And Then This Happened

I told you that I was all set to shampoo our rugs and that things started to go wrong here. But the vacuum cleaner was not the only glitch in the rug cleaning system.  Even while we were still evaluating the broken belt I thought I’d move ahead by checking the hook-up to our Bissell carpet cleaner.

This old machine doesn’t get much action so I hope it’s up to the challenge.

We actually have 2 carpet cleaners: the Bissell pictured above and a Little Green Machine which we inherited from my mother.  The LGM ran fine but I’m not sure how to use it so I decided to check out the owner’s manual whose pages were totally stuck together.  Yet another: Oich! (Oh, I know there’s probably a manual online but that takes time on my slow, old computer.)

When I tried to attach the water hose to our kitchen sink I was dismayed to find the aerator had been changed and I couldn’t just screw on the hose.

This piece connects to a faucet and supplies clean water.

While we were at Lowes picking up the vacuum cleaner belt we also found a male to male aerator adaptor.

The $4 adaptor for the faucet.

When the aerator is removed from the sink faucet and replaced with this little gizmo with threads on both ends the hose can be attached.

The male to male aerator adaptor is screwed into the faucet.

Then the water hose that mixes the carpet cleaner with the water was screwed onto the faucet and the smaller side tube inserted into the diluted cleaning solution.

The set up at the faucet leaks slightly so care is taken to keep water in the sink (not on the floor).

I start by spraying a section of rug with the water and solution that comes through the wand.  Then I turn on the motor which sucks up the water while spraying it again. Finally, without spraying any more solution I make sure all the water is extracted from the carpet.

The spray head also sucks up the water and brushes the rug.

I also check to make sure the water that’s being extracted is clear otherwise I go over it again because some serious dirt was removed from this rug.

The extracted water is not just muddy, it’s black.

Even though the rug is just damp (and not soaking wet) I wait at least 12 hours before replacing the furniture.  (Depending on the weather more or less time might need to be allotted.  I had a breezy, dry day.)

The living room rug is clean again.

I love the way the clean rug feels on my bare feet and it smells so nice.  But still I ponder the question: why is EVERYTHING an ordeal?

Have you been dealing with any ordeals?