What is it about bad luck always coming in threes? Or sets of threes? It all started a few months ago when my refrigerator went on the blink. We barely got that replaced when we needed a new hot water heater. Then the dishwasher went out right before Christmas. The stove went the day after Christmas (always a lovely time to try to have new appliances delivered). The guy who installed the new dishwasher told us we'd better have our kitchen faucet replaced ASAP. That's five. So I should have known this was coming: last week, my washing machine died.
At first, I was almost happy about it, for I have hated the danged thing since it first broke down a month after we spent what seemed like a small fortune buying it. All together it broke down something like eight times in the first two years. Plus, no matter how hard I tried, I could not keep it from getting moldy. But the thing I hated about it the most was my own stupid fault, because I should have realize that you can't soak clothes in a front loader (I'm one of those people who really likes to soak). So I was excited about the idea of replacing it. Only, then I discovered just how difficult it is to find a machine--even a top loader--that will let you actually fill it up with water and turn it off to soak your clothes for as long as you want. Seriously? Doesn't anyone soak their clothes any more? I had to wait EIGHT DAYS to get this thing delivered from the Back of Beyond.
When the delivery guys wheeled it into my laundry room, they laughed and said, "You were smart; you went with one of the good ole fashioned kind. Them fancy new things ain't worth sh*t." No kidding. Now I have a mountain of laundry to work my way through. And I know it looks silly, but I decided I couldn't part with the dryer because I keep my paper towels and spare laundry detergent in the storage space beneath it. So now I'm eyeing my air conditioners and thinking,
One dryer + two air conditioners=three.
19 comments:
Ha! You brought back happy memories of my mother. She thought soaking was alright; but if you wanted clean clothes, you really needed to SCRUB.
When she first saw the HE washing machines(ie. newfangled new ones) work, she proclaimed: "Finally! Those top loaders are good for nothing. The clothes just float around in there. Who ever heard of clothes getting clean THAT way?"
Paz, I've actually been known to haul curtains and dust ruffles up to our lake house to soak them in the old washer up there.
2014 has been much like this for us too. One thing after another.
There is nothing like tossing ALL your clothes in the washer to prepare for a trip and discover the danged machine won't spin. Then when you finally coax it to finish the cycle you are wearing your only turtle neck that isn't in the suitcase in the car -- and spill coffee.
One, two, three, here we come.
Charles, I figure it's got to stop when we run out of appliances.
Anon, ouch! That's rough. I know I was lucky that it didn't break at a critical. The silly thing is I've been talking about replacing it for a good 8 months--it just kept getting kicked down the road.
This is the saddest tale I've read in ages...but those things do happen to us all. No consolation, I know. Stop soaking clothes, for Pete's sake - you wasting time you could be writing or reading. (My washer is pretty old but it does have a cycle portion that soaks.) I have heard that the new and fancy machines can break down more easily and be a pain...but I am sorry so many things went wrong at once. I do hope you've run out of appliances now:(....
Lynne, I walked into the laundry this morning and found the floor wet. Now it's the laundry sink. Sigh. I know in the grand scheme of things it's all just minor aggravation, but....grrr. And I soak because I love white cotton sheets, dust ruffles, duvet covers, curtains, table clothes, t-shirts, etc, and without bleach (one of my asthma triggers) they really need to be soaked periodically in a non-chlorine bleach for a few hours or they just don't stay really white. It's so much easier now that I can do it in the washer again, rather than in a tub in the sink.
I completely sympathize. The last time you wrote about this, I was in the middle of a similar disaster and in the last week we have had one of our air conditioning/heat units go out and the dryer died. I'm dreading whatever the third might be. We have to spend this weekend looking at dryers and since I think the washer might be next, I'm thinking of just replacing both. I like top loaders too and I like them fairly simple. That's tough to find these days. I have a ton of laundry to do before I leave for New Orleans on Tuesday, so I guess I need to drag out my old portable clothesline. What a fun weekend!
vp, that's terrible! At least I didn't have a trip looming over me. I think it's the time it takes to drag around looking, plus how hard it is to find what you want, plus the expense, that makes it so aggravating. Remember when appliances lasted 15-20 years? Hope you have a good flight to New Orleans; will you be coming to this crazy Pub Crawl, or the more sedate Lemonade Social?
The laundry sink reminds me of the broken water line...you know those 2 lines that run into the washer from the main line? Well, mine was old (but who thinks of those things) and decided to burst the day before July 4th last summer. I had a geyser of water hitting the ceiling and spraying everywhere and the shut-off was frozen. Thankfully I could shut off the main valve for the house but by then I was dripping wet and so was half of my laundry room. My nice plumber came promply and the walls got wiped down before they got saturated so all was well...but, of course the plumber had to tell me what a close call it was...and now those water lines are reinforced woven steel. This is not a story to one-up yours but to reassure you that all this crap happens to everyone, Candy. As my mom used to say, "This too shall pass." The kittens survived - so will you and the dumb appliances.
It seems to be happening to all of us. Do you think we have aliens hovering in the stratosphere, sending out radio waves to probe our technological capability and it is stuffing up our appliances? I know, I know, I watch too much TV.
Before Christmas it was my laptop, modem, oven and one of the kitchen lights. Since Christmas it has been my printer and the 2nd kitchen light. Then on Wednesday I heard an almighty crash from the bathroom that nearly scared the bejesus out of me and discovered that 6 tiles had fallen off the wall into the bath and smashed. Enough already!!
Actually I have had one of those new fangled computerized washing machines for 14 years and have never had a days trouble with it. It is a Fisher & Pikle (from New Zealand) and it does have a sort of soak cycle. They call it long wash and it sort of smooches the clothes around for a while then starts the washing cycles.
Lynne, OMG, that sounds awful! That is one of my terrors, having those dang lines break. I have the steel reinforced things now--Steve bought them a couple of years ago to put on the old machine, but of course he never did--they were still sitting there.
Suzanne, wow, what a run of bad luck! I'll go with the alien idea. And don't even talk about computers; I'm planning to replace mine soon because I know its time is coming.
I will definitely be at the Lemonade social and probably the pub crawl, although that one could get scary! :) I am really hoping to see you. I had the good luck to meet you at one of the ALA Annuals that was in New Orleans, but I did not have my copy of Night in Eden with me and I'd love to get you to sign it. One of my favorite romances!
vp, bring it with you and I'll happily sign it!
Lynne, that's terrible!! I don't even like to think about how long it must have taken to clean up.
I don't mean to top your story either, but all that mess reminds me of when I was a child and my grandmother's pressure cooker blew up. She was making vegetable soup and it went everywhere. We even found vegies in the light fittings.
Suzanne, what a mess that must have been!
Consumer Reports said to buy a washer or dryer that's mid-priced (neither really cheap or really expensive). We just have a basic top-loading washer, an Amana. The new ones make a lot of noise compared to the old ones. I call it the honking goose. I hadn't heard of soaking clothes in the washer, except as a way to save money or energy.
We almost had a flood because the kitchen sink was plugged up and it backed up. Those pipes must be connected to the washer in another room. Luckily I was back there because I thought I heard water gushing (which makes a different sound than when it's in the washer) and when I looked I saw water coming out by the pipes. I shut off the washer. Our previous old washer leaked, ruined the carpet, and even some of the floorboards.
We had to get a new microwave recently. They keep getting more powerful. I think the new one is 1,200 or 1,250 watts and the old one was 1,100. Of course, it didn't help that my dad burned something in the microwave. He put a few King's Hawaiian rolls on for three minutes! (Old age, he doesn't always know what he's doing.) Had to open the window. That was a while before the microwave died. We left it on the porch and someone took it. We wanted to get rid of it anyway.
Michelle, that's why I had the plumber out THIS week--the new washer uses more water than the old front loader, and because of the way the pipes are connected, it was backing up into the laundry sink with so much pressure it caused a leak. It never ends.
Oh dear! I do hope you had everything fixed by now. That must have been a total nightmare. It’s hard enough to have your washer and fridge give out on you. You also had to suffer from your water heater going out as well. Good choice on the older washer, by the way. That would definitely be better than the new one. So, did you get to have your water heater fixed?
Donald Payne @ Sauer HVAC
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