Janitor in a Drum is a cleaning product produced by

S. C. Johnson S. C. Johnson & Son, Inc. (commonly referred to as S. C. Johnson) is an American multinational, privately held manufacturer of household cleaning supplies and other consumer chemicals based in Racine, Wisconsin. In 2017, S. C. Jo ...

. Although it is made for home use by consumers, it describes the product as ''industrial strength'' both in advertising and on the package.

History

''Janitor in a Drum'' originated in 1945 as an industrial cleaning product made by

Texize Texize Chemical Company or simply Texize, is a chemical company incorporated in the 1945 which sold industrial cleaners to textile mills, hence the name "Texize." It was also one of the first accounts of Henderson Advertising Agency, founded by Ja ...

and was subsequently marketed for consumer use.

Greenville, South Carolina Greenville (; locally ) is a city in and the seat of Greenville County, South Carolina, United States. With a population of 70,720 at the 2020 census, it is the sixth-largest city in the state. Greenville is located approximately halfway be ...

-based ''Texize'' was sold to Norwich Pharmacal Co. in 1967; that company "was acquired and became Morton Norwich Products Inc." Morton sold the consumer products division of Texize to Dow in 1986. ''DowBrand'' sold a package of cleaning products, including ''Janitor in a Drum'' to

in 1998. A federal court ruled in 1978 that ''Janitor in a Drum'', which says ''Industrial Strength'' on packages, must include a warning "advising users that they can harm the eyes." The product, which began as being for industrial use, was mandated as falling "under the provision of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act."

Competition

''The New York Times'' placed ''

Mr. Clean Mr. Clean (or Mr. Proper) is a brand name and mascot, owned by the American company Procter & Gamble, used for an all-purpose cleaner and later also for a melamine foam abrasive sponge. The all-purpose cleaner was originally formulated by Linwo ...

'' ahead of ''Janitor in a Drum'' and noted the phrase "smells like ''Janitor in a Drum''.

References

External links

S.C. Johnson Company (website)

Vintage Texize Janitor-in-a-Drum
S. C. Johnson & Son brands Cleaning product brands {{product-stub