Set the scene: a Petite Garçon playdate at our house on a rainy Saturday afternoon. My husband and I are now also friends with his friend’s parents as we are going through the Philadelphia independent school admissions process on behalf of our sons. I put together a charcuterie tray: meats, cheeses, crackers, fruit, chutney. The tray was set on the ottoman for easy snacking. The ottoman is on top of my West Elm rug in a custom size that I waited eight months to arrive. The kiddos were going between setting up a train track in Petite Garçon’s bedroom and playing with Bebe Deux in the living room. It was picturesque.
Petite Garçon had been whipping one of his blankets around in the air earlier in the day to which we reacted with requests to stop, escalating to scoldings. The blanket came back during the playdate and with one whip, the blanket took out the jar of chutney. I did not see it happen, but I was told the jar made a perfect arch, a la a commercial for a stain remover or paper towel brand. Cut to chutney on my custom size rug for which I waited eight months.
Rather than scold Nils again, I swiftly walked to the kitchen, grabbed the Folex and paper towels, and handed them off to my husband while I corralled my kids. All the kids knew something had happened and I suspect Petite Garçon thought he was in deep shit because of how the tone shifted to quiet and serious.
That shit would have been a lot deeper had the Folex (and yes, my husband) not been able to get the chutney out of the rug.
I knew the Folex was going to work. A few years ago while we were in Kazakhstan, we lived in a rental flat outfitted with loaner furniture, including a rug. My then-two year old took his Lovevery tempera markers to the rug and only after crowd sourcing a solution via Instagram and coming up with Folex, was I able to get the yellow out of the rug.
Folex is available at Target, Lowes, and via Amazon. Stock up for this holiday season, before you have a rogue blanket whip your chutney into the air.
pick your poison
