Not all that shines is clean.

Some years ago now, at the Civic Centre (County Hall) the general gossip at tea break turned to a rather unusual subject, namely the state of the office toilets. More unusual still, this was not talk of complaint; but rather how clean and well kept they were now. Moreover, this transformation was solely attributed to a new cleaner. It was said when he left the toilet blocks; the basins, taps, water closets, urinals, and indeed the walls and floor, all shone bright and clean. Everybody was impressed, this man should receive a rise in wages was the common agreement. Then one day someone using the facilities witnessed this man’s cleaning technique, and all at once the spell was broken. For in horror it was discovered that a single cloth was used throughout; in other words, the same cleaning cloth that was used on the floor, WCs and urinals… was then used upon the walls, basins, and taps. Expressions of revulsion were now the favourite subject at tea break, as the truth spread of just how contaminated the shiny, polished surfaces really were. The cleaner in question quickly disappeared, ostensibly to retrain… but he was never seen again.