Carpet Emergency
I have one of those mini-stepper exercise machines that I use on almost a daily basis. I bought a cheap one, and as luck would have it, the thing broke today. I never read the instructions, so I didn’t know that I wasn’t supposed to use it for more than 20 minutes at a time. The reason for this is that friction generated from the hydraulic shocks can cause the oil seals to get too hot, which makes them prone to leakage.
Well, that’s precisely what happened to me today. First, oil started leaking out. Then when I tried turning the machine over to see what the problem was, one of the shocks came out altogether, which led to even more oil gushing out. This was completely unexpected and I was caught off guard. The result: a huge oil stain in the middle of the carpet in my office.
I was able to blot up most of the oil, but I know a lot of it soaked through as well. So I need to find an effective way to clean oil off of carpeting. Luckily, the carpeting is very dark, so the oil stain itself isn’t noticeable unless you’re looking for it. But the smell is god-awful (Febreeze didn’t work on that) and makes me gag if I try to sit in here for extended periods.
I’ve checked some home remedy type sites, but haven’t found any good tips yet. If you know of anything, please pass the info on to me!