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Idaho man’s Museum of Clean ready to shine

76-year-old has been waging war against grime since childhood.

Don Aslett, founder of the Museum of Clean in Pocatello, Idaho,
demonstrates an interactive window washing exhibit.
PHOTO BY JAMES B. HALE

James B. Hale/AP Photo Don Aslett, founder of the Museum of Clean in Pocatello, Idaho, demonstrates an interactive window washing exhibit. PHOTO BY JAMES B. HALE

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By Jessie L. Bonner, Associated Press 2:02 PM Saturday, January 7, 2012

POCATELLO, Idaho — Don Aslett may be more than a half century into his fight against dirt and clutter, but he still can’t take a stroll without bending to pick up litter from the sidewalk.

As a child, he can remember finding it strange the other boys didn’t like to clean their rooms. Even now at the age of 76, his battle against grime has yet to relent.

Those who may not understand his devotion, he reasons, have likely never felt the satisfaction of making a toilet bowl shine.

“I’ll tell you, clean is a hard sell,” said Aslett, who has written 37 books on the topic and founded a janitorial business with branches in most states and Canada.

And now, he has a six-story shrine dedicated to his craft — the Museum of Clean — that recently opened in southeastern Idaho.

Among the exhibits: A horse-drawn vacuum dating back to 1902; a collection of several hundred pre-electric vacuum cleaners; and a 1,600-year-old bronze pick that was used to clean teeth.

If visitors grow weary while touring the building with its estimated 6,000 historical cleaning devices, they can take a seat on chairs fashioned out of garbage bins, a claw foot bathtub and a washing machine from 1945.

There’s also an 88-seat theater, an art gallery, and a gift shop with cleaning kits for kids priced at $9.95 and plush toys in the shape of germs. Aslett’s most prized possession — a 2,000-year-old terra cotta water vessel used by the Romans to wash up— is not quite ready for display and is kept locked in a filing cabinet.

The museum took six years to assemble at a cost of about $6 million.

He may be a millionaire, but he also embodies the de-cluttered lifestyle he preaches.

“When you’re a cleaner, you look at things a little differently,” Aslett said.

“You look at the stuff you have to clean up, the unnecessary bottles and the unnecessary towels and the garbage ... ,” his voice trailing off as the list went on.

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