Every time we do it, we gather 'round to watch the pouring of the mud from the "after" tank of the machine, and there's an air of celebration around the whole thing. I fully expect my children to remember these experiences with a fondness bordering the feeling they have for Christmas.

But, really, it should be a deeply horrifying and shameful experience. Judging by what we shampoo out of our carpets, we obviously let our children eat and frolic in filth on a daily basis. What's wrong with us?

Rather than giving up on carpets altogether and moving into a dirt-floored sod hut (which would probably have less dirt than our carpets do regularly), I did find some helpful information on proper vacuuming techniques. I had no idea that I should be passing the vacuum 5-7 times over heavily soiled areas of my carpet (ie ALL of it.) Apparently I suck at vacuuming, har!

Anyway, I have to get back to work. Sick as it is, it really is a pretty fun job...