Art News

Idaho man’s Museum of Clean ready to shine

POCATELLO (AP).- 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 cringing at the site of spilled coffee grounds and in high school, finding it strange the other boys didn’t like to clean their rooms. Even now at the age of 76, his battle against grit and 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. While mothers may threaten their kids with having to clean their rooms as punishment, Aslett knew he was different from an early age. “I love to clean,” he said with a shrug. And now, he has a six-story shrine dedicated to his craft — the