Phila. Home Show draws crowds for Scum Off and bamboo bedding

PHILADELPHIA Quartz countertops. "Smart" homes. Energy saving. Bamboo bedding.

Acres of inspiring products and professionals were on display Saturday at the Philadelphia Home Show at the Convention Center.

But perhaps none stopped more passersby in their tracks than Rob Franks' demonstration of Scum Off.

After all, who wouldn't be curious about a cleaner (even if it's only available online and costs $20 for 16 ounces) that's tough enough for soap scum, calcium deposits, road tar, and grease - yet safe enough that Franks could squirt it (diluted) into his mouth.

"It's also a fat-burner; I used to weigh 700 pounds," Franks joked about the kelp-and-coconut-oil compound.

"You always have to be skeptical," Kim Kravalis of Magnolia, Del., said as Franks dabbed her sneaker toe, leaving it clean. "But I'll try it."

In the less prosaic realm, quartz is competing with granite for high-end kitchens. Both are made of natural stone, but granite slabs are mined whole, and quartz is ground and combined with polyester resins.

Quartz is "more durable, has more consistent color, and resists cracking and chipping," said Emily Lee, a saleswoman with Element Granite & Quartz of Philadelphia.

View post:
Phila. Home Show draws crowds for Scum Off and bamboo bedding