Mr Dapper: Don’t be ridiculous. Hire a helper. Merry Maids, for example, provides regular cleaning services for HK$355 to HK$380 per hour depending on which package you choose (see
www.merrymaids.com.hk; or call 2857 4038).
Mr Dandy: Dapper’s kind of right, but I do love those “chindogu” nonsensical Japanese products. In fact, one of my favourite books is The Big Bento Box of Unuseless Japanese Inventions by Kenji Kawakami (about HK$120;
www.amazon.com), which features floor duster clothes for crawling babies and even cleaning booties for cats. After seeing those, the kind you are talking about seems slightly less silly and definitely not as exploitative. In which case, I decided to head out in search of some. Surprisingly, my go-to sources for Japanese products, Sogo and Japan Home Centre, didn’t have any. Then I remembered the cleaning section at City’super – on the supermarket side, not the lifestyle area (Times Square, Causeway Bay, tel: 2506 2888). Ta-da! It has two types, including the Slipper Genie Microfiber Cleaning Slippers in green or pink and the Japanese Slipper Mop in brown (about HK$95 per pair). Just one thing: hide them before you bring anyone home with romance in mind. They might be effective and funny, but they’re not exactly sexy.