The sudden passing (stoppage) of our front-loading washing machine. {sigh}
Yes, the front-load washer in which I have been magically fulling knitted and woven items for more than a decade suddenly stopped working right after Christmas. {Sigh}
The "demise" of the clothes washer was discovered after the washer liberally applied water to the first load of the weekend (towels and such) when it made an unhappy squeak/whurrr sound instead of the motor quietly starting to move the washer drum.
We believe the motor had gone out - as it had once before a decade or so ago with a similar lack of warning. We hung the hand-wrung {oof}, not-clean laundry outside on the clothes line until another clothes washing option could be identified.
Based on the original cost of the washer and the cost to replace the motor the last time, we decided we should probably invest in a new washer. We considered our washer-replacement options on-line and came to the realization that the newer front-loader models literally would not fit in the available space in our laundry room.
The newer top-loaders don't all have the agitator-post so they are supposedly gentler on clothes and they also now have sensors so they don't fill up/submerge the clothes in water - wasting a precious resource.
(Are you noticing an aspect of self-convincing from the above-listed features? I am.)
As it turned out, the new energy-efficient top-loader washer we chose would take a few days (due to the holidays) to get to Tucson. Inspired by the need for clean clothes, we investigated the 3 laundromats closest to our home. Two of the laundromats made my skin crawl a little and they also required the purchase of a laundry card. {Sigh}
The third one was very clean, always has an attendant readily available and didn't require a long-term laundry credit card investment. {Laundromat nirvana!}
The next morning, we pulled the (now frozen/crunchy) towels off the line, loaded up all the immediate-wash laundry, soap, extracted the dose of bleach from the defunct washer and trucked everything down to the nice, clean laundromat.
Yep, the DH and I visited that Laundromat for a few weeks - excellent weekend bonding time.
Noooo - of course it didn't take weeks for the washer to arrive/be installed.
The extra week at the laundromat was inspired by the semi-flooding of our laundry room when the new washer unloaded the used water at a volume and velocity that was too much for the current state of our plumbing. {SIGH} This time we didn't wring out the sodden towels, we had the washer finish spinning out the excess water (and re-flood the floor just a little more) and we trekked on down to the nice, clean laundromat to deal with the week's laundry.
The nice guys who had rescued us from frozen pipes a couple of winters before came by on Monday to roto-root the pipes and educate me on the basics of how the plumbing flows in our house.
The "demise" of the clothes washer was discovered after the washer liberally applied water to the first load of the weekend (towels and such) when it made an unhappy squeak/whurrr sound instead of the motor quietly starting to move the washer drum.
We believe the motor had gone out - as it had once before a decade or so ago with a similar lack of warning. We hung the hand-wrung {oof}, not-clean laundry outside on the clothes line until another clothes washing option could be identified.
Based on the original cost of the washer and the cost to replace the motor the last time, we decided we should probably invest in a new washer. We considered our washer-replacement options on-line and came to the realization that the newer front-loader models literally would not fit in the available space in our laundry room.
The newer top-loaders don't all have the agitator-post so they are supposedly gentler on clothes and they also now have sensors so they don't fill up/submerge the clothes in water - wasting a precious resource.
(Are you noticing an aspect of self-convincing from the above-listed features? I am.)
As it turned out, the new energy-efficient top-loader washer we chose would take a few days (due to the holidays) to get to Tucson. Inspired by the need for clean clothes, we investigated the 3 laundromats closest to our home. Two of the laundromats made my skin crawl a little and they also required the purchase of a laundry card. {Sigh}
The third one was very clean, always has an attendant readily available and didn't require a long-term laundry credit card investment. {Laundromat nirvana!}
The next morning, we pulled the (now frozen/crunchy) towels off the line, loaded up all the immediate-wash laundry, soap, extracted the dose of bleach from the defunct washer and trucked everything down to the nice, clean laundromat.
Yep, the DH and I visited that Laundromat for a few weeks - excellent weekend bonding time.
Noooo - of course it didn't take weeks for the washer to arrive/be installed.
The extra week at the laundromat was inspired by the semi-flooding of our laundry room when the new washer unloaded the used water at a volume and velocity that was too much for the current state of our plumbing. {SIGH} This time we didn't wring out the sodden towels, we had the washer finish spinning out the excess water (and re-flood the floor just a little more) and we trekked on down to the nice, clean laundromat to deal with the week's laundry.
The nice guys who had rescued us from frozen pipes a couple of winters before came by on Monday to roto-root the pipes and educate me on the basics of how the plumbing flows in our house.
Aside from the oddly similar holiday-timing, the demise of my front-loader is not quite like the passing of the Yarn Harlot's Sir. Washie. (I never washed diapers for beloved children in our front-loader, just a lot of kitty-towels.)
But I knew the machine's functions well, it worked like a champ (except when the motor died), and it treated our clothes very gently.
The new washer? Well, it's pretty. And it has a lot of wash "settings".
(I don't seem to own a range of clothing types that require so many settings…)
And it kind of matches the dryer we had to buy about a year ago (when the heating element on the old dryer went into over-drive and set-in impressive (crunchy) wrinkles in the DH's permanent press work uniforms).
And it's certainly roomy enough to wash the Obnoxious Furry Quilt (probably along with a full load of towels and maybe some sheets too.).
But I miss being able to use the top of the washer as a shelf and I have noted the lack of a lint/drain filter of any kind (rather useful with 4 constantly shedding fur-balls and my interest in fulling wool). And…. I need to research the "dust" I'm finding collected in creases of the just-washed clothes.
Let's just say I'm still working on the self-convincing aspect of this needful purchase.
{sigh}
But I knew the machine's functions well, it worked like a champ (except when the motor died), and it treated our clothes very gently.
The new washer? Well, it's pretty. And it has a lot of wash "settings".
And it kind of matches the dryer we had to buy about a year ago (when the heating element on the old dryer went into over-drive and set-in impressive (crunchy) wrinkles in the DH's permanent press work uniforms).
And it's certainly roomy enough to wash the Obnoxious Furry Quilt (probably along with a full load of towels and maybe some sheets too.).
But I miss being able to use the top of the washer as a shelf and I have noted the lack of a lint/drain filter of any kind (rather useful with 4 constantly shedding fur-balls and my interest in fulling wool). And…. I need to research the "dust" I'm finding collected in creases of the just-washed clothes.
Let's just say I'm still working on the self-convincing aspect of this needful purchase.
{sigh}
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