White Glove Test

White gloves being used to test the thoroughness of a cleaning job. If you run your finger across the mantelpiece, shelf, or back of a chair and it comes back clean, you know a good job was done. Truth in Television (the basic motion, with or without the gloves).

Anime

 * On Hayate the Combat Butler's first day, he does this so well (to a window ledge, but same principle) that the maid says (at least in the sub) "Very thorough in the smallest places."

Film - Live Action

 * Mary Poppins: "Well, it's not exactly Buckingham Palace. Still, it's clean."
 * Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan: Admiral Kirk does it in engineering during his inspection of the Enterprise.

Literature

 * In Black Books, when Manny brings in a professional cleaner to clean the shop, he puts on a pair of white gloves and wipes a finger through the air. The finger of the glove turns black.
 * Discworld: Nanny Ogg uses this test after her daughters-in-law clean her house.
 * In Carole Nelson Douglas' Spider Dance, Sherlock Holmes is asked to investigate a matter in the home of William Kissam Vanderbilt. Holmes comments on the cleanliness of the house (he's actually chagrined that so much evidence is lost), and it is noted that Mrs. Vanderbilt tests the cleaning staff's efforts this way and fires those who fail.
 * Roald Dahl wrote about a prefect at his Boarding School of Horrors who would do this after having his fags clean his study.

Live Action TV

 * Navy SEALs: BUDS Class 234, a documentary on basic training for U.S. Navy SEALS. In one episode the instructors perform an inspection of the candidates' rooms, including a white glove test on the room's furnishings to see if they're clean.
 * In Upstairs, Downstairs, Rose the head house and parlour maid does this to see if the new girl Sarah has done passably or not.
 * Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced "bouquet") from Keeping Up Appearances does this on occasion. She's rarely impressed.
 * In an episode of Hannah Montana, Jackson, disguised as a health inspector in an attempt to get his Mamaw to quit as school lunchlady, tries this. It fails spectaculary (He even despairs "They're cleaner then when I put them on!"

Video Games

 * In Luigi's Mansion, one of Luigi's comments while inspecting one of the rooms is to remark that this house would never pass the white glove test.

Other

 * An Urban Legend from the army about an officer who liked to do this. Whenever he found dust (and he always did), he would blow it into the face of the poor grunt and ask "Can you still see me?" One day, one of them retaliated by slapping both his hands on the officer's ears and ask back "Can you still hear me?"