Dear Ferret Folks-
Today I found a package of goodies from South Shore Ferret Care and
Diane Wall in my mailbox. It contained a little tub of that "Weasel
Laundry Soap" that she has been posting about. So I thought to myself
"OK, this is a good excuse to run a few loads." Laundry has got to be
one of my least favourite chores. It's the putting away of the folded
result that really brings out my Inner Procrastinator. Yes, I know my
ancestresses had to beat the stuff on a rock, but I am what I am, and
what I am is someone who hates doing laundry. Every year at Christmas
my husband offers to buy me a laundry rock. He actually went so far as
to buy me a bright, shiny galvanized washboard. Thanks, Dude. I suppose
I can learn to play it with a pair of spoons, and have the only
one-woman Zydeco band in Massachusetts. But I digress...
I began by taking all of the bedding out of Todd and Hebert's cage.
They were none too happy about that, it was flat ferret time for them.
Looking at the bedding, it was definitely *laundry* time. The bedding
was a mix of fleece, quilted cotton, crocheted acrylic pieces, and fake
fur throws. A good variety. And some of it was very furry, indeed. It
had that deep, dark oily smell of stale Fritos that is the unique
signature of the ferret.
I was surprised by how little of the powdered mix I was instructed to
toss into the washer. I was even more surprised when I stopped the load
at the half-way point. I do that with ferret bedding so that I can wipe
away what fur is visible on the inside of the washer, on the agitator,
to get a head start on cleaning the washer. I opened the lid, and it
did *not* smell like a load of ferret bedding. Not at all. I let the
load finish, and I transferred it to the dryer. It did *not* smell like
clean, wet ferret bedding. No "Fritoness" at all. When dry, the only
way I could smell ferret was to fold all of the pieces and stick my
face into the middle of the pile. There was a *very* faint scent, then.
It was so faint that you had to know it well to search it out. And
please keep in mind that I use neither fabric softener nor dryer sheets
as my husband is sensitive to the perfumes. This was a very basic,
honest clean.
AH! I forgot. I also washed a doggie blanket in with that load of
ferret bedding. I would up with nothing but the scent of the freshly
washed acrylic yarn it was crocheted from. None of that dog scent that
makes me think of Brazil nuts, the bad ones that have suffered some
catastrophic failure, and are spit out without hesitation.
The insert in the package said that the soap would also remove
ferretone stains from fabric. There was a recipe for making a sort of
pre-treating slop composed of the powder mixed with vinegar. Smear it
on, and let sit for an hour before washing. Sorry Diane, too much work!
I did a labor-saving experiment. I found a fairly new poly-cotton
T-shirt that had suffered a bad stain. I dribbled a goodly amount of
ferretone on it, a stain about half the size of a dollar bill. I let
it set for an hour.
Now, I know from experience that my regular detergent will not take
that out. Nor will it always do it in combination with my Spray N' Wash
Stain Stick (With RESOLVE POWER! Man, I could use some of that. Just
rub it on my brain.) I applied the stick to the stain, rubbed it in for
a minute, and tossed it in the wash with the a scoop of the special
soap. And danged if that stain didn't disappear. Gone. Like it had
never happened.
I did find a few drops that I had missed when I was applying the
stick. Apparently I dribbled a few drops well away from the borders
of the ferretone stain by accident. I decided to whip up some of that
soap/vinegar mix. I smeared it on (it was like a very soft Play-Dough)
and let it sit for an hour.I did not use the stick. I tossed the shirt
in with some other laundry, another scoop of the powder... and as
promised, those drops were *gone*. Even after being set in a hot dryer.
Gone.
I tried another experiment. When my husband came home I asked him to
close his eyes. I held the stack of clean ferret bedding up to his
face. I asked him "What do you smell?" He replied, puzzled, "Nothing."
He opened his eyes, looked at the bedding and said "Holy *hit!"
He agrees with me that the work shirt of his that I threw in with the
soap has much less of a petroleum distillate smell than it usually
does with my laundry soap. (Tide.) My Danny comes home covered with
everything from hydraulic fluid to asphalt. But that shirt came out
smelling of nothing but cotton. There was very little of the 21st
century in it's scent.
Folks, this stuff does exactly what Diane said it would. Here is South
Shore Ferret Care's information and ordering page for the soap.
<http://southshoreferretcare.org/index.php?page=shop.product_details&category_id=8&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=19&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&5ce4fc5562716c27f6c6d8de4594d79f=028699bde978105e3eadd1a30bafa8ee&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1>
And no, I don't get anything out of this except the little tub of soap.
(Thank you, Diane!) I feel confident that I am recommending a quality
product.The soap would definitely make a cool Christmas gift.
Diane also enclosed a sample of her Ferret Faces Greeting Cards. They
are printed on nice creamy colored card stock. Mine had two ferret
faces on the front, but I see from the website that a variety is
available. These are all-occasion cards with nothing printed inside.
Mine came with a fitted envelope with South Shore's mailing address on
the flap.
<http://southshoreferretcare.org/index.php?page=shop.product_details&category_id=7&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=18&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=1&5ce4fc5562716c27f6c6d8de4594d79f=d913b4924338916e34660e553d686640&vmcchk=1&Itemid=1>
Over the weekend, I will see how the boys feel about the Dry Dook Soup
Mix sample!
Thank you Diane! You are an evil genius. I imagine you late at night, a
Tesla coil snapping and sparking behind you as you pour little beakers
of chemicals into ever smaller beakers. They boil over, and eventually
you hold one up and cry "Eureka!" Definitely a dangerous woman.
Alexandra in MA
[Posted in FML 6161]
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