Jan 30, 2003 08:24 PM
15706 Views
(Updated Jan 30, 2003 08:24 PM)
Right from childhood I was always fond of tinkering with things. I just have to learn that so and so thing is not working and I will at once be at it with a screw driver and a pair of pliers. I may not know anything about it but I will still open it up. At times I have succeeded in repairing some things and at times I have ended up ruining things beyond repair. If paint had been bought and a door had to be painted, I would start off immediately before someone said that they were going to call a painter. What I ruined or repaired was beside the point, I almost always ended up ruining the clothes I was wearing. I more often than not forgot that I was wearing my school uniform or a new shirt that my dad had bought for me. I would dirty my clothes, in the process of trying to repair a gadget or paint a door and then quietly go an d keep the clothes in the bathroom. When my poor mother started cleaning my clothes she had a real tough time. She would scrub and scrub but the stubborn stains would just not go. To add to the problems, I would put a few nuts or washers in my pocket and forget. They naturally formed rust stains and added to the damage.
I have grown since and have teenaged children now, but my habits have not changed. My shirts and pants still get stained frequently. Earlier my mother used to scrub now it was my wife. To give her a respite, I bought a washing machine and thought that when you have a fully automatic washing machine, what is the problem. Put the clothes and the detergent in and they will come out sparkling bright after 40 minutes! No more back breaking scrubbing. No more fear of stains. But no. Alas! It is not that simple. The stains would just not go. I realised that it is not the scrubbing or the washing machine, but the detergent, which is important.
I went to the market and bought sachets of all the detergents available. I thought let me try all of them and see which one gives the best results. I decided that very day I would wash one really soiled piece of clothing with the contents of one of the sachets. One day I would try Nirma, then Henko, then Ariel and so on. Everyday I tried a new detergent. I followed the instructions on the packet so that I could get the best results. Many of the detergents were satisfactory, some not so satisfactory, but one really stood out.
SURF EXCEL!
I found that with most of the detergents I had to really scrub and scrub and scrub to get the stain to go. As a result, the fabric of the cloth would got worn out and start looking old. With Surf Excel it was different. I was really amazed at the results. Just a little soaking and a little scrubbing and the stains were gone. The fabric was a new as ever.
On of these days I remember I had really ruined a brand new shirt, which my wife had bought for me as a special gift for my birthday. I was wearing that shirt and had just returned from office. I tried to open the garage shutter to put the car inside. It would not open. I tried my best but it was stuck. I immediately called my servant, opened the car boot and got out my tools and set to work on the shutter, not realising that I was in my new shirt. After about two hours of toil and sweat, the shutter was finally working fine. Bravo I said! I parked the car inside and entered my house thinking that I deserved a nice hot cup of tea. When my wife saw me she was horrified. She asked me what I had done to my new shirt. It was then that I realised that I had many grease stains on the shirt. I told her that there was no problem. “Surf Excel hai na!!” I soaked the shirt in surf excel solution for 30 minutes and before I could scrub it, half the grease had already dissolved. I gently rubbed it and lo and behold the stains were gone!
Surf Excel has now become an essential part of our monthly shopping. Now when ever my wife tells me to wear some working clothes before tinkering with something, I tell her “Surf Excel hai na!!” and she starts laughing.
A ½ Kg packet of Surf Excel costs Rs 85/- It is manufactured by Hindustan Lever Ltd. For best results you have to soak clothes in Surf Excel solution for 30 minutes.
