When "crunchy" hits the wall

Here is why the blog entry didn’t happen yesterday: I have a three-year-old. A three-year-old who gets bored when Mommy is on the phone. A three-year-old who shows it by finding a bit of brown crayon and scribbling all over the LCD TV screen with it.

The ensuing apoplexy made it impossible for me to say anything intelligible or fit for reprinting in a family-oriented blog.

I did what any 2009 mom worth her salt would do: put it out on Facebook. Many, many comments later, the consensus appeared to be a product called Magic Eraser, made by Mr. Clean, which I have never used. One of the ingredients is formaldehyde-melamine-sodium bisulfite copolymer, which the company insists is not formaldehyde but rather a chemical compound that is totally safe and nontoxic. I don’t doubt that, but still, it’s not a product I would buy under normal circumstances.

These were not normal circumstances. I didn’t pay anything for the TV, but I can’t afford to replace it, either. This was a case where I felt like the benefit of restoring the TV, and bringing my blood pressure down, outweighed the detriment of having weird chemicals in the house. (Besides, my kids won’t lick the TV screen. Maybe I should confirm that with the three-year-old.) After further Internet research singing the Magic Eraser’s praises on LCD screens, I went with it. It was a miracle. You can’t even see where the crayon was.

I didn’t try what another friend suggested, rubbing it off with a microfiber cloth, because I was afraid it wouldn’t work and might smear the crayon. Maybe on another, less costly surface.

Do you find that certain situations test your crunchiness (or cheapness)?