We start out the show talking with Connor Hopkins from Crocodile Cloth about my favorite way to clean up my hands, my shop, projects and my bbq. This stuff seriously works and you can find them at https://crocodilecloth.com/. Later in the show we talk about my favorite tricks and tips as a dog owner and what you can do to make sure your pet is more confortable and make it easier for you to care for them and keep your home just a little bit cleaner.

To get your questions answered by Eric G give us a call in the studio at 833-239-4144 24/7 and Eric G will get back to you and answer your question and you might end up in a future episode of Around the House.

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Mentioned in this episode:

A new kind of decking and siding from Millboard

For more information about the latest in decking and cladding head to https://www.millboard.com/

Baldwin Hardware

Baldwin Hardware

A new kind of decking and siding from Millboard

For more information about the latest in decking and cladding head to https://www.millboard.com/

Eric Goranson: We have been talking to Connor from Crocodile Cloth and these guys are really good at helping you clean up those messes on your hands or anywhere around the house. Now let's get back to that conversation. Yeah, the barbecue one, um, which is called Crocodile Cloth

[00:00:30] Eric Goranson: summer. I can tell you what crocodile. Is the real deal. I love these guys today and the rest of the show. I wanted to talk about spring cleaning for pet owners and making sure your house is all dialed in, whether you're modeling or you're doing some DIY projects, there are some tricks that I have learned as a dog owner out there that have made my life so much easier.

[00:01:07] Eric Goranson: I'm to the around the house show. Thanks for joining me today. If you do want to get ahold of us here in the studio, there's two ways to do it. Go over to around the house online. com or give us a call at 8 3 3 2 3 9 41 44. That number again is 2 3 9 41 44. And we have a great guest in the studio today.

[00:01:37] Connor Hopkins: it, Eric. Um, I know this is our second time getting together. I guess we left a pretty good impression with both the product and our, uh, our video we filmed with you guys.

[00:01:49] Eric Goranson: Yeah, man. Thanks. And, you know, you guys have really revolutionized Hand cleaning and then clean up around the house. Yeah,

[00:02:12] Connor Hopkins: Or made for the people that get really messy in their day to day jobs around the house. So we're glad to see it starting to catch a lot of a lot of favorability from our blue collar men and women as well as some of our what we call hobbyists. Right? Your campers, hunters, race car drivers are all they're all loving the product because it really does tackle tough messes and it makes life a bit easier.

[00:02:34] Eric Goranson: know, over the years when I was a little kid, my dad had that, uh, you know, the gritty cleaner in the garage. I'm not going to be using name brands here. Cause there's no sense talking about it, but I think everybody can paint the picture in their head of using that gritty stuff. That was kind of a pumice stone.

[00:03:07] Eric Goranson: Okay. And then you guys came out and it was like, okay, one, it cleans well, but I actually have a cloth that I can clean my hands with and then clean up around and not be pulling like four out of the canister and burning through them so quickly. Yeah,

[00:03:31] Connor Hopkins: Um, and that that rings true. Just like you said, we're 10 by 15 costs. You won't find a wetter 1 out there too. So it tackles your whole kitchen. Um, it'll tackle those tough messes. And it's funny, you bring up, um, some of those previous ones and your dad having something around in the garage. I remember growing up, I climbed a lot of trees.

[00:03:56] Eric Goranson: we recently got grounded away. It didn't touch the tree sap and just grounded off [00:04:00] of you. That's all it was doing. Yeah.

[00:04:12] Eric Goranson: up.

[00:04:31] Eric Goranson: I grabbed your cloth and all of a sudden I'm like, this was dirtier than I thought because now all of a sudden it's taken stuff off. But I was like, Oh, okay. I thought that was just ground into the workbench. It was glue. It was something else. And all of a sudden I'm scrubbing on it and I'm like, Oh wow, this was much dirtier than I anticipated.

[00:05:01] Connor Hopkins: of the biggest pieces of feedback we get when we go to our D to C or direct to consumer events, like, uh, king of hammers or the mint 400 different racing events around the country.

[00:05:29] Connor Hopkins: You didn't even know you had. Yeah.

[00:05:50] Eric Goranson: Yeah.

