A couple months ago we bought a rug for our living room to help make it feel a little more like home, and to have a softer place to sit and play on our all-tile floor. So, once we bought the carpet we decided to purchase a small "dust-buster"-type vacuum to clean it when it gets dirty. However, quickly I learned that the quality of vacuums here aren't the greatest...at least not the one I purchased. It would take me about 30 minutes to do a half-decent job on my 6'x8' rug. I used to like vacuuming because of the instant gratification that came from a once dirty room being transformed into a wonderfully fresh vacuum-lined room! But there was no "instant" with this vacuum. But I did this for a couple months. All the while, my pembantu (house-helper) must have been laughing at me on the inside the entire time. Because one day last week, while I was attempting to vacuum the carpet again (while Corey and the girls were watching), she suggested I try a new way...the way Indonesians "vacuum" rugs.
This is what she handed me:
I confess, both Corey and I were more than a bit skeptical as to how this could possibly do a better job than a vacuum! But, Corey graciously took it and began sweeping with it (in the way we would hold a broom). She smiled at him and said the way he was doing it would take a lot longer, so she asked is she could show us how she does it. She held it at a 45 degree angle on the carpet and began sweeping. Within two minutes the entire carpet was clean, she then proceeded to use a normal broom to sweep up around the carpet and...ta-da...it was clean! So much for western technology! I spent about $20 for a small vacuum that didn't work how I had hoped, and then my pembantu handed me a little broom that cost about 50 cents that did an amazing job. I think there's plenty more for me to learn here. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment