Oh boy, did I have a total fail today.
We own a pellet stove, which is really lovely for warmth, but it must be vacuumed out every week. Yes, you read that right....every week. We're not talking anything quick. I have to cool the stove down, take the inner box workings apart and then scrape and vacuum out the whole thing with a stove dedicated shop vac. It is filthy dirty and time consuming. The soot gets in my finger nails and stains my skin, but it must be done.
I'm very careful to not get any ash, soot or dust on my furniture. I even drape a wet rag over the shop vac exhaust system, just in case. 
Today I did that and everything was going well. Until I turned around when I was almost done and couldn't see ANYTHING behind me. The room looked like a coal plant with sooty air covering the room. I yelled for the kids and they opened up the doors wide, 0 degrees or not. Then I tried not to cry. Or scream. I did succeed, but barely.
When the air settled, soot covered my walls, fabrics, floors, wall art, countertops...everything.
(This is my hand after running it over a wall)
My valance
I'm not sure what happened with the filter, but the vacuum is heading to the dump. I'm SO mad and the shop vac will bear the brunt of my anger.
I have cleaned up the best I can for today, but the rest of tomorrow will be spent attempting to wash it off the surfaces of my kitchen, living room and dining room. Before my little post Christmas party tomorrow night. Ugg.
Oh Dear Miranda, What an awful thing to happen, soot all over your room. I wish we could get together so I could help you clean. Take a deep breath, and "work like the clappers" as we say here in England...it means work as fast as you can to get the job done.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was first married, many moons ago, we had an open coal fire, which made our home lovely and warm, but I had to clean the grate every morning to clear the ashes, that was such a dirty job and then I did not have a hoover, I had to use a dust pan and brush....I have to admit I used to get into a "bit of a state" with the ash and soot.
Just a thought, put your favourite music on your ipod or dvd player whilst cleaning and the music will take your mind off how annoyed you feel.
Best Wishes
Daphne
Oh no. I would lose the pellet stove and get an old fashioned wood stove. What a lot of bother to have to go through every week!
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