[00:06:12] Connor Hopkins: Um, unlike some of the other guys, we don't build it into, say the, the solution or formula. It's actually built into the cloth. Um, so it, it does rate on the sandpaper grit scale, which is, which is always fun to t tout that. Um, and then we have some, like you said, a couple specific ones. For the mechanic, got an auto version with a little bit more degreaser.

[00:06:50] Connor Hopkins: It's not going to leave behind any oils or residues. So you can put a layer of paint on right after you use it. Um, and you'll be looking good on the, on the end of the pain side. [00:07:00] Oh,

[00:07:17] Connor Hopkins: And it's hard to get rid of it. Yeah, no, no, it's, it's been really cool. Um, Just the, the organic social reach outs we get from people trying it on YouTube, comparing it to other people. So, if you're listening to this, I highly suggest if you don't believe Eric and I go check us out on social media, YouTube, look up crocodile cloth people are always finding new ways to use them.

[00:08:00] Connor Hopkins: And instead of licking an envelope, we use the wipes moisture to, yeah, hit the, hit the envelope and then, uh, then, then seal it. So, you can get creative with how you use them. That's cool.

[00:08:17] Connor Hopkins: Yeah, the barbecue one, um, which is called crocodile cloth grill.

[00:08:41] Connor Hopkins: Just from the Southwest and, uh, different parts of the Southern part of the country because of how popular it is. We know nowadays, you know, since cobit people are are grilling and it's a, it's a really fun activity to do constantly. So, whether you've got a trigger, a blackstone, some type of smoker, even a gas grill, this thing is going to clean up [00:09:00] all the debris while you're cooking or also, you know, after you're done cooking or making sure you're cleaning up in between uses.

[00:09:07] Eric Goranson: awesome. Because yeah, I mean, a lot of us are grillers, you know, I could be out in the snow doing my doing my grilling out there. And as long as the wind's not blowing, messing with stuff too badly, I'm out there doing all the parka on. But I tell you what, you know, it's not, it's not a seasonal thing for me.

[00:10:09] Eric Goranson: What's up? This is Dixit India. And Satchel from Steel Panther. And you are listening to Around the House with Eric G. Yeah. We love Eric G and you should too.

[00:10:44] Eric Goranson: Now let's get back to that conversation. Yeah,

[00:11:15] Connor Hopkins: We know nowadays, you know, since cobit people are are drilling and it's a, it's a really fun activity to do constantly. So, whether you've got a trigger, a blackstone, some type of smoker, even a gas grill, this thing is going to clean up all the debris. While you're cooking, um, or also, you know, after you're done cooking or, or making sure you're cleaning up in between uses, that's

[00:11:36] Eric Goranson: Because, yeah, I mean, a lot of us are grillers. You know, I could be out in the snow doing my doing my grilling out there. And as long as the wind's not blowing, messing with stuff too badly, that's awesome. I'm out there doing all the parka on, but I tell you what, you know, it's not, it's not a seasonal thing for me.

[00:12:00] Connor Hopkins: that. Yeah. And for a guy like me, who's a little bit more afraid of the cold and won't brave it as much. Um, I use it, uh, on my stove top. After every time I cook, so I'll load up my cast iron skillet with some good old Denver steaks or chuck eyes grease splattering everywhere.

[00:12:34] Connor Hopkins: Nice. That's cool. Cause

[00:12:41] Connor Hopkins: Yeah. Yeah. I hear you on that. And another cool thing, some people really like it. Um, we actually don't put any fragrances in our cloth right now. Um, so it, it won't overpower you or, or, or anything like that.

[00:12:58] Eric Goranson: Yeah. And that's, what's cool too, is it just, there's [00:13:00] no smell really to it. It's just, you're just doing your thing. And so I do enjoy that with it as well. And you know, what's cool is, is that you've got those packet, the packs are solid packs that you guys sell.

[00:13:24] Connor Hopkins: Yeah, I mean, you're speaking my language, Eric. The cool thing about our product is we are the premium brand.

[00:13:47] Connor Hopkins: But when you look at how much you pay for one pack, we're definitely gonna be closer to that $20 range. But that's 'cause you get 80 or a hundred massive cleaning wipes. Um, so we make sure that those are premium from the packaging, um, all the way to [00:14:00] the end use of it. One thing that's unique about us is gonna be our packaging because it's in that bag, um, rather than your canister or, or, uh, tub.

