I bought a carpet rake the other day, and it arrived on my
doorstep yesterday afternoon. I spent part of yesterday
evening raking my carpet. It's not as bizarre as it sounds.
Since I'm selling my house, I'm paying more attention to
things that would otherwise be of little importance. I
blame the Realtors and also the home magazines, that make
people feel like they must purchase a "dream," and that
the dream must be a super-model.
Anyway, I noticed that my carpet was looking a little
matted in the high-traffic areas. I have a vacuum and even
a shampooer, and so I tried those multiple times. The areas
are super clean, but they still don't look awesome. Not
super-model awesome.
Then I remembered that when my brother sold his house years
ago, he spruced up his dreary carpet with a carpet rake.
Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like; a rake to run over
your carpet. It's also called a "carpet groomer," but that
doesn't sound as freakish as using a rake inside your house
so I'll stick with rake.
From the handle to the head, it looks mostly like a rake
you might use to gather leaves. At the end, however, you
will find a series of plastic bristles about 2in in length,
and in two rows. They are firm, yet flexible. None have
broken so far.
To operate the thing, you simple push and drag it back
and forth again over your carpet. It seems to untangle the
fibers, making them stand up again (good fibers!) After
you've raked it, you're supposed to vacuum it again, to
pick up any loosened dirt. I plan on vacuuming and also
shampooing some areas after the raking.
I think I'll decide to be pleased with the purchase. I
hope that whoever comes to see the house will, at least
for a moment, feel like they're getting as much super-
model as they can afford.
