Bad Hoover



When Girl was a tiny blonde thing, she would push the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner along the carpet and say ‘hoove, hoove, hoove,’ until the game of housework was trumped by a walk to the beach. Entertaining.
I have spent time without a vacuum cleaner, as I have lived without most appliances at some point. Unintentional yet educational: time spent sweeping carpets, thrashing rugs, boiling a pan for a cup of tea, cooking on an open fire, cooking in a woodburner, treading washing in the bath, making shadow puppet improvisations. (The washing machine, the internet and a hoover, if we must live with carpets, are the things I choose to keep most. In that order.)
Yesterday, after viewing the front room carpet, I trundled our hoover out. It is a small machine and for reasons of compactness the hose attaches to the body of it at a 90 degree angle. This bend gets blocked. To unblock, brave fingers must venture in, unsighted, and seize a clump of, hopefully, Dog hair. Yes, disgusting. I perform this procedure outdoors, sat on the doorstep, flailing a hose over the bin. Yes, it is mostly Dog hair. Also there’s that bit of courgette I dropped whilst piling the slow cooker (good machine) with veg and meat. Which is when it occurs to me that there’s something healthy about being close to dirt. One feels more connected, more responsible, more appreciative. I have revolting dust on my nose and one day, maybe, I will have a better machine: meanwhile this bad hoover helps me bond with my home. 



Comments

Geo. said…
Delightful post! We have mixed feelings about Hoover here too but usually in connection with our 31st president.
1 September 2012 at 05:14
Suze said…
I am glad you have the Internet. I would be poorer for not having read your words.

Sending you my love across the sea.
1 September 2012 at 14:00
Susan Flett Swiderski said…
What a precious memory of your daughter "hooving" when she was a little thing. Made me smile, and think of how my own kids thought it was great fun to help me around the house when they were little. Of course, that opinion changed considerable when they hit the teenage years.
1 September 2012 at 18:41
Lisa Southard said…
Geo- I pressed publish on this post before I remembered that Hoover is not just a domestic appliance- this dirt digging is literal not political- hope no-one's disappointed!
Suze- well travelled love received :-)
Susan- indeed the teenage years were not much use around the house- still kept the amusement levels up though!
1 September 2012 at 20:34
Stephanie V said…
And you're also healthier for having connected with the dirt. My mother would have said we kids were building up our immune systems. Being a reluctant housekeeper, I agree with that philosophy.


I, too, have lived without appliances. Hoovers are handy helpers.
2 September 2012 at 19:02
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