[00:14:26] Connor Hopkins: You know, that's

[00:14:42] Eric Goranson: And, and, you know, the toolbox shifted, uh, bounced up against it and the lid's laying down there on the side. And it's just been open for a number of hours and you've got a whole tub full of, uh, dried up claws, which are now you just have. Tough paper towels.

[00:15:06] Connor Hopkins: So I took the lid off, made sure that they were dried out and actually found a really good use case for them because they're so absorbent. After a rain or, or you're, you're setting up for a party or something like that. And you've got a morning do or, or some water on your patio equipment or furniture, great for absorbing that.

[00:15:35] Eric Goranson: Man, that is awesome. And you guys just keep coming up with new stuff.

[00:15:48] Connor Hopkins: Yeah, we, we like to pride ourselves on consistent innovation. Um, so even now, as we're speaking, we've got three or four products that are set to launch this year and, uh, can't give you too much information about them, but [00:16:00] we, but we are, we are expanding.

[00:16:21] Connor Hopkins: We're getting more and more ideas about how to use the product, whether it be on fishing boats for electronics, or even in the hospital and hotel settings. So we're going to continue to innovate and make sure that we're making a product that people can use at different levels of what they're doing, whether it be at work, in their house, or with their hobby.

[00:16:52] Connor Hopkins: Yeah. So online, obviously Amazon and our website are going to be the best places to get them.

[00:17:19] Connor Hopkins: We're also in Napa. And like I said, we're, we're continuing to increase that footprint. So keep an eye out for us at places like Walmart, um, and, and other places that, that you shop on a regular basis.

[00:17:34] Eric Goranson: But, uh, I know I'm, uh, walking down the aisles of my home depot when I'm in there. I'm sure seeing them in, uh, multiple locations around the store, which is awesome.

[00:17:57] Connor Hopkins: I do some at home butchering with some bigger [00:18:00] cuts. So I'm just curious. What's your personal favorite?

[00:18:14] Eric Goranson: And, uh, I have always been a tri tip. I'm a West coast guy. So, you know, it was that cut of meat that I had a hard time finding, but, uh, probably 20 years ago, Costco started carrying it and I was getting it there and They're not an advertiser by any means, and neither are you, but it was one of those things that I could get it.

[00:19:00] Eric Goranson: Hey, this is Ron Keel, the metal cowboy from Keel, the Ron Keel band and stealer. We are rocking around the house with Eric T. Welcome back to the around the house show. This is where we help you get the most out of your home through information and education. Thanks for joining me today. We have been talking with Connor from crocodile cloth, and these guys are really good at helping you clean up those messes on your hands or anywhere around the house.

[00:19:53] Connor Hopkins: That's cool to hear. I'll have to try out some tri tip. I haven't, haven't cooked any of that up on my own. Um, like I, like I mentioned earlier, I've been a big [00:20:00] fan of the Denver and the Chuckeye lately. Uh, the poor man's ribeye. Those are, those are some, uh, less expensive cuts, but man, if you cook them right, um, it's a, it's a good piece of meat.

[00:20:09] Eric Goranson: tri tip to me is just kind of my favorite. It's just, uh, it's an easy one and, uh, kind of cute. Well, it was a cut of beef that they didn't use a lot with. And a lot of times it got thrown into hamburger and everything else, but. Because it was, uh, in the Santa Maria area, California, they had their Santa Maria barbecue.

[00:20:46] Eric Goranson: You know, strip steaks or, or, uh, anything like that. I mean, it's just, uh, it's, it's a lot of fun throwing stuff down in the barbecue. And sometimes with that, I'll even put it out there and I'll sear it outside on the grill, get a nice little crust [00:21:00] on it and get it cooked about a third to half of the way.

[00:21:19] Connor Hopkins: I believe that one final tip I'll leave, I'll leave the listeners with if you haven't tried, um, taking a piece of fat off your cut and using that on the cast iron skillet to cook it in rather than olive oil or butter, I have found so much success in that flavor profile rather than your traditional one.

[00:21:44] Eric Goranson: One thing I'm going to try doing here this summer, this last year, I built my own pizza oven outside wood fired pizza oven, one of the big ones. And, uh, that turned out really cool.

[00:22:08] Connor Hopkins: Yeah, well, make sure you invite me over for that one. I'll be your taste.

[00:22:21] Connor Hopkins: funny enough, I prefer the cast iron skillet. Um, I just feel that I get better control over it. So if anything, I'll, I'll fire up the grill, um, whether it be over an open fire and put the cast iron on it.

[00:22:43] Eric Goranson: Yeah, that just makes for a nice, awesome steak right there is what that does. Now I'm getting hungry.

[00:22:50] Eric Goranson: like okay, I gotta get the barbecue going We've had that weather recently too where it's been You know really nice in the in the mid to upper 70s here in the uh It's what I call [00:23:00] fake spring here in the pacific northwest we get that where all of a sudden we go from 40s to To 70s and then it goes back to the 50s again for weeks just to rub your nose in it It's uh, this is our last probably fake spring of the year Yeah, we

[00:23:14] Connor Hopkins: St. Patrick's day was a nice celebration, you know, 50, 60 degrees of sun. And we got into work yesterday on Monday and it was a snowing by lunchtime. So,

[00:23:37] Eric Goranson: And for people trying to figure out how to do cleanup, it's an easy way to go. And like you said earlier, it's a great buy. If you know, instead of grabbing a handful of three or four wipes and blasted through a canister, you just grab one and

[00:23:55] Connor Hopkins: Cause now I get a bunch of free cleaning product and the house has always bothered. There we go.

[00:24:10] Eric Goranson: I appreciate it.

[00:24:15] Eric Goranson: I can tell you what crocodile cloth is the real deal. I love these guys. They are not a sponsor of the show, but I tell you what, you will see them in my show on around the house, Northwest, the television show. I use their products all the time.

[00:24:52] Eric Goranson: There are some tricks that I have learned as a dog owner out there. That have made my life so much easier. And I want to talk about that [00:25:00] here in these last little bits of this segment and the last one here, the show, because I think it's really important for people out there that are pet owners. Pets are wonderful.

[00:25:29] Eric Goranson: So that way with their electronic dog collar, they can come up and with this smart door, this actually opens up when the dog gets close. So we've trained them. So they walk up close, the door opens up, they go out to the side yard, which is a special little side yard. And I put down a artificial turf. So that can be down there and that gives them place to go to the bathroom without messing up the entire big backyard because I don't know, there's nothing I like more than having a nice clean backyard without places to step in dog [00:26:00] messes with.

[00:26:18] Eric Goranson: It makes it so much easier as a dog owner. And because these doors are electronic, they're not just your flap. That's magnetic. This is so much more energy efficient because it's a hard plexiglass panel that comes down. And so there's no draft, no wind or anything else with it. It's a really great way to go.

[00:26:59] Eric Goranson: And so [00:27:00] you just basically put this around their collar with their regular collar and the battery lasts probably about nine months. Actually, no, about three or four months, not nine months. Anyway, it goes and you put it on the dog collar and it works super. It's a waterproof thing on the collar. So if your dog likes to go out and play in the water, no big deal.

[00:27:37] Eric Goranson: And so it's a really good, got industrial grade stuff in it. So it's a heavy duty door and pretty quick to install as well. So that's something to take a look and they've really engineered these to last a lifetime with the Lexan door and stuff in it. It's just an airtight seal that'll save you on the power bills if you're trying to let the dogs out.

[00:28:16] Eric Goranson: You can't really have a pet proof product that's made out of wood because There's some things you'd have to do so it doesn't get damaged. We'll talk about that just as soon as a round the house returns.[00:29:00]

[00:29:20] Eric Goranson: Or give us a call in the studio at 833 239 4144. That number again is 833. Two, three, nine, four, one, four, four. I've been talking here earlier. We were having a great discussion with Connor from crocodile cloth. And now we're talking about really trying to come up with a healthy environment for your dogs and pets inside your house.

[00:30:08] Eric Goranson: Here's what happens. If you have a dog accident with a wood floor, when you put in a pre finished wood floor, it is not sealed between those planks. And if you have to cut it or do anything else, These are things that just happen. It could be resistant that maybe they did finish all the sides of this material.

