I had my carpets cleaned today by Stanley Steemer.  They worked quickly, but now I’m stranded in a room without carpet to keep my socks dry.  (If you’ve ever had your carpets cleaned, you know what I’m talking about!) 

The man who cleaned the carpet told me something that I never knew.  When we moved into our home, the house was in very good condition, however, the carpets were dark around the baseboards.  I tried cleaning the area myself, but to no avail.  I chalked it up to negligent previous owners (why not?) and tried to ignore the black areas.

The guy today told me that it was due to burning candles?!?  He said that air gets pulled through the various vents in your home, but that air also gets pulled in by the baseboards, too.  When people burn candles, the very small amount of smoke that is emitted travels through the air and pulled through the carpet near the baseboards.  He said that over time, it stains the carpet and most likely will not be resolved (no pun intended).

You learn something new everyday!