I am asthmatic since a work-related injury in 2003, and dust really has an effect on me. When I got the doublewide, it had been sitting in the dealer lot for about 4 or so years. In that time, the windows were bashed out and the plastic separating the sides torn down, so the house was exposed to the elements for a long time. Consequently, there was a huge amount of clean-up to do. The original carpet was still in the place, and if it had been protected it probably would have been all right for a while in the long run.
I fixed, cleaned (and cleaned, and cleaned.....)and replaced things that were missing, and moved in. For about a year things were okay.....then I started noticing that the place was getting dustier and dustier and no matter how much I vacuumed, dusted, etc, it wasn't doing any good. I would rug-doctor the carpet and things were great till it dried out. Then it was dusty again. (Picture PigPen....that was the carpet)
I got really tired of it, and one day I decided enough was enough. Bare floors were preferrable to the crummy carpet. I started in the den and took all the books out of the bookcases (I found out there are around 400 books in the process), and then took the bookcases and the rest of the furniture out. Then I pulled up the carpet and padding. I didn't even bother taking it through the front door. I opened the den window and pitched the mess out.
Next I cleaned the bare floors and made a trip to the local Wal-Mart for floor scrapers and paint. I painted the floor evergreen and then sat and thought about what to do to make it look different. I searched the Web and found RollerWall systems; they paint a wallpaper-like pattern on walls or floors. They had all kinds of different patterns and I decided to get one or so and put a painted pattern on the base color, and then coat the whole thing with two coats of polyurethane. Much cheaper than linolium and more durable....not to mention customized to taste.
At this point, about 90% of the carpet that was in the house is outside in a heap, awaiting a bonfire. Going to send it off with a real Viking funeral when everything is done.
In the meantime...............
I was on my favorite site in the world....Ebay.....and for fun did a search for rollerwall. Now it was my turn to be surprised.
Of course I grabbed them! WOOHOO!
It's a 1947 40-inch O'Keefe and Merritt gas range, complete and functional. I have long wanted a vintage stove to replace the countertop stove and wall oven when I started to remodel the kitchen.
It's a real beauty, isn't it? It has everything a proper vintage range ought to. I dearly love old stuff.....it has character and when you touch it you can almost hear the voices of its past.
