The New Washer/Dryer

Some days I feel the need to apologize before I even begin writing because I just can’t say what I need to say.  There’s always “background” information that needs to be shared.  One would think I could tell you about my new washer/dryer without having to go back ten years but . . no, you have to know the whole story!

In 2002, when we bought the house in town in Kentucky, the plan was that I would go there each morning after taking Chad to school, I would spend the day sewing, then pick Chad up from school and go back home to the house in the country but soon Chad and I began staying in town almost every night.  The first thing I needed that I hadn’t expected to need was a washer and dryer so we bought one.  Vince, not wanting to be left out, decided we needed a new washer and dryer at the house in the country so he bought the exact same washer and dryer for home.  But, as you might guess, he brought most of his laundry to me to wash so the washer and dryer in the country rarely got used.

When we moved to Missouri, I left the washer and dryer at the house in town for the girl who bought that house.  We used the washer and dryer from the house in the country for the 4-1/2 years we were in MO.  When we moved here, I tried to give that washer and dryer to Chad but the place he rented had a washer and dryer already so he didn’t want it.

When we were renting here, we used that same washer and dryer but when we bought this house, the former owners left the compact stacked washer and dryer because they said the dryer was gas and they didn’t have gas at their new house.  It ended up that the dryer isn’t gas but we’ve used that washer and dryer for the past year.  A few weeks ago