Dirty Floors

Our old apartment in Louisville was carpeted (thankfully with new carpet when we moved in because the former tenants had trashed the place).  I know that carpet is not supposed to be the most sanitary stuff in the world, but in my opinion, dirt and grime you can't see and feel is WAY better than dirt and grime you can.  Who's with me?

Which brings me to China...land of the floors that can never get clean, regardless of the fact that no one wears shoes in the house or that you sweep/mop thousands of times per week.

Part of the problem is that I've recently discovered that our house helper only uses water to clean the floor and has yet to learn the art of mopping in an orderly pattern so as not to leave streaks (true for windows too).  This is my bad in not addressing it--I'm still trying to figure out how to be an employer.  Another part of the problem may be that our house helper broke our vacuum while we were in Thailand and I've yet to fix it or replace it.  Mostly because I've been dreaming of this:

The Hoover FloorMate SpinScrub Wet/Dry Vacuum

At only $139USD, it seems like it would be the answer to all my problems.  Unfortunately, these kinds of vacuums are not really very popular over here and thus not readily available.  I was even skeptical about being about to find one at all...until today.  I found one.  At a mere 2400 RMB, which translates to about $400USD.  What??????