It's been a while since I've filled you in on our final enduring bone of contention with our landlord. You may remember that ever since we moved into this flat, more than four years ago, we've been living with very light-colored, somewhat stained and bedraggled wall-to-wall carpeting in the dining room. We hate this carpet. It has bald spots, mysterious blotches and dark stains around the edges of the room. I'd rather not show you pictures but trust me, it's bad.
Well, OK, here's one picture I've shown you before:
You can see some of the spots, but not the full horrid effect.
Anyway, a few months back we renewed our efforts to get the carpeting replaced. We sent photos -- as we'd done before -- and this time, lo and behold, the landlord seems to be listening.
Last week I got a computer-generated e-mail from the management company saying an appointment had been arranged for someone to come and take care of a reported "vermin" problem. At first I was really annoyed because I thought they were talking about our mice issue, and while we might in fact need someone to check that out if it persists, the fact is we hadn't reported it -- which would have meant that one of our neighbors did. My mind immediately flew to Mrs. Kravitz, who has complained about mouse issues of her own. "She's blaming her mice on us!" I fumed.
And then I called the management company and it's not mice they're worried about at all. It's carpet moths.
Apparently they think the bald spots in our rug were caused by moths, and they want to make sure we don't have an ongoing infestation before they install new carpet. So they sent a guy, and he looked around briefly but confided to Dave that he wasn't really sure what he was doing here, and then the manager called me yesterday and asked if I'd seen any moths. I said not recently -- which is true, though a pair of Dave's pants were damaged by moths shortly after we moved in. We discarded them, bought some moth-proofing sachets for the closets and that was that.
So, anyway, the upshot seems to be that a new carpet may, in fact, be on the way. If the landlord is concerned about moths, I'm not sure why she doesn't just avoid carpet with natural fibers. Moths only eat wool, don't they? They're not going to eat acrylic. I have no objection to artificial fibers in a rug.
(Top photo: A sign in Chiswick on Saturday. Bollocks indeed!)
There's no way I would donate my bollocks to Brexit! Oh, and you are right about polyester carpets - no carpet moths. If you get a choice I would suggest that the best colour for your new carpet would be lime green or possibly chocolate brown.
ReplyDeleteLOL at YP - I'm pretty sure that Brexit doesn't want his bollocks :)
ReplyDeleteThe carpet in our house is pretty awful too. A sort of light blue not quite shag with LOTS of stains on it. I'm pretty sure our landlords can't really afford to change it though. They just have a few rental properties to help save for retirement. But if we stay for many more years we might investigate getting it replaced.
Bollocks to Brexit indeed!
ReplyDeleteNew carpet would be so exciting! Hurray!
I hope that the new carpet arrives and the mice disappear.
ReplyDeletewhy would anyone put carpet in the dining room in the first place? but that would be great if she finally has it replaced.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of moths in carpets, there are no more carpets in our apartment building they have now put wood laminate flooring in all the apartments, I don't care for carpet but the dogs do, when they don't sleep on the sofa lol,,,,,,
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear you got an answer from the manager. Now if only I could get the same. My carpeting is all wrinkled. I talked to the office manager and she said it needs to be stretched but, she made it sound like I would be responsible for moving all the furniture in order to get it done. That was in the heat of the summer so I let it go. Now that it's cooled off, I need to readdress the issue and I hope I get better results. After all, it's not my fault they installed low-quality carpeting.
ReplyDeleteI love that sign!
Absentee (or absent minded) landlords seem to be a problem everywhere. My sympathies.
ReplyDeleteMothproof pure wool carpets exist.
ReplyDeleteBrexit is bollocks indeed.
Oh, the carpets I have had to endure in rentals! The most horrible was dark green with an orange lattice pattern on it. In the dining room! It was older than the hills, and that's why the landlord love it so much! It had been his home for decades and the carpet had sentimental value. Barf.
ReplyDeleteI hope you do get your carpet replaced. Do you get any say in the color and fiber content? Hope so!
Why didn't she just listen to you in the first place about the carpet? Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteYP: Bug said it first! Even lime green would be better than what we have now.
ReplyDeleteBug: Well, that's the thing. If you're staying a short time it's not as important, but Dave and I don't see ourselves moving anytime soon. (Hopefully.)
Ms Moon: It would be the last step in our overall home-improvement campaign, which included the repainting and the other work we've done. Woo hoo!
Red: We haven't seen any mice in almost a month, knock on wood.
Ellen: Well, I agree. Finishing the floor would be even better. I think she wants the room carpeted, though, for whatever reason.
Laurie: I haven't either! Maybe it only happens in England? Do we have more moths here? LOL
Sharon: My mom has that same problem in her condo in Florida. I think, as you said, it's just low-quality carpeting. Frustrating!
Catalyst: I wish I knew more about our landlord. I have no idea whether she owns other properties, or works? Does she have lots of other distractions in her life? Who knows.
Sabine: Really?! See, why doesn't my landlord know that?!
Tara: That DOES sound like hideous carpeting. No one has asked us to contribute to the discussion about color or style. Hmmm...
Colette: We've been trying to get this done for years. She just stonewalls us, though I think part of the problem was the previous maintenance coordinator for the property manager's office. Convincing him to get anything done took an act of God. He has since moved on and things are better now.