The Curse of the White Carpet

It's almost a year since we replaced our living room carpet with white carpeting. New rules were immediately implemented.

Special carpet cleaning liquids were purchased. Good thing. Within a week I spilled coffee on the new carpet. Since we could clean it up, I was allowed to remain.

Shoes must be removed before entering the carpeted area. This means the entire downstairs, excluding the kitchen and bathroom, the stairs and the second floor hallway.

I bought two pairs of footwear to be worn only in the house. My wife designated shoes she already had for this purpose. Visitors are kind. They obey the no-shoes rule gracefully.

Service persons come to the back door to get to the basement to read the gas meter. The man who delivers salt for our basement water softener not only comes to the back but takes his shoes off even before entering the kitchen. Truly extraordinary.

I walk through the house, eyes downward, looking for anything that would mar the pristine surface of the white carpet. If I find a speck I quickly pick it up or get the zuuper, which is what we call our hand-held vacuum cleaner.

My brain is now on automatic alert. If I thoughtlessly begin to step on the carpet with my outdoor shoes a mental alarm goes off. I stop in my tracks and replace outdoor with indoor footwear.

Were we nuts to buy white carpeting? One friend wasted no time telling me we had made a mistake. I didn't think that was a very sensitive remark. On the other hand he may have been right, but about 11 months after installation the white carpet still looks white. More importantly, my wife loves it.

We are on constant vigil to avoid the curse of the white carpet.

Caution is the watchword.