See, now, this is why I shouldn’t do housework. Wet. Soaking wet. Although they’ve been sitting there since last night so now they’re probably moldy and wet. Normally G does the laundry. He’s kind of particular about it and apparently I’m just not up to snuff so he does it. Of course, I’m perfectly capable of folding all of the said laundry which is totally a cop out. I mean how hard is it to throw clothes in the washer then move them to the dryer? The folding is where all the skill lies. But I digress. We generally do laundry on Sundays – which is a holdover from apartment living when you had to lug all your clothes down to the basement and save up all your quarters and try not to get grossed out by the other things living down there. We have our own washer and dryer now – in the kitchen under the counter – so why limit laundry to Sundays? Anyway, yesterday was NOT Sunday but somehow we had missed laundry on like the last two Sundays so I was desperate for clothes and thought I’d do a nice thing. I got through the dark load and the white load okay fine. But the delicates (I don’t know – ask G. It’s his system!) didn’t fare so well. I really stuffed the washer, but they made it through that fine – it’s the dryer where everything fell apart. I cleaned out the lint compartment and then went to set the cycle timer and that’s where I think things went bad. The freaking machine won’t turn on. Can I just tell you? ALL MY CLOTHES ARE FREAKING DELICATE! I literally have nothing to wear. Sure, sure, what about all the clothes in the closet? Very funny. You see I’m fat and it’s summer so I have like one pair of pants and two shirts that fit and I feel comfortable in. You know what I’m talking about. And now they’re wet.
I completely blame G for this. When the stove blew up, he kept saying things like “I wonder if everything’s going to start to go bad now. You know it’s been nine years.” JINX JINX JINX! I told him to SHUT UP! Like NINE is the magic number when all your appliances stop working? Is that true? I thought these things are supposed to last forever. When we moved in here all the appliances were from the Stone Age. I swear there was a little fairy or something rubbing two sticks together in the back of the oven. We got everything new then anyway because it was all supremely gross and the cootie factor was enormous. But c’mon? Is everything really supposed to stop working now?
I’m never doing laundry again.
No, you will get more than 9 yrs…I hope I am on yr. 14 for our washer and dryer and we have 2 kids and do laundry EVERY day! Have you tried unplugging the dryer and then plugging it back in. Even if it is gas I think it still has a plug…..Good luck
Oh man, that sucks. I hope it’s not dead.
I hate doing laundry. HATE it. Well, not so much the doing, but the folding and putting away. BLeh.
Still, I’d kill to have my own washer and dryer.
Well, my personal theory is that if one of the following statements is true, an appliance or major house detail will crap out.
1) Your finances are such that to replace would be a hardship.
2) You are so busy there’s a snowball’s chance in hell that you’ll have time to fix and/or replace it.
3) You are upgrading or renovating something which will uncover an underlying issue that must be solved first.
4) You are feeling pretty good about life.
So I’ve learned to be slightly stressed at all times, try not to embark on home improvement projects, budget very carefully, and try to not have a too hectic schedule. It hasn’t been that successful.
Our washer has a “child lock” feature on it that is a combination of buttons. Yours might be the same way. It’s suppose to keep children from starting the washer, but you know, could be of some use for adults too. 🙂
I too am in bad books due to white goods. I ordered a new washing machine and tumble dryer, which was delivered at 7.20am last Friday. My husband swears I never told him I had ordered it, so started with the “did you measure”, “are you sure they’ll fit?” Well I have a utility room with a double spaced gap, white goods are a standard size in the UK (unless you ask for special sizes), so why wouldn’t they fit?
The guy walks in and the first thing he says is “They won’t both fit there!” Know-it-all was right. They wouldn’t fit by a fraction of an inch – I blame the house constructors. Fear not, I said the magical words – Dad will make them fit, and hubbie immediately started talking about removing the skirting from around the space they need to go etc, etc
So it’s not personal – white goods are a pain in the ass for everyone.
when i went to stay at my GodSister’s in Dallas, i opened the appliance that did not have a basket of laundry sitting on it; i put laundry and soap powder in ; only to discover that it was a top loading DRYER? what? they make top loading dryers? lucky for me she also had a good vaccuum cleaner with a good hose.
i pay other people to do my laundry.
Our dryer broke one fine spring day about five years ago. I took this as a message from the Goddess of Laundry: “Put up a clothesline already.” So I did that, after calling the dryer repair guy.
I suppose the clothesline strategy wouldn’t work so well in an apartment.
Our new washer lasted 2 years. The new microwave lasted 4 years. We’re on our bazillionth toaster.
Meanwhile, my in-laws just retired their toaster (which still works) which they got as a wedding present OVER 50 YEARS AGO. And it got daily use.
The only appliance we’ve replaced out of necessity is the dishwasher (and I did it myself, thank you) (and it looks like we’re due for another) and they were mostly style updates/energy upgrades. Still got the original ‘fridge — 21 years and counting — that could use an energy upgrade, I’m sure. I keep looking at new ones, but never take the plunge — no doubt waiting for disaster on a 110-degree day. Did I just say that? Knocking on wood…
Sorry about your washer/dryer crisis. I’m beginning to hate doing laundry. I used to like it. Now I have a 7-year old daughter who gets stains on EVERY single shirt…
this is just so ripe for teasing you that it is almost too easy. like candy & babies …… are you embracing nudity as the new summer look?
I am really happy to be reading this at work when my husband isn’t around because in our house I’m the one who’s finicky about the laundry – reds, darks, jeans, delicate dark, delicate reds etc… and hubbo gets to do all of the folding. In my defense I have to say that the delicates all get hung by me(the dryer is the enemy of fat girls like myself)and he refolds all the stuff I fold because I “do it wrong”.
It’s not you…it’s the laundry. It seems like eveything happens at once, doesn’t it? Hope it gets fixed soon. Oh, and I TOTALLY know what you mean about there being only a few selections of clothing you feel comfortable wearing. I’m feeling the same way right now. Ah, the wake up call of summer! :p
Oh crap, that reminds me, there are clothes in the washer from last night, hope they don’t stink now. My husband and I are both terrible at laundry, we’re always forgetting to dry it and fold it and hang it. I hate doing it every day and would rather deal with it one day a week.
My man does his own laundry and sometimes mine — he says that I don’t separate mine properly. Whatever!
One load saves water is my motto (just as long there’s nothing red in there). He bleaches anything that moves including the rim of the washer that I have now twice rubbed up against messing up my shirt. Argh.
We bought a used washer when we got married and replaced it about 2 years ago. The dryer still worked but we bought both anyway. We knew the new pieces would last as long as the old. Maybe you just need something simple and a repairperson can save it (and you).
Oh and, you know, it’s OK to run around your own place nakid.
The folding is where the skilld lies…so TRUE! I am limited to about two weeks between major laundry overhauls before I run out of underpants.
I have heard of people that get 20+ years out of appliances. I’m not one of them. If I get 10 out of a washer or dryer, I’m lucky.
As for your dryer…do you have one of those ground-fault outlets in your laundry area? I’ve found that sometimes they just click off on a whim. Once its reset, all runs fine.
OMG! I have the same exact washer and dryer set, and my friggin’ washer decided that it didn’t need to go through the rinse cycle, just recently! My 2 cents, if you washer ever gets sick and does the same as mine…for some reason this paticular model doesn’t come with “washer” lint trap–it inside that area on the bottom, just stick a shopvac into the hose and it should unclog that baby in no time.
So far nothing wrong with dryer…I take that back, it did stop drying and the light stopped working maybe a year after we purchased it. Now, it’s fine–so weird
And…the hubby and I have been married for 8 years!
Damned if I have a freakin’ clue. How about you string some scrap yarn up on your balcony and hang some clothes out to dry? Sun and heat and smog – surely that’s good for the delicates.
I hate doing laundry especially the folding and putting the clothes away after, too! We bought the super capacity for that reason. Our last washer only lasted 7 years and the dryer never produced any lint. Never I tell you. I started to think that our clothes were lint free.
Needless to say we had to replace the washer after it flooded our house and we got the dryer for good measure. Guess what, our clothes do have lint.
They don’t make appliances like they used to.
Shit, I hope not. We remodeled our kitchen 9 years ago. Shit.
could it be a fuse or a flipped breaker thingy maybe?
Did you check the circuit breaker that you flipped when the oven blew up?? Or, maybe you’re not shutting the door all the way.
If one thing goes, count on at least three more
I do the laundry and fix the appliances until it is pointless. I’ve disassembled both washer and dryers. I know that isn’t for everyone but I wouldn’t go anywhere without my Reader’s Digest Repair book. Why, do you ask, do I do this? Because my DH takes a century to “think about” what could be wrong and spring to action. In frustration I learned to repair my own.
Anyway this checklist might help…or send you running
http://www.partselect.com/dryer+dryer-wont-start+repair.htm
Right there with you with limited clothes for summer but I refuse to buy new stuff till I shed a few lbs.
I dunno if it’s been suggested, but between the availability of string in your household, and lovely western exposure on the porch, you’ve got a solar dryer ready and waiting. Although, now that I think about it, if _all_ your clothes really are oit of comission, then maybe heading out to the porch in the buff isn’t the way to go.
Maybe it’s not really broken. Push all the buttons. Check the circuit breaker. Pray.
My dryer wouldn’t start once. Then it did. No reason. Those pesky gremlins. For emergencies such as this you need a nice large foldable drying rack. We got one from The Container Store, and I use it for all the sweaters and linen items. Shower curtain rods work too; get some clothespins and pin stuff to hangers and hang to dry. Run a fan for air circulation. They’ll be a little crispy when dry. Good luck!
We replaced our washer and dryer after 13 years of daily use last summer. First the washer broke down, we replaced it. One week later the dryer gave out. I stock up on hangers and hang everything except for underwear and socks ( I hate to fold, but I’ll do it cuz I have to)as soon as they come out of the dryer. Anything that gets wrinkled gets thrown back into the dryer for a hot spin ( I hate to iron too).
oh, holy crap, no dryer and rain like the Next Flood. Crap.
I am in the midst of Broken Refrigerator Hell. It sucks. We have the interesting appliance mojo in our house that means coffee makers catch fire. Seriously, we’ve had at least three catch fire. The only ones that do okay are the free ones from Gevalia. Go figure.