We got rid of all of the carpet in our house a couple of years ago. Now it is time to get rid of our Kirby Gen 4 vacuum cleaner. Yes, I could use the Kirby on our laminate flooring, but it is getting too heavy to haul up and down the steps every time I want to use it. We decided to donate it to our parish when we found out they needed a vacuum cleaner.
A couple of months ago I had already wiped the Kirby down and packed all of the accessories in a box. Still, I wanted to make sure that I had covered all of my bases before I gave it away. Did I clean the roller? Yes. Better check the em-tor to make sure that there are no diamonds that got sucked up in there. Good thing I looked.
When I removed the em-tor I gave it a little shake. A couple of rocks fell out, and then a dust bunny caught my eye. Good thing I saw it. I pulled on it, and more came out. Then more, and more. The thing was loaded. I shook it, and dared to put my fingers in, and then finally grabbed the double-pointed knitting needle which I keep by my sewing machine to reach in and get the remains. By the time I was done I had about three cups of sand, cement, pins, screws, dirt, hair and change in a large pile on the floor. Really gross. I fished out all of the coins before I swept up the pile. I know they came from the time we cleaned out our daughter's car, and I knew they would be really dirty. When we did the car we had cleaned out everything imaginable that a kid could spill in a car - chocolate and white milk. pop, milk shakes, ice cream, melted candy, chips. I soaked the money in dish soap. Then I dumped it in Basic H and water and let it sit overnight. This morning I rubbed it with baking soda, and then finally added vinegar to the baking soda. Still, I can see lots of stuff still sticking to the coins.
The morals of the story are,
1. Your mom was right when she told you not to put money in your mouth because you do not know where it has been.
and,
2. If you have a Kirby, give that em-tor a good shake when you check it, and turn it over to see the inside.
I thought I had been doing that, but obviously, I had not been doing that well enough.
