first published in 1909. The suggestion that its use will incite tiny devils to dance on your stove is a strange one but then again, why the hell not?
Founded in 1923, Drano revolutionised American plumbing systems with its powerful and fast-acting drain cleaner. Published one decade apart (1933 and 1943), these two adverts extoll the virtues of the popular cleaning agent. Almost 80 years later and Drano is still going strong, helping homeowners around the world guard against ‘sewer germs.’
With its instantly recognisable logo, a bonneted woman brandishing a stick, Old Dutch is one of the iconic cleaning products of the 20th century. Trademarked in 1906, the brand claimed its product would ‘chase dirt [and] make everything spick and span’. Featured in this advert, the Old Dutch powder cleanser enjoyed widespread success in the 1940s and 50s.
Sodium carbonate, the predecessor of sodium bicarbonate or baking soda, has been used for millennia. In fact, in 3,000 BC the ancient Egyptians allegedly capitalised on its soap-like qualities to clean pots and pans (and to mummify corpses). Today, baking soda is making a comeback as an environmentally-friendly alternative to harsh chemical cleaners and is rarely used in mummification.
Swedish company Electrolux was founded in 1912 and launched its first vacuum cleaner seven years later. The LUX 1 weighed in at a hefty 14 kilograms but it was still one of the lightest models on the market. As the years went by, Electrolux continued to develop new and innovative machines, including this self-cleaning 1950s vacuum.
Printed in a 1951 edition of Woman’s Day magazine, this cheery ad is for GLO-COAT, a self-polishing floor wax formulated by household cleaning company SC Johnson. Launched in 1932, the product proved so popular with homeowners that it provided the firm with a financial buffer during the Great Depression. Here's a classic advert for the product from 1952.
As many cleaning ads were targeted directly at women (because men were not considered to undertake domestic work), this 1955 ad for DuFold mops targets those looking to keep their hands ‘dry and lovely’. Ideal for a wide range of cleaning activities, the self-wringing model is so easy to use that you can even get your kids mopping! Patented in 1948, the ‘modern miracle mop’ is unfortunately no longer available today. But hopefully more men would use one if it were...
These versatile Dobie pads can be used for just about anything! From spot-cleaning to getting to those hard to reach places, there’s no cleaning job the scourer can’t fix. Originally patented by the Brillo Manufacturing Company, Dobie pads are now a Scotch-Brite brand and are still available today.
Founded 128 years ago in 1892, General Electric has turned its hand at everything from lasers to commercial jet engines. Despite being accused of promoting the US’ largest illegal cartel in 1959, the company has gone on to become the country’s 21st largest firm. This pair of cleaning and polishing units were just two of the popular products it marketed in the 1950s and no retro living room would have been shipshape without it.
A cleaning product marketed towards men was something of a rare occurrence in the 1950s, but this advert broke the mould. In just a decade, almost 58 million cars were produced and sold in the US, boosting sales of vehicle cleaning agents in tandem. First launched in 1938, Johnson’s Carnu car wax featured heavily on the popular radio programme, Fibber McGee and Molly. We wonder if Carnu would work on a millionaire motorhome?
This Ajax foaming cleanser ad appeared in a 1959 edition of lifestyle magazine, Good Housekeeping. Named after the Greek mythological hero, Ajax was launched in 1947 with the slogan ‘Stronger than dirt!’. The brand enjoyed widespread success in the 50s and 60s, leaving competitors such as Lestoil ‘swamp[ed] […] in a sea of green bubbles'.
Derived from Spanish words for ‘shining’ or ‘sparkling’, Brillo is one of the most instantly recognisable brands in the world of commercial cleaning agents. The scouring pads were patented in 1913 as a solution for cleaning aluminium pots and pans. A household name by the middle of the 20th century, Brillo achieved further fame when pop artist Andy Warhol somewhat controversially recreated the soap pads’ packaging, which you can now see in the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
While front-loader washing machines gained popularity throughout the 20th century, traditional wringer-washers such as this one were still being manufactured well into the 1980s. Taken from a 1964 edition of The Australian Women’s Weekly, this advert promises readers ‘a friend in deeds’ for all their laundry requirements.
Now, this is one vintage trend we'd like to see make a comeback. One of those products that you never knew you needed, the Ling-Temco dishwasher was not only portable but could also be installed ‘seven other exciting ways’. If that doesn’t make you want to clean your crockery, then nothing will. Sadly, rolling dishwashers never really took off so you’ll have to attach castors to your Bosch to recreate this fun 60s appliance.
Although fragrances have been used since the dawn of time to mask unpleasant odours, the first modern air freshener wasn’t developed until 1948. Made using CFCs (harmful gases), the aerosols gradually fell out of fashion from the 1980s onwards due to environmental concerns. This 1965 Air-O-Zone ad is a prime example of the air freshener during its spray can heyday and you can watch the 1960 TV version here.
A timesaver for many an overworked 1960s housewife, the Pull ‘n’ Clean oven was a revolutionary innovation from Frigidaire. First marketed in 1958, the compact appliance pulled out for easy cleaning and featured drop-leaf walls to further expedite the process. ‘Feel like a queen’ may be taking it a little too far, but this was definitely one of those retro kitchen gadgets that made life easier.
Nothing beats being told how to dust your mirrors by a small cartoon man in a top hat. Developed in Australia in the 1950s, Mr. Sheen combines silicones, waxes and solvents to create a powerful cleaning and polishing agent. The brand’s mascot and catchy jingles have proved unforgettable 'down under' with many of the Australian population able to identify them to this day according to Australia Remember When on Facebook.
The weight of an average new-born baby, this Philips vacuum cleaner was a practical and lightweight addition to any 1960s household. Originally a luxury item, the rise of consumer credit helped democratise use of these appliances after the Second World War. Philips would continue to manufacture vacuums as the years went on and is still a popular brand today.
Endust dusting aid was developed in the 1950s and later acquired by The Drackett Company, a firm renowned for products such as Drano and Windex. One of itsmain ingredients was banned in 1996 because of its detrimental effect on the ozone layer and the product underwent reformulation. Almost half a century on from the publishing of this ad and ‘the dust magnet’ is still going strong, perfect for allergy-proofing your home.
It may appear a little odd to boast about your market share in a consumer ad, but it seemed to work for Pledge. Incredibly, this is the back cover of a promotional record released by the brand called ‘Let the sun come into your life’. Composed by Jeff Wayne of War of the Worlds fame, the ballad urges listeners to ‘bring in the sun’, presumably with the help of Pledge furniture polish. Definitely one of the stranger campaigns seen in the 1970s.
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