This week marked the 20 year anniversary of
the day we bought our house. This was meant
to be our starter home, we thought we'd be here
for a few years. After my Father passed away,
my Mum decided she wanted more than a few
phone calls a week with her only grandchildren
and she decided to move to Indiana to be near
us. She flew out on a few house hunting trips
but we couldn't find a place that was just right.
One day a neighbor came over to tell me the
neighbor whose property ran along my back
yard had passed away, I said I didn't want to
sound crass but what did they plan to do with
the house? She said they wanted to sell it right
away. I call my Mum and told her to get on a
plane. It was perfect and that was how our
life like the Waltons began. My kids were able
to see their Grammie every day, it was such a
good move.
So back to the heart of this story, after we bought
our house my Mother-in-Law told me she had
something for me. On one of their visits from
Michigan, my inlaws had a beautiful, huge Persian
carpet in the back of the Cadillac. My Mother-in-Law
said it had been her Mother's when she had her first
house and she wanted me to have it since I had such
a lovely relationship with her Mom ~ we were both
Ellens. I cherish it and it has been in our family room
ever since.
After my Mother-in-Law passed away we inherited
the runner pictured above. It needed a cleaning but
I didn't want to send it out because I was afraid they
might use chemicals and I try to keep harsh chemicals
out of our life. I remember seeing a show on PBS many
years ago about wool carpets and they said you could
wash them yourself. I checked on youtube and found
many tutorials and finally I found the courage to try
this on my own. I was so afraid I might ruin it.
First I vacuumed it well on both sides. I then
saturated it with the hose, don't just get it wet,
you want to fill it with water. I worked on my deck
but a concrete driveway would work as well.
I then turned it over and walked all over it like
you were crushing grapes. You want to get any
dirty or debris to move from between the fibers.
Then I turned it over again and added soapy
water (I used a product made for wool) in a
circular motion with a soft brush. Once again,
walk on it like you are stomping grapes. I did
this on the top and bottom of the rug.
Then it was time to rinse and squeegee. Use a
floor squeegee, not the type for windows. I
rinsed and squeegeed many times until it looked
like the rinse water was clear.
I then moved it to a dry area of the deck and
let it drain for a few hours. Then I put it upside
down on the lawn. This was to prevent static
that could harm the lanolin in the fibers.
Of course, Murphy's Law would have it that it
started to rain later in the day, so I brought it
into the gazebo and let it dry draped over a few
chairs. Leave it until completely dry.
It is now in another section of our family room
and Mia the Wonder dog thinks it is just for her.
We call it her Magic Carpet.
