We’ve had the same old washer and dryer for four years. They came with the house. I have no idea how old they really were. The washer drove me crazy the whole four years. The dryer had its issues too, but I found ways to live with the dryers issues. My relationship with the dryer was like a long running marriage. It worked, and I was glad for it, but there were little things that were quirky, and not in an endearing way. But first, the washer. It wouldn’t fill with water high enough to actually wash my clothes. There was a film of detergent left on the top clothes from the oxiclean I like to use. So, I would rinse and rinse each load, stirring the clothes with my hands, to try to get the detergent out. I’m not sure how this is energy efficient, unless you consider it a part of your workout routine. Finally, I turned to the internet for a solution. Certainly, I wasn’t the only one having trouble with a top-loader energy efficient washer. And I definitely wasn’t alone. Finally, I found a solution that worked for me from some lady on YouTube. I filled an empty jug of liquid laundry detergent with water and poured it slowly over each load of clothes to make them weigh more. This way, I tricked the washer into thinking that there were more clothes in there, and it used more water. Recently, Travis wandered into the laundry room, so clearly he was lost. He looked at the machine and asked it I ever noticed the “deep fill” button. He must think I am a special level of stupid if he actually thought that I hauled water from our bathtub faucet through our bedroom and into the laundry room every single load for four years, but never noticed the “deep fill” button. Deep fill just means deeper than it was going to fill, which must be based on washing each single item of clothing one at a time. Super efficient! I missed my previous machine, which had Small, Medium, Large, and Extra-Large. Easy Peasy!

Even though I found a solution, I didn’t like the washer. The dryer was its own beast. It was loud. It was like someone threw a handful of screws in the machine with every load. Weirdly, I got used to this. Because it was so consistent, It became a sort of white noise. I could even sleep through it, and my dryer shares a wall with my bedroom. When the belt snapped, I decided to find the source of the noise while I had the machine apart. I had parts all down my hallway. Turns out, there were somewhat melted and deformed pennies trapped inside one of the fins inside the dryer. If I could find the picture, I would post it out here, but that was an indeterminable amount of time ago, so it would take me an hour to find it. After I changed the belt, it made a new thumping noise, which I also got used to. I’m sure I did something wrong, but it worked, so I went with it. 

Recently, I noticed that GE had new machines that advertised “USE AS MUCH WATER AS YOU WANT!!” I admired those machines for about a year. I had machine envy. But it was hard to justify the cost, when I had perfectly functional machines. A couple weeks ago, while in Home Depot, I brought Travis over to also admire the machines. I’m not sure I remember the last time he did laundry, but he had heard me complain enough that he admired them with me. Next thing I know, he bought them. They were on a good sale. We compared with other locations that sold them as we waited for a sales person. Then he declared, “Happy Mother’s Day!” Anyone that doesn’t want an appliance for Mother’s Day has never wanted a new washer and dryer as long as I have. I restrained myself from jumping around the store! Although, I was giddy like a child. 

When they were delivered, I was also giddy! As I did my first load, I watched the washer use enough water without being tricked! It was glorious! The dryer was not glorious. It made a loud rubbing noise. It didn’t get very hot. It took over two hours to dry a normal sized load of towels. I called the Home Depot that same day. It was after GE closed for the weekend, but they noted my complaints, since you have to call within 48 hours to get a replacement. When I dry clothes, I stop the dryer at about 20 minutes to pull out things that I don’t want to dry all the way. This way, I get the wrinkles out of sensitive items, but don’t shrink things, or fade them. When I took them out, it took two hands to move the drum, so I could look through the clothes. It seemed stuck. I called again Saturday, just to make sure my complaint was noted. They told me to call back Monday. Of course, I work in a school, where my phone doesn’t work, so I had to use my lunch hour to call from the front door of the school (so I had reception). The phone in my classroom only works on speaker, which is loud and annoying. And other teachers eat lunch in my room, so this was unacceptable. On Saturday night, I ran the dryer before bed. Of course, it wasn’t finished before we went to sleep, since it took forever to dry. About an hour into my glorious slumber, I heard a buzzer that could wake the dead. And a minute later, it did it again. And just to be sure the neighbors knew that my clothes finally were dry, it went off a third time. I was sure it was signaling the zombies to wake and attack. Three times!!! Why would a buzzer go off three times? On Sunday, we went to the store to see if I could upgrade my machine to one that allowed me to turn off the fog-horn of a buzzer, since I was returning my defective dryer anyway. Also, I wanted to see if the drum turned easier on the floor models. They turned easily with one hand. My machine was cursed! 

So, now I am returning the dryer. I paid the extra for a higher model that has the most important knob on any machine, the silence knob. Right now, they have our money for two dryers. It will take ten business days after they pick up the cursed machine to process my refund. That’s okay. At least I have a solution. I am really not that picky. I lived with coins in my dryer for three years. 

Have a great week everyone! And buy the dryer with the signal shut off. You don’t want your house to be the beacon that signals the start of the zombie apocalypse.