Well, I pulled a real boneheaded trick today...
 
I have one of those big Midwest cages, and time was getting around to
where the base (with those dang channels) Really Needed Cleaning (tm).
Especially with all the vomit and occasional diarrhea I've been coping
with lately.  (Ugh.) I'd been wiping up stuff as it happened but I finally
realized that the smell was persisting and that it was Time(tm) for
something rather more formal in the way of cleaning.
 
The cage sits in a corner of my (carpeted) bedroom.  I have already
encountered the joys of scrubbing ferret vomit off the walls next to
the cage.  (Anyone who says ferrets can't vomit, I beg to differ!)
 
Anyway, I closed off assorted doors to establish the ferret safe area, and
let the kids out.  First I took a vacuum cleaner to the bottom of the cage
(which I've done before, much to the amazement of the ferrets), and then
(after taking the precaution of shutting the 'butts in the bathroom to make
sure no one was underfoot) lifted the entire cage up off its base and set
it down to one side, so that I could get at the base directly and
scrub/wipe/disinfect/etc etc.
 
Here is the Stoopid Ferret-Mom Trick.  I successfully set down the cage
onto the carpet.  What I had not foreseen (but SHOULD have) was that the
bottom edge of the cage in a couple places (maybe 8" perimeter total in
all...not TOO much) was crusted with things that should be left undescribed,
despite all my previous spot- cleanings.  (The channels on the midwest cages
contribute to this.)  The weight of the cage promptly ground this mess right
into the carpet.
 
DOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Lots of scrubbing with "Resolve" (carpet cleaner) later, I got it cleaned
up.  Anyway... I hope no one is as Stoopid as I was and tries to set down
their cage top in a carpeted room.  I thought I'd share this, though, just
in case I might be able to spare someone some scrubbing.
 
(WA-state) Megan, plus:
    the Terrible Trio, (feeling much better these days) and
    the Now-Sparkly-Clean Cage and Even-More-Clean Carpet. Doh.
[Posted in FML issue 2508]