The Oldest Formula 409 Bottle in America

I’m not sure this is something to be proud of, but I believe our family owns the oldest bottle of Formula 409 cleaner in America. (If anyone can prove me wrong, please feel free to do so.)

The Internet tells me 409 has been around since 1957, which means it is certainly possible that someone else has an older bottle than ours. Our bottle was probably purchased sometime between 1988 and 1990. I’m not certain exactly when, because I never aspired to own the oldest bottle of 409 in America, so I did not take note of the date when I bought it at the grocery store.

I’m pretty sure I acquired it after we moved into our current home in October 1984. In fact, it has a copyright notice on its disintegrating label dated 1986. And I’m fairly confident it arrived in our kitchen before my daughter entered the primary grades because she says she remembers it back that far. That places it no later than 1991.

My husband is a firm believer in the powers of 409 cleaner to handle almost any household messes. The only things he’s found that it won’t clean are adhesives that require a very powerful 3M solvent he also keeps on hand. But everything in daily kitchen spills can be handled by 409.

So we keep buying refills and refill our current bottle.

Clorox touts the powers of 409 on the cleanser’s very own website. In fact, from the website, I learned that the official name of the product is Formula 409 All-Purpose Cleaner. But in our house, we will continue to call it simply “409,” as in “What did you do with the 409? I spilled something.” It will almost certainly be somewhere in the kitchen, but where? On the counter, under the sink, or hidden in some corner where it was left after the last clean-up?

I’ve bought other 409 bottles when we’ve traveled and stayed in a place with a kitchen. I’m not so wedded to my old bottle that I pack it in my suitcase. But when we get home, I go back to refilling Old Faithful.

I tend to let friends and relations choose their own cleansers, but my husband has bought 409 bottles for relatives. When we visit, if they don’t have a 409 bottle, the first trip he makes is to a grocery store to get them one.

Clorox doesn’t make 409 bottles like the one we have anymore. The new style has a much better squirter than ours has. But ours is adequate, so why upgrade?

Maybe when we move to a new house, which will happen sometime in the next few years, I’ll splurge and buy a new bottle. But I’m afraid my kids might refuse to care for me in my old age. That bottle is more of a constant in their lives than their sports team affiliations and pets. Maybe more constant than their parents.

Which old household items do you hang onto?