First the Feathers – Now This

First I had the episode of the feathers.  Floofy feathers everywhere — thanks to my washing of a down filled coat that didn’t hold in its feather guts.

And now this.

Rubber.

Bits and pieces of rubber.

Several inches deep.  Smirking up at me from the bottom of my washing machine.

Let me explain.

I have a rug by the back door.  People wipe their dirty feet on it.  Day in.  Day out.  Week in.  Week out.  The original country blue color was held hostage by the grunge brown from daily use.

I thought that it was time to wash the rug so I tossed it into the washing machine.  Soap and warm water sloshed the rug.  Then round and round the spin cycle went, wringing out the water – and ripping the rubber backing off the rug by an exceptionally strong centrifugal force.  Into hundreds and hundreds of tiny bits and pieces of rubber.

There was one silver lining to this rubber fiasco.  Rubber does not cling to the sides of the washing machine like soggy feathers do.

I filled the washing machine with water.  I grabbed my strainer.  Over and over I filled it with rubber pieces and then dumped those pieces into the garbage.  Half an hour of filling and dumping.  Does anybody realize  just how much rubber backing there is on a 2′ X 4′ rug?  Way too much if you ask me.

Now, the rug sits limp in a spineless heap in the back entry.  It slips this-a-way.  It slides that-a-way.  Not very safe for an old geezer like me — or wee grand babes when they come to visit.  (I have gone shopping a couple of times to find a replacement but haven’t found anything that I like  . . . )

My Whirlpool washing machine was transformed into a cesspool.  Feathers.  Bits o’ rubber.

What next?