Cleanliness is next to....

You've heard that saying, right? "Cleanliness is next to godliness." Who came up with that, and what does it mean, exactly?

The thought crossed my mind today as two strange men were at my house with a rather large, loud, steam-producing van unit parked in my driveway with a giant hose extending into my living room. They were cleaning my carpets.

I've never had my carpets cleaned before. I've lived in places where the carpets had been cleaned, of course. But I have never actually paid someone to come in and clean my carpet. But it was forced upon me by the two four-legged residents of my house. More on that later.

I've always felt that carpet cleaning was somewhat of a racket. You know, like something you aren't really sure you need, but everyone says you do, and of course, the carpet people say you need to have it done. You could hire the professionals, do it yourself with one of those rental units from the grocery store, or even purchase your own carpet cleaning contraption. Which is exactly what Mom did, and probably part of the reason I have an aversion to it.

Mom bought a Kirby vacuum cleaner when I was in Junior High. She still has it, of course, since the things are built to last through nuclear war. I hated that thing. It was ugly, heavy, and you had to struggle with the dumb thing every time you wanted to use the hose or any accessory. But Mom's favorite attachment was the carpet cleaner. I remember right after she got it, she cleaned the carpets in the entire house. I'm sure it needed to be done - there were nine people living in the house, and two-thirds were under the age of 12. Ugh, it was such a hassle. Recently, a Kirby sales rep came to the door and I took my hatred of the Kirby vacuum cleaner out on her. Well, part of the wrath she felt was due to the fact that she'd rung the doorbell during the middle of dinner....She couldn't imagine why I loathed such a great vacuum cleaner. If she only knew.

I can't think of a Kirby vacuum cleaner without thinking of "Kirby," the vacuum cleaner from The Brave Little Toaster. I have seen that movie way too many times, due to an obession by Hot Little Brother when he was actually little. Cute movie the first 957 times. After that, you come to wonder if it is a new form of torture. Probably also part of the reason I loathe all things Kirby vacuum.

The actual reason I had to have my carpets cleaned is my dogs. They went nuts. Over the course of the last week, they have "done things" in the house they know they shouldn't be doing. And they hid it very well...for a few days. When I found all of the spots, I thought my head was going to explode. They probably did too. So after exhausting all of my resources (carpet cleaner and white towels), I called in the pros. I must say, they did a very good job. At least I think so.

But what do I know, since I've never had my carpets cleaned?