Our washing machine failed in a spectacular way last week. It just straight up stopped working in the middle of a load. In the machine’s defense, it had been acting squirrelly for a while before that, but I kept using it.
Before you ask, I do 98% of the laundry in our home, and Shane takes care of the dishes and cleans the kitchen most of the time. I’ve been told that’s not a fair trade-off, but I can’t overstate how much I hate doing dishes. I would do so much laundry to never have to wash a dish again. But back to the story.
So, during a rinse cycle, the washer just gives up the ghost. It tells me that it can’t balance the load and can’t go on. The clothes are sudsy and sopping wet. I take a break from reality and leave them in there thinking they’d at least drain a little before I put them in the dryer. I already know I have to rewash them, but I’m not putting that gross mess into my car. At this point, the washing machine completely powers down and refuses to turn on. Even after unplugging it and plugging it back in, which is the #1 way to fix all electrical problems.
So, I spent part of my Monday off (for President’s Day) in a laundromat. Which wasn’t a completely awful way to spend a few hours. That place was hopping – every bench and chair full (so I hung out in my car periodically), kids along for the ride with their moms, babies babbling, and what appeared to be a gang of single guys who hit up the laundromat every week. There was even a puppy someone brought in, and I got to play peekaboo with a baby.
I forgot how expensive laundromats are, though. It was $40 and some change for 4 loads of washing & 3 dryer cycles. And I didn’t even dry them completely, just enough to not be soaked in my car on the way home. I can’t imagine how much people have to pay a year when they don’t have a washing machine. I bet it’s enough to keep them from being able to buy one.
Anyway, the moral is to call the repairman before everything goes sideways. I’m currently waiting for a call back to schedule the appointment.
Adulthood isn’t as fun as I thought it would be.
Coffee & Crows 