Spring cleaning?

What was it they say about spring time?

Oh yes, it's spring cleaning. It's that thing everyone knows about, but no-one wants to go anywhere near ... unless you're Monica Gellar.

It's that time when the cupboards all get emptied and everything gets washed, polished and put back. The fridge, washing machine and everything else on the floor gets moved so that you can clean underneath it.

All in all and on the face of it, it's very necessary, but it's a chore that  is something we'd rather not do.

Am I right?

Yesterday, we did spring cleaning.

It's something I'd rather not have happen again.

At least not the way it happened.

You see we have a cat - which I suspect, is something many of you will know already, but our cat is notorious for getting in, under, behind and on top of stuff. It doesn't matter what we say or do, he gets where no other cat has set paw and frankly, sometimes it drives us to distraction.

Ever since the kitchen was finished - well, as far as we have got it - he's been getting under and behind the cupboards. Sometimes, he even manages to wriggle in behind the washing machine, which we never thought anything of ... until yesterday.

Pen had work to do and I tried my best to a) stay out of trouble and b) get some writing done, so after lunch, she turned on the washing machine, said good-bye and went back to work, while I went back to writing.

During my spell in front of the computer, Biscuit made his presence felt and although I don't like turning him away, having him tearing around on the desk trying to catch the cursor and potentially wrecking my nice monitor, I was being very reserved in removing him and suggesting he might want to find something else to do.

In the meantime, the washing machine sat in its corner of the kitchen and chugged away, minding its own business.

By about four-thirty, I began thinking of Pen's return and whether or not to make tea and have it ready or wait a little longer - not knowing when she would actually return. To my horror, back comes Biscuit, jumps straight on my lap ... very soggy indeed.

"What the...?" I exclaimed and dumped him unceremoniously on the floor.

Moments later, it occurred to me that he shouldn't be wet. He's a cat after all, and the last thing most cats like is being wet.

"Perhaps I left the toilet seat up," I mused, and began a search for what he'd managed to get into this time.

The upstairs toilet had its lid down and the bath showed no signs of dusty pud-marks, so I trundled downstairs.

"Oh shit!!!" I exclaimed.

The entire ground floor was under about half an inch of water.

I must confess, I was absolutely gobsmacked. I wanted to blame Biscuit, but in fact, it was my fault for not having made sure that the builders had the little 'U'-shaped bit of plastic to hold the waste pipe in the drain when they put the washing machine in place.

In all his scrabbling about behind the washing machine, Biscuit had dislodged the waste from the washing machine and it had quietly pumped all the water from the entire wash cycle over the floor. The kitchen and shop were both under water and as I began mopping, I realised I needed help - and not the sort Biscuit was offering.

I tried as best I could until Pen arrived, but mostly succeeded only in moving the water around; very little of it being picked up by the mop.

It took both Pen and I an hour and a half to clear it all up, but in the meantime, the fridge came out, the cooker was moved, as was the washing machine - all mopped and thoroughly cleaned before being replaced.

Once finished, our floor was spotless. I'd like to say it shone, but that's not true as the tiles on the floor are not glossy anyway and only shine under half an inch or so of water. So the fact they went back to their matt finish was actually a plus point.

Having replaced the the above piece and wedged the pipe firmly down the drain before replacing the washing machine, I have all digits crossed and fervently hope it won't happen again, but it got the job done!