[00:30:49] Eric Goranson: It's just not going to. And the problem is you're not seeing the national companies do this, but there's some smaller companies out that are saying that if you want to have a pet proof product, you need to go with [00:31:00] tile. You need to go with luxury vinyl plank. If you are going to do wood, I would recommend a sand and finish in place where you've got the finish over the whole top surface.

[00:31:34] Eric Goranson: And yes, you will have some little cracks that are expansion contraction, but it's still gonna be pretty pet proof as far as it goes, but it's never gonna be foolproof. When it's a piece of wood. And so that's the thing. And that's one thing that I say with manufacturers warranties, if somebody gives you a warranty on that floor, one, it has to be on a prefinished floor.

[00:32:12] Eric Goranson: It probably is going to be, at least they're going to replace it, or at least the material. So take a look at the warranty, understand it. Before you go spend that big dollars of trying to put wood and make it survive your pets, just understand what its limitations are and what your expectations are for the product.

[00:32:49] Eric Goranson: And I'm going to do one here on television here coming up in the next few weeks. I'm going to build a dog wash station outside. So when the dogs are playing in the mud, I can take them over there or Julie can take them over there and wipe them, [00:33:00] wash them, get them cleaned up before they come inside the house.

[00:33:19] Eric Goranson: So it's not that big a deal, but I want to have it where I get them clean before they come into the house. So if you've got a space in your garage or shop, you want to do that. It's a great place to do it. Now, one of the things that, uh, I have bought for my outdoor dog area that I'll go out about once a month and do, and this is, we were just talking about that with my pet door.

[00:34:05] Eric Goranson: And it is like the fresh air scent without having to put a bunch of perfumes and stuff down for the dogs that might bother them. This is just a great way to wet it down, let it dry before you let the dogs out there, but the enzymes will go through and eat up any of those smells. And if you want to freshen up that area of the yard, where maybe they've been going a lot, this is a great way to do it.

[00:34:46] Eric Goranson: Put it on the end of your hose and go out and deal with it. So take a look at that. It's a great spring cleaning hack for dealing with pets. And, uh, these guys are really good. And that's one thing that I do like their materials here is that they have [00:35:00] disinfectants. They have stuff for cleaning up fire and floods.

[00:35:23] Eric Goranson: So take a look at that. It's a great way to clean up outside. And if you've got people coming over, it's a good way to go. So just put it on the end of your hose and you're awesome. Now, one of the things too, that, that is really good that I just used here. And it was pretty impressive. And this was something that I really enjoyed.

[00:36:05] Eric Goranson: Literally two weeks ago. And it is a cool product. I got to test it out and play with it. But what you do is you go around and you've got a broom on one side and it's got a little tiny USB C chargeable blower on the end of it and it only wears, yes, geez, weighs two pounds. And so it's easy. Anybody can use this.

[00:36:41] Eric Goranson: And it's a really good, good piece. I'm going to have him on the show at some point, but it's two pounds has a high speed motor that runs at 15, 000 RPM, rechargeable battery. And it'll run about. 30 minutes. So it's pretty good with a dual speed control. So these are things for getting around the house, getting the pet hair off of things.

[00:37:12] Eric Goranson: And then, uh, I've got a new one coming up here that I'm going to play with as well, because I have. On my lower floor here in my house, I have all hard floors. And that's one thing that with pets that I recommend, especially with dogs, just get rid of the carpets. And if you have carpets, have area rugs that you can take out and have cleaned.

[00:38:01] Eric Goranson: And put it on a schedule and do that, but really take your time with this. And then the other thing is get some really good air cleaners for your house. If you've got that, whether it's your HVAC filter, or if you've got baseboard heat, Get one of those HEPA filters in there so you can go through and keep that cleaned up.

[00:38:37] Eric Goranson: This can be a great way to do it. Hey, if you have any of your own tips, send them over to me. I'll put them up in a future episode, head over to around the house online. com. And hopefully I brought some new stuff here for you in this last bit of the show for all of you dog owners out there and for cat owners as well.

[00:39:09] Eric Goranson: Special thanks for tuning into Around the House. We'll see you in a week