Finally! A few minutes to write. We’ve been so busy finalizing house contracts, packing, hiring contractors, working, taking care of children, and trying to get a few hours of sleep each night, that I haven’t been able to sit at the computer for more than 10 minutes at a time. The great thing about all this busy-ness, though, is that none of it has involved the new baby! She is doing so well that for the first time during this pregnancy, I did not have to go to the Dr. this week! A whole week without a Dr. appointment of any kind! I’ve kept checking my schedule to make sure I’m not missing something, but it’s true!
One of the things that have kept us busy is carpet. All of the carpet in the new house has to be replaced. I don’t mean I would like to have pretty, fluffy new carpet. I mean it HAS to be replaced. The light cream-colored, builder’s grade, matted pile of stained fuzz that is currently somewhat adhered to the ground has endured over a decade of small children, various pets, and tenants. If you recall from an earlier post, I get a little obsessive about data and making decisions. I’ve found the world of carpet to be pretty overwhelming given these cognitive and emotional challenges. Usually, I pray about big decisions, and I know God cares even about the small stuff, but I felt a little silly asking for clarity about choosing frieze or plush. I won’t bore you with the whole, two week long elimination process, but want to share about how we arrived at a final decision. Mario, by the way, was VERY patient, and participated when I needed him to.
Our main criteria for carpet were stain resistance, durability, impact on our health, and environmental friendliness. I can’t tell you how grateful we are for our carpet salesman. If you live in our area and are in the market for new flooring or counters, PLEASE visit Tom at Five Star Floors. I don’t think I’ve ever met someone in sales so patient, honest, and knowledgeable. We ended up choosing to get a shorter stranded frieze in a medium weight with a dense, moisture backed, no VOC pad. Unfortunately, there were two in our budget that met these criteria. One was a nylon product by Shaw, and one made of a newer material called Smartstrand by Mohawk. After I finished the 150 page book on carpet buying, I started in on online reviews. I saw absolutely no complaints about the Smartstrand, and few about the Anso Nylon. The ones I did see about the nylon all talked about it “fuzzing” on top when it’s vacuumed with a beater bar (the bristly thing that rotates on the bottom of the vacuum). This was concerning because we really need all the help we can get getting dirt out of carpet to protect Mario’s allergic nose, and I would hate to have to use a suction only vacuum.
One hour before we had to have our final choice to Tom, I decided we should run tests of our own. We had handy a sample of both carpets (to keep). We started with staining trials. Smartstrand is supposed to be inherently stain resistant. The nature of the fiber is to resist staining. The Anso Nylon’s surface is treated with a stain resistant chemical. First, we poured grape juice over a corner of each and let it sit for a few minutes before blotting it up and wiping it with a damp cloth. This got most of it out on both carpets, but for good measure, we sprayed a bleach solution on top of each stain. The nylon immediately turned a shade of orange I’ve previously only seen on misguided old lady hair dye jobs. The Smartstrand showed absolutely nothing. Next, we drew on a corner of each carpet with a blue Sharpie marker. Yes, we actually do have Sharpie marker stains on our current carpet. With mild detergent and water, the Smartstrand came clean, and the nylon about 50% clean. Because we had two corners left, I felt a need to come up with two more stains. I would like to have tried vomit, but I’m way past that stage of my pregnancy, so we opted for black mascara and pink lipgloss, both of which were impossible to remove from the nylon. The mascara came out of the Smartstrand, but a very small bit of the lipstick was stubborn.
The Smartstrand was the CLEAR winner for stain resistance, so we moved to the vacuum test. We put each carpet sample on the floor and set our beater bar to a medium height. We ran the vacuum over the center (dry) section of both samples for about 5 minutes. The results were SHOCKING. The Smartstrand showed a tiny bit of fuzzing on top. The nylon was a tangled, chewed up mess that did not even resemble frieze carpet. Had it been hair, it would have had to have been cut off. It was completely irreparable. Though I know that the Anso Nylon is really a quality product, and carpet does not take this kind of abuse on a daily basis, I don’t think I need to tell you which one we chose.
This morning, when I was praying, my mind wandered to the carpet, but not in a distracted, obsessive kind of way. I was thinking about the amazing technology that would allow the Smartstrand to be exposed to such filth and go through such a beating, and come out looking new and clean. I was pretty well in awe of this until I realized that this “technology” has been around for a long, long time. It would take the rest of my blogging days to share all of the stupid mistakes I’ve made that have exposed me to filth and beaten down my soul. I know that in my selfishness, I’ve done some damage to other hearts as well. So how am I able to be joyful, and why don’t I feel, in my obsessiveness, a need to scrub until I reach the grime in my heart? How do I know that despite all of my wrongdoing, I will someday be in heaven with God? Because I am dyed through and through with Smartstrand! OK, not Smartstrand, but I have died. The old me became new the day I prayed and accepted Jesus as my Savior, and the renewing process is continual. The technology has permeated every fiber of my existence and it is permanent. He sees me like you and I see the sample of Smartstrand carpet: pure. The choice, in this case, is easy. No need to research and read reviews, though the testimonies you would gather from many “satisfied customers” are pretty impressive. If you want to experience the cleansing, healing, and protective power of Jesus, you need only believe that He died for you and your sin on the cross, and ask him to live in your heart. Tell him that you have sinned, that you are dirty like the carpet, and ask his forgiveness. You will be inherently changed forever.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life. John 3:16
If you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9
