143: Cooler Story, Bro
In this week’s podcast, I learned that Andrew had somehow missed the Great Yeti Cooler Wash Ashore of 2022. During this period, brand-new Yeti coolers were showing up on the banks of the Kenai Peninsula. Bush pilots and other explorers went out looking for them and hoo boy, they will never need to drink a room temp beer ever again!
Photo via KUOW Public Radio, former employer of both me and Andrew.
Also, if you’re interested in this kind of thing - like, cargo ships losing stuff and then beachcombers getting hooked up with too much odd stuff, I recommend the book Moby-Duck, which is literally all about this. Also, per Andrew’s own recollection of such a situation, here’s this:
Total party house. Photo via the Smithsonian.
Listen to this week’s episode if you’re wondering how on God’s green earth this has anything to do with our titular subject matter (cleaning). I promise it does! Because we talked about cleaning out a Yeti cooler that…..oh lord. Has seen some shit.
Here are a couple of things we talked about on the pod:
Keith’s air blower thingy that replaces bad-for-the-planet canned air and has been WAY more useful than I initially though.
Macrame and how it’s kind of a nightmare to clean. This is a pretty good set of tips, though.
Whether or not any of us actually ever do a “test patch” and why uhhhh we should!
Annointing my car with peppermint oil and how it definitely has kept the rats out, so I highly recommend it.
And finally, I WANT THIS SO BAD.
From the Follow-Up File, listener Russell wrote in to tell us that his use of a concrete cleaner - he bypassed competitors like Krud Kutter, Goof Off, and Oil Eater in favor of CHOMP! Pull It Out - was fairly successful! Here’s the evidence:
Shout out to Russell for the inclusion of the RULER!!! What a king.
And here’s what Russell had to say about his Pull It Out experience:
It really worked, the stain is gone and I expect when I hose wash off that area, it will look even better. I have another similar oil stain on the driveway under a different car. I am definitely planning to do this same thing to that area. The new car sitting over this spot is not leaking anything (it shouldn't).
Additionally, he wants us to know that he’s also taken our perpetual advice to prevent messes as well as clean them up.
When I get the second oil stain done later this summer, I have already purchased an outdoor oil catcher heavy fiber mat to place under the 1999 Oldsmobile car that leaks a little bit of everything. Such that when the stain is removed, the car can still be parked there without restaining the concrete (hopefully).
So two thumbs up! Thank you Spotless Podcast listeners! You made this part of my life just a little bit better. Which is all we can ask for.
We love you! We love all of our listeners. You can call us any time. And be sure to follow us on Instagram - I’ve been documenting the grueling experience of cleaning out my grandparents’ stuff following the death of my beloved grandfather. And it’s been quite a trip!