The Come Clean Blog
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Imagine cleaning a home 250 years ago — hauling water, heating it over a fire, scrubbing by hand, and making do with whatever tools were available.
The way we live, cook, gather, work, travel, shop, and care for our homes has evolved in ways earlier generations probably could not have imagined. And while cleaning may not be the first thing that comes to mind when we think about 250 years of American history, it has always been part of everyday life.
In the early days of American homes, cleaning was hard physical work. Homes didn’t have running water, modern plumbing, electric appliances, or cabinets full of specialized cleaning products. Cleaning was not something people squeezed in between work, errands, school drop-off, online orders, and weekend plans. It was often a major part of the day. Over time, homes changed. Indoor plumbing made water easier to access. Electricity brought new appliances. And with every change in the home, cleaning changed along with it.
Floors are a perfect example. What once may have meant scrubbing on hands and knees eventually became sweeping, mopping, vacuuming, using disposable floor pads with cleaner already built in, and today, in some homes, letting a robot vacuum help keep up with the daily dust, crumbs, pet hair, and dirt that get tracked inside.
The tools changed because life changed. And cleaning products changed too. Long before store shelves were filled with specialized sprays, many households relied on basic soaps made from animal fat and lye water, often created from wood ashes. It was practical, but it was not exactly gentle. Over time, household cleaners became more specialized, and for many years, a “clean” home was often associated with strong chemical smells. The stronger the odor, the more powerful the product seemed.
Bleach, ammonia, harsh fumes, and heavy-duty cleaners became common under the sink. They had their place, but they were not always pleasant to use. Many of us remember cleaning with windows open, eyes and nose watering from the strong fumes, wearing gloves to protect our hands, or dealing with products that could be tough on certain surfaces if used the wrong way. Raw hands, harsh odors, and the worry of damaging a countertop, floor, fixture, or finish were all part of the cleaning experience.
Today, we expect more.
We still want products that work, but we also want them to be easier to use, easier to store, and better suited for the surfaces in our homes. We want less measuring, less mess, less waste, better performance, pleasant fragrance, and less clutter under the sink. We want products that take the guesswork out of cleaning, including the right ratio of water to cleaning concentrate. We want cleaning products that fit the way we live now.
Our modern home may be more convenient, but it is definitely not mess-free.
Fingerprints on glass doors. Splatters on kitchen counters. Soap scum in the bathroom. Smudges on stainless steel. Grease on the stove. Spills on the table. Crumbs after a cookout. Toothpaste in the sink. Dust, dirt, paw prints, food prep, and whatever somehow ends up on the floor five minutes after you just cleaned it. The messes are still here. The way we clean them has simply evolved. That is where refillable cleaning comes in.
JAWS was designed around a simple idea: stop shipping and storing so much water, and make cleaning easier to refill, reload, and reuse. Instead of buying a new bottle every time you run out, you refill your reusable JAWS bottle with water, pop in a concentrated refill pod, attach the sprayer, and get back to cleaning.
The refill pods are compact, easy to store, and pre-measured for the right mix, so there is no guessing how much cleaner to add or whether the water-to-concentrate ratio is right. The reusable bottles are made to be used again and again. And with EPA Safer Choice Certified options, JAWS gives households a smarter way to clean without giving up performance.
We’ve come a long way from washboards, buckets, harsh fumes, polishing silver, waxing wood floors, and cleaning on hands and knees. But in a way, the goal has always been the same: to care for the spaces where life happens.
As we celebrate 250 years of change, progress, and everyday American life, we are also celebrating the homes that have carried us through it all.