It's a Dirty Job. (Nope, no "but...")

You know how, sometimes, there are little tasks around the house which you think will take just a moment or two, then they end up taking four hours (or at least 15 minutes)?

I'm not talking about something simple but time-consuming (like installing a new toilet fill valve) or even something slightly complicated which turns out to be a four-hour project (like changing out a garage door opener). I'm talking about something really really simple, which should be a 5-second deal: Emptying the vacuum cleaner.

You see, I was taking some time this morning to do the "weekend" chores--which I had put off until today since Christopher gets back tonight. I had already dusted and swept and thrown the sheets in the wash when I pulled out the vacuum. I had noticed the last time that I was using it that, sometimes, on the "pull-back" it would leave a little smudge of dust on the carpet. No biggie, but annoying on cream colored carpets. I figured I'd flip the vacuum over, wipe it down, and be done. (Of course you all know that this wasn't that easy...)

When I flipped the vacuum onto its back, I noticed that there was, in fact, some "impacted" dirt and carpet fiber-looking stuff around the area where the brushes rotate. I reached in to wipe that out, figuring it was like the random lint that sticks to the edge of the dryer (and always seems to stick to dress shirts when you pull them out). My finger slid along the plastic, and then sank. Hmmm... I had either just punctured the plastic or this was going to make a mess. 

About 15 minutes later, having used a handy car key to dig into some of the crevices and having begun to sneeze volcanically, I declared myself done. The vacuum was still a little dusty, but there was no longer any obvious build-up. Of course there wasn't--it was now in a six-inch mound in front of me on the cream-colored carpet. See... That's where the little jobs get you--they make you forget to take appropriate precautions. (You know... like when the supposedly-empty toilet floods the bathroom floor while you're swapping out fill valves...)

I scooped up as much of the matted dust/fiber wad as I could and hauled it to the trash, being careful not to sneeze along the way. Then I went back and looked at the mess I was leaving behind and decided that he who made the mess should also have to clean it up. So I flipped the vacuum upright, turned it on, and POOF! clean floor. 

I know... That shouldn't have been a big thrill for me. After all, the point of cleaning out all of that back-up was for the vacuum to clean better. But, still... after the issues with the garage door opener, it was nice to have something come out the way I had intended.