Dirty floors? No problem. This feisty Algiers woman took 10 years inventing Eco Wonder Cloth.

The feisty 74-year-old inventor of the Eco Wonder Cloth lives in an Algiers home with sparkling hardwood floors and spotless countertops.

Born and raised in New Orleans, Shelley Thomas used disposable wipe attachments when mopping her floors, but she got fed up when they kept sliding off the base. That’s when an idea popped into her head: a reusable, reversible microfiber cloth that attaches to the mop with Velcro.

She grabbed some towels, scissors, a sewing machine — and she got to work on a prototype.

After an almost 10-year journey littered with trial and error, Thomas’ Eco Wonder Cloth hit the market in 2023 with its own website. Now, it’s also available for purchase through Walmart and Amazon.

“You spend about maybe three to four months buying those (disposable) sheets, and after that, when you keep buying sheets, my cloth is continually going,” Thomas said. “It’ll last hundreds of uses.”

See the good in our state: Sign up for the Louisiana Inspired email newsletter

Thomas specifically chose microfiber because research demonstrates its ability to pick up dirt and 98% of bacteria effectively. The Velcro made the cleaning process quick and simple.

Users can sweep with it or add water and mop, so there’s no need to drag around a bucket, she said. And it’s eco-friendly because disposable sheets aren't filling landfills.

Thomas didn’t let age stop her from doing something big. She also didn’t let imperfect prototypes, dust or legalese get in her way either.

Patent problems

A patent must be useful and unique, Thomas said, and the Eco Wonder Cloth was just that.

But not everybody seemed to think so.

Patenting the product design wasn’t easy. Her patent attorney’s write-up didn't properly explain the product, so it kept getting rejected in its final stage by the patent agent, Thomas said.

Back and forth. Rejected again. And again.

“I said, ‘I really don’t feel I’ve exhausted all my options,’” Thomas said. “’I think I might want to try this on my own. Finish up.’”

At 66 years old in 2017, Thomas typed the application on her own and after submitting, the agent finally thought it was perfect.

Legacy in motion: Encore Awards honor seven Louisianans who prove purpose doesn’t retire

“I’ll never forget. I was right there,” Thomas said, pointing to her living room. “And I was on the phone with (the agent) ... ‘How do I know if I have the patent?’ And she said, ‘You have the patent.’ And I was like, ‘What? I have the patent?’ She started laughing, she said ‘Yes, you do.’”

She found a manufacturer in China who did a great job making the product and completed the entire business deal via email. The product hit the market, and her life changed.

“If somebody would’ve told me I could deal with someone in China through email and get the product finished, I would’ve said, ‘You out of your mind,’” Thomas said.

Family support

Thomas’ family members chimed in to support the business. One of her sons came up with the product’s name. Her daughter helped sell products from up in New York, and Thomas’ sister did the same from her workplace at a salon.

Thomas heard about the Encore Awards, and, like the go-getter she is, she asked her daughter to nominate her.

“I thought about it, and I said, ‘Wait a minute,’” Thomas said. “’I better do this because I might be dead next year.’”

Having people support you is important, Thomas said, so when you have down days, you can keep going. Her daughter, Shannon Picou, 47, has observed the entire journey.

“It’s been a long road,” Picou said. “I feel like she has accomplished a lot, especially for someone her age, where you're supposed to be winding down, and she's revving up.”

Picou said her mother is the type of person to stop and talk to everybody. She's also independent, feisty and big on community, Picou said.

“My mother is a really good, great cook,” Picou said. “Let's say it was your birthday or something. She would find out all the things you like, and she would make a special dinner for you, like a menu that caters to what you like.”

Because of her background in technology software, Picou volunteered to design the product’s website (ecowondercloth.com). After some technology lessons, Thomas is able to tweak the website here and there when needed, Picou said.

“I'm very picky about how things look and stuff like that," Picou said. "Which I get from her."

Next steps

When she’s not devising the latest technology for spotless floors, Thomas attends morning Mass at her church, reads Agatha Christie novels, weeds her garden and cooks or bakes for loved ones.

As she cooks wearing her pink “Chef Shelley” apron, a framed photo sits on the kitchen counter. It was gifted by her friend, Edna, and it’s a picture of Thomas posing with the cloth on the WGNO New Orleans set after her live interview in 2023.

“She took it upon herself and went and did that,” Thomas said. “I didn’t even know she was going to do that. She surprised me. She came one day to church. She said, ‘I told you. You should’ve framed this picture.’”

Thomas keeps a bin of her old prototypes in her laundry room, and yes, she still cleans with them. She also continues her daily research into the Eco Wonder Cloth’s future, like increasing product sales, advertising and reviews.

Her dedication to pristine floors seems never-ending. Even as Times-Picayune photographer Sophia Germer snapped photos for this story, Thomas kept checking to make sure the floors looked flawless.

"It's never too late if you have something you want to do," Thomas said. "You still can do it. It's never too late."