A Chat with the Neighbor — Cleaning Carpets

Q — Good evening, neighbor.

A — A happy evening to you, Umm Sabah. Where have you been all this while? Whenever I look over toward your house and see the windows shut, I feel uneasy. Tell me, how is your sister-in-law?

Q — Praise God, she is much better, but she is still weak and cannot get up from her bed. My mother-in-law stayed on with her, and I came back just to put away the carpets — and in my hurry I have forgotten how my mother-in-law taught me to do it... Do tell me, neighbor, how do I do it? For its time has come, and I want to be done with it before my mother-in-law comes back and we go up to the mountain.

A — Gladly, Umm Sabah. Look: tomorrow, very early in the morning, take it up to the roof and spread it out on its back, and at noon turn it over so it dries out well. After that lay the carpet out on the floor, face down, and beat it with the carpet beater — and if you haven't got one, I'll lend you ours —

Q — Oh, but we do have a carpet beater. Bless you.

A — Good, then. Beat the carpet and give it its fill of beating; then have someone help you fold it back a little, and sweep out the dust from under it — you'll see how much dirt comes out — and keep doing that until nothing more comes out of it.

Q — Tell me, neighbor — I remember my mother used to hang the carpet over the wall and beat it.

A — My mother did that too, and to this day there are still plenty of people who hang their carpets over the wall; but that way shortens a carpet's life.

Q — And then? Do I put them away?

A — Patience, neighbor — there is still plenty before the putting away. After that, open the carpet out face up, wet a piece of cloth with kerosene, and wipe the face of the carpet well, for kerosene cleans off all the spots and dirt and gives the carpet a shine and a luster. Why, the English wet newspapers with kerosene and lay them the whole length of the carpet, and pack it away for the following year.

Q — And I suppose they roll it right up — isn't that so, neighbor?

A — Just so — because folding exposes the folded edges to wear and gives the carpet ugly creases. And what matters too is that you put them in an airy place, high off the floor, so that the damp doesn't get at them...

Q — Tell me, you haven't said anything about naphthalene?

A — You must also put in naphthalene or D.D.T. to kill the moths and the insects... And our old ladies used to use zanzalakht leaves — that was before they discovered naphthalene and D.D.T., which are deadlier than anything else against moths and the rest of the insects.

Q — And neighbor, tell me: the carpet in my dining room is very dirty — how often my sister-in-law's children have spilled soup and milk on it! I had it in mind to wash it with water and soap. What do you say — would anything happen to it?

A — If it is a Persian carpet, a Kashan, or one of the good old kinds, the best thing for it is a wash with water and baladi soap, and you will see how it perks up and how its color brightens. But if your dining-room carpet is one of the new European carpets, mind you don't wash it or expose it to the sun for a long time, lest it lose the brightness of its colors; be content with wiping it well with kerosene, for kerosene truly does clean very well.

Q — Thank you so much, neighbor... I shall do exactly as you told me. Let me learn something new while I'm still alone in the house — for if my mother-in-law were here, she would never let me do anything except the way her granny taught her. And there would have to be an argument, ending with her vexed. And truly, my heart is worn out with arguing. If only anything could persuade her! She insists on going on doing everything just the way her granny taught her — and this age is full of so many new things and inventions.. For instance, every time her son says let us get an electric sweeper, she raises the roof at me: 'You put your husband up to it!' And however much I swear to her that I never taught him any such thing, she doesn't believe me — so that I begged him never to open the subject of electricity in front of her again...

A — It's a small matter, Umm Sabah; you have a broad mind — be patient with her! And let us see you again.

Q — Keep well, neighbor, and bless you.

A — Go in peace, Umm Sabah.