The Great Oreck Intervention

Wooohooo!

 I’m here today to report a miracle.

My vacuum cleaner worked.

Quietly.

This may seem like a small matter to you, but it’s obviously a big deal to me. You see, for months, my vacuum cleaner has sounded like a lawn mower sucking gravel from a concrete floor.

I had been living with it because it was still  working… somewhat.

Plus, I’m too cheap to buy a new one.

Plus, I was ashamed to confess to the husband that I might possibly have killed another electric appliance.

We bought this particular upright because of my back problems.  We wanted something powerful yet lightweight, something that I could use every day if I wanted to.  Not that I wanted to.  

The Oreck XL seemed to fit the bill.

And you know how Mr. Oreck man says

 that it’s powerful enough to lift a bowling ball?

It isn’t.

It is, however, powerful enough to suck the fringe off a rug, a cloth off a table, and a curtain off a rod. Don’t ask me how I know this. Let’s just say that little sucker is the reason we can’t have small pets.

This phenomenon makes it a poor choice for those of us who like to retreat to our happy spot while doing the household chores.  One careless pass too close to the window and happy thoughts are interrupted by a high pitched squeal and the smell of burning rubber.  

I’m sure someone can relate.

I don’t know how you handle this, but I usually scream for a minute before turning off the machine and extracting the offending object from around the beater bars. If you unwrap gently and slowly, no one is the wiser.

Angry little tugs, however, can make the belt slip a little.  Very angry tugs can snap it completely. I’m not exactly sure what putting both feet on the beater bar while yanking out an entire spool of pink satin ribbon does, but the result sounds like a lawn mower sucking gravel off a concrete floor.

You can see why I had been reluctant to mention this recent episode to the husband.  I just suffered in silence. Too bad I couldn’t say the same for the Oreck.

Until yesterday.

Because yesterday, after months of gravel grinding, I plugged him in, and he ran as quietly and efficiently as when he was brand new. I’m almost positive that I could push him around easier too. I was so delighted that I cleaned the entire house.

Now, clearly the man of the house didn’t fix the Oreck; he’s been out of town all week. Plus, I hadn’t told him that the Oreck was in need of fixing.  I certainly didn’t fix it. My specialty is breaking.

But fixed it is.

I’m putting this in the electronic miracle category and calling it an act of Divine Oreck Intervention. I had a little service of thanksgiving, too.

And then I started thinking about my Divine Oreck Intervention…

And about the whirly swirly gremlin living in my computer.

I’ve been living with Della the demon possessed laptop for just about as long as I’ve been living with the protesting Oreck, yet it was the Oreck who got the faith healing.

Maybe God is much more interested in my cleaning than my blogging.

Just sayin’…

Have you ever had a divine appliance intervention?