Discourses from the land of laundry

Last week, my washing machine started leaking. A lot. From the bottom.

This was more than a “throw-down-an-old-ratty-towel-and-deal-with-it” kind of problem. Half an inch of water in the closet where my washing machine and dryer are housed just isn’t that cool.

So I immediately called a company that had previously worked on both my washing machine and my refrigerator. Finding a time for a technician to come that would work for both of us was brutal (personally, I think a company should work a little harder than this one did to meet the customer’s need and schedule) and the appointment was at first scheduled for Saturday morning.

That’s right. I called on Monday night and the earliest they could get to me was the following Saturday.

I tried explaining that I was single and had a lot of meetings last week and couldn’t just leave work in the middle of the day for long periods. The company really just didn’t care.

But I digress. My meeting schedule shifted and Friday afternoon opened up. I rescheduled the appointment and ran home at lunch with work projects I could easily do at home while I waited for the technician to arrive and diagnose the problem. He finally did and was in and out of my house in 15 minutes. I expected him to come back later or call me with info on how much the parts and repair would cost.

Dumb idea.

I finally called the company, who said he’d call me on Saturday morning. When no one had called me by 1 p.m. yesterday, I took the bull by the horns and called. The part had been ordered and “hopefully” would arrive by the end of this week. This is when I got a little annoying and demanded to be given an estimate and explained this was not a good experience.

But in the end, fixing the machine is cheaper than buying a new one and the part was already on order. So my machine will be fixed by the end of the week or early next week. That’s awesome.

But it does NOTHING to solve the problem of the towering pile of laundry threatening to take over my bedroom.

Several friends had offered their washing machines, but knowing they’d be at work until later on Monday and knowing I could knock out a couple of loads at a laundromat, I decided to stop in at one last night after work. So, I drove home, walked and fed the dog, sorted my laundry into two large piles, located a laundry bag I haven’t used since college, stuffed the dirty laundry inside, premeasured my detergent into sandwich bags and drove off into the sunset toward the laundromat.

I had picked this laundromat because it was near my house, in a safe area, clean, and BEHOLD! took debit cards on some of the machines. Since I had little to no change, this was a big draw for me.

But alas, I had underestimated my ability to function in a laundromat.

For starters, it’s been years since I’ve been inside one. Secondly, these machines were all computer-y and flashing buttons. I felt like my mom when she tries to use Facebook, confused and overwhelm and unable to understand. It was really humbling to stand there confused in front of a machine while the rest of the people loaded and started washes with no problem. Thirdly, it’s been a long time since I’ve been faced with something I simply did not know how to do and that was humbling. So was asking the attendant for help. . . and she definitely felt sorry for me because she kept checking up on me during the 30 to 45 minutes I was there.

Let’s just say that during that short amount of time, I: • dropped my “unmentionables” on the floor for God and everybody to see • could NOT figure out to operate a simple machine/debit card reader • loaded my clothing into a triple washer when I needed a smaller washer • spent a dollar in quarters on a machine that I didn’t end up using and it didn’t refund them • had to beg the attendant to change my two dimes and 5 pennies for a quarter • nearly cried in front of the whirling washing machines while my clothes flipped and twirled in the suds

But after my loads finished, I quickly piled them into my basket and got out of there, since my dryer works fine and I’d rather make a fool of myself in the privacy of my own home.

The good point is that the pile of laundry isn’t so overwhelming now and my machine will be fixed.

Some day.

Hopefully.

🙂