The Housewife Chronicles: Vacuuming and Other Silly Things

Oh, the vacuum. The vacuum is like a friend that helps you out without asking for anything in return, all the while accumulating favor points in anticipation of the moment that you least want to clean out the rotating bar of hair and string and other noodle-shaped things. It's at that moment you wonder how in the world you didn't see all that hair on the carpet, and if you're slowly going bald as you walk around your living quarters.

But this isn't the time for pondering.

The other day I sat down on the couch and remnant scents of past dinners wafted up at me. Normally I would welcome the smells of food, but when they're all coming at you at once, you kind of stop breathing. You just don't want all of that in your nose when you're eating your current dinner. So I set out to find something to stop the smell.

The couch that we have is absolutely wonderful. The only thing I don't like about it is taking the cushion covers off and washing them with the laundry. I did that for the first time after the couch was moved out here and smelt like trucks and road and dust. Actually, taking the covers off isn't all that much trouble. Putting them on makes me want to grind my teeth. But anyways.

I came across this lovely gem at the Walmarts.

Glade Carpet & Room Odor Eliminator

I've actually used this product before, or at least seen it used when H. and I stayed at my parents' house. My mom (hi Mom!) figured it would freshen up the room, and that's exactly what it did. You dust a bit of the powder on some carpet, leave it for a minute, then vacuum it up. Smells clean and fresh.

I figured I could use the same methods to freshen up the couch. So I dusted a little on, waited, then vacuumed it up. And now for your Housewife Tidbit: don't do this. The powder left the cushions sticky to the touch even after a second going over with the Dyson. I ended up washing the darn things in the laundry anyways.  Thankfully I was able to get most of it off of the upper cushions, because the fabric is attached to the couch and I can't take it off to wash it. Stick to the carpet with this little gem.

Today, I vacuumed the carpets in the apartment. I got a nice surprise when the residual clean-smelling powder kicked around in the vacuum and practically spread the scent around the room while I cleaned. Specific to the Dyson vacuums, there's a metal pipe running up the backbone of the machine with a hole in the top. This is where the scent was coming out of - I guess it's part of Dyson's fab airflow design or whatnot. Now that I think about it, does this mean that dust is constantly being kicked up out of the vacuum?

At any rate, there is a piece from the Housewife Knowledge Vault. You know, the Vault that mothers pass down to their daughters once they get married. It's an on-off switch in our brains, I'm sure of it.

By the way, I always spell vacuum like vaccuum. Apparently it is not spelled with two c's and two u's. I would say that's my pneumonic device, but I guess I've been spelling that wrong in my head as well.

Mnemonic device: a learning technique that aids memory.
Pneumonic device: any equipment designed for use with or relating to the lungs, like the iron lung.