Thursday, July 29, 2010

The Dog Picked Today

To pee on the dining room rug. A lot. Tonight my friend Erika, my pedicure pal and partner in numerous capers, arrives from California with her husband and baby. So I am tidying and swishing things up. And I got back from taking the kids out to breakfast to find a big puddle of dogwhiz in my entryway. She went on the wood floor in the entryway and it spread to the dining room rug.

Matt had helpfully marked the spot with a pile of paper towels. (Let us not dwell on the question of why he didn't clean up the pee. I'm going to assume that at the precise moment he noticed the dog's mess, an angel straight from heaven was ringing the doorbell with a telegram from Jesus. Or, maybe he spied a 1930's silent film baby crawling along the ledge of a half-built skyscraper, wearing an adorable bonnet and an impish expression, oblivious to its immediate peril. Whatever, I'm sure he meant to return to the dog pee, so I will harbor no grudge.)

Where was I? So, questions:

1) You know what happens to a jute rug when you get it wet?

It puckers. And even after it dries, it will never quite be flat and smooth again.

2) Do you know what that means for cleaning such a rug?

It means you can't clean it with water.

3) So why did I put the one rug in the house that can't be cleaned in the dining room of all places, where spills and such are inevitable?

I don't know. If you figure that one out, tell me.

We've been in this house with that rug for four years. Maybe that's how long a jute rug lasts? But I don't know if I can find another one I like that much--it's an adorable striped one from Pottery Barn. But don't be all picturing a striped rug just because I said it's striped. It's a subtle stripe. You got that? SUBTLE.

So what I did do was to spray a bunch of that enzymatic pet mess cleaner on the affected areas and rotate the rug 180 degrees so that the stain is hidden in the corner. What would you have done?

What have y'all got going on? Tomorrow we'll go up to the North Carolina with our buds for some more tubing and mountain activities. Then back to ATL, then I'll drive the kids to Florida before I head to BlogHer in NYC. This all happens in the next week somehow. I'm not sure how but it will be a mysterious process.

9 comments:

Lisa Lilienthal said...

I cannot answer many of your questions (especially the one about why Matt didn't take care of it, but I love him anyway) but we live by this product called Folex that gets stains and smells out of carpet and fabric. I can usually get it at Home Depot or sometimes Target or PetSmart. Goodluck!

David said...

This happened to us, and the good news is that the warping might not be permanent, exactly. Just very long-lived. Our rug finally settled back into near-total flatness.

Careful with that enzymatic stuff, though. We learned the hard way that *it* can stain things.

puncturedbicycle said...

Oh my word sister, I am feeling your pain. Yes, I would have and have done what you did. (Would it be so bad just to blot and leave it?) We have jute rugs in every sodding room and the 'new' dog has peed and/or puked on each and every blessed one, so help me. The day he got trapped in the guest room and POLLUTED that rug so very thoroughly, well, I just had to chuck it. A little pee can't be that bad, surely.
BTW, I have found that a) water and water alone can bleach the colour of the rug and b) an old tea bag can be used to restore the natural colour (this possibly doesn't apply if there is a stripe), and c) puckering has never been more than a temporary problem. Your mileage may vary.
Good luck!

Damaris @Kitchen Corners said...

my baby peed on my bed today, a lot. babies are kindda like dogs I guess

Jenni said...

This reminds me: Yesterday, Oscar was showing my mom how our dog had chewed his foam football, "Valentine chewed my football," he said. "Oh, bad dog!" My mom replied. Oscar says, "Yeah, fucking dog."

So, yeah, fucking dog.

Also, I get an A+ in parenting for yesterday.

Beth said...

OMG, Jenni, that is a priceless story.

I think you solved it perfectly, Becky. I don't really even know what a jute rug is, so I'm going to have to abstain from any advice. Have fun with E & T & D and I can't wait to hear about BlogHer. I want to go next year.

M said...

I'm excited for you to go to Blogher. Have you been before? Please share your insider perspective on this event. I've only been to one non-academic conference (business) and I was blown away by how well it was run;it was fascinating to see how the other half lives. ;)

Mary
Flat Rock Creek Notebook

Anonymous said...

We had to eliminate all of our area rugs after we got pets and I'm still kicking myself for the carpets in the bedrooms.

I have no idea what a jute rug is but the subtle stripes sound lovely. Tuck away the stain, it's what I'd do.

Looking forward to meeting you tomorrow!

- Lisette

Lawyer Mom said...

Hmm. I wonder if the dog is sick?

P.S. you might try a soft sisal next (they're newish -- the soft ones -- and my rug guy told me they're easy to clean . . . )