Wednesday, July 26, 2006

Washing Machine Blues

Frankly, there are only two good things about owning a house. The first is that you don't have to share any walls with noisy neighbors. I didn't really appreciate this aspect until a few years ago when an extremely amorous couple moved in to the apartment next door and installed a home theater with a sub-woofer that shook the entire building.

The other good thing is finally having a place for your own washer and dryer. No more trips to the laundromat, washing your pillowcases and sheets in the machine right after the family with the potty-training problems.

These two advantages may not sound like much, but they almost make up for a lifetime of grass mowing, wall painting, and snow shoveling. Almost.

Maude and I were fortunate enough to be able to buy a new washer and dryer when we moved into our new house last summer. The Monkish side of my personality was thrilled: I could drool on my pillowcase without reservation now. Only Ned and Maude germs would be present.

Our Kenmore washer and dryer have worked great for the past 11 months. On Sunday, after several days of procrastinating the day of my laundry, I finally decided to do a couple loads so I would have something clean to wear to work on Monday.

Thunk! That's the sound the dial makes when you pull it out and nothing happens. The hot water is flowing fine, but there is no cold water. Though I am not very mechanically inclined, I was able to disconnect the cold water hose from the washer and test the valve. The cold water shoots out of the hose without any problem once you've disconnected it from the washing machine. I even cleaned out the filter that's inside the washer next to the hose. Thunk!

I was out of ideas, so I scheduled an appointment for Sears to come look at it. I did it on their website on Monday night. I was disappointed that they didn't have any openings for Tuesday, but I scheduled a repairman to visit on Wednesday between 8 am and 12 pm. I took this morning off work and proceeded to wait. At about 10:10 am, I was getting restless, so I double-checked the email I had received from Sears. Sure enough, it said: "Your appointment is on Wednesday, August 2nd." Thunk!

Several swear words later, I called up Sears and confirmed that a week from today is the soonest they can get out here. It's rough; I had to wear a long-sleeved shirt to work today. I'm wearing clothes that I had put away for the winter, and now I find out that I have to wait another week?

I guess it's back to the laundromat for Maude and me. As for Sears, makers of the 11-month wonder machine, I think the least you can do is give me an Extreme Home Makeover. Just make sure you put in a Whirlpool. Thanks.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Misty and I got an old vintage 1980s era washer and dryer at a used appliance store. Never had a single problem.

This is common knowlege among consumer protection attorneys and other consumer organizations:

The new appliances are built in such a way as to guarantee a breakdown in a few years, necessitating a new purchase.

"They don't build em like they used to" isn't just sentimentality. It's demonstrated fact.

Seth R.

Ann said...

I got a bonus at work a couple of weeks ago, and we decided to use it to buy something we need. We're getting a new dishwasher.

While I agree that in-house laundry facilities are a wonderful thing, I don't think I could survive without a dishwasher. The one we have works, but it leaks and some of the drawer rollers are broken.

How was your trip to the laundromat?

NFlanders said...

We ended up going to the house of a friend of Maude's. Their washer and dryer looked like something salvaged from the Titanic, but hey, it washed our clothes.

I'm going over to Seth's house next. You can wash your dishes at my house, Ann.