Saturday, October 19, 2013

Flash Back

Way back when, when The Big Guy and I were renting, we did not have a washing machine.  We both commuted an hour in opposite directions.  Getting to the laundromat was not a priority.  We quickly added to our wardrobe enabling us to make it about 4 weeks without having to wash clothes.  We traveled lots bringing an extra suitcase of dirty clothes to whichever house we ended up at for the weekend.  There was a strategy to wearing clothes making sure our favorites were clean when we wanted them.  Those were the days when I wore dress clothes to work that I dropped off at the dry cleaners.

Flash forward 20+ years to the present day.  Our high tech Maytag Bravo is not working.  It could be a week before the part comes in.  Ugh!  So, we loaded the dirty laundry in the crates.  The Big Guy raided Pumpkin's Piggy Duck Bank for quarters and we went to the laundromat today!  I have to tell you there is something to be said about loading up washers and having all the clothes cleaned at once.  We brought some damp clothes home and a dollar in quarters to spare.


Peanut was so funny.  He said that he was going to have to organize his clothes for this week - like mother, like son!  He claims he only has one pair of jeans.  The weather's gotten cooler.  He might have a challenge on his hands.

Back to my Maytag...I called a local repair man.  Historically, I don't fare well with repair folks.  They don't like folks that ask questions.  Same thing happened this time.  I was chastised for wanting to understand what might be wrong.  Do people really hand over hundreds of dollars to repairmen without asking any questions?  Guess what?  We aren't using this guy to fix the machine.  We went  out to repairclinic.com, ordered the part and are going to try it on our own.  The internet is an asset with how to videos to assist us.  We are willing to take the risk that we mess something up.  If that is the case, we'll go to the store and buy a new "cheap" washer and dryer.  They don't sell the washer I have anymore and the set is black.  If I replace one, I'll have to replace both of them.  Hoping we have success with the repair - 'til then, we might be making a few more trips back to the laundromat!!



2 comments:

Bethany said...

Oh my goodness! I'm sure you will be able to fix it. We had that happen on a 1 year old Kenmore. We called Sears Repair. The guy came out and told us what part we needed (NOT under warranty which I was upset about because they had been in storage for 8 months of the first year!!). He had it shipped to us and when it got here, we just replaced it ourselves. We cancelled his trip out and they still said we owed them for that installation even though we did it ourselves (moral: we will never buy Kenmore or from Sears again!). So I know what you're talking about. Heck, you even have an engineering degree so I'm sure you could figure it out! I had to laugh too, because Nathaniel was just complaining a couple weeks ago that he only had one pair of jeans that fit, so I ordered some (since they don't carry his extra tall/super skinny size in the store). For the next week he wore that same pair every day (with one washing). I couldn't believe it. I'm laughing about your 4 week stock of clothing! I remember the days of laundromats and wanting to go there as infrequently as possible. When I was teaching, I'd take my lesson plan book and go to the Greenhills Laundromat and work. Someone always wanted to talk and the outside reeked of cigarette smoke. Yes, a washing machine and dryer are two things I never want to live without! Good luck on yours!!

Jody Lamb, PR Manager said...

Thanks for sharing about your history with washing clothes! Have you checked out our repair help information? - http://www.RepairClinic.com/RepairHelp
We wish you a fast and successful repair of your washing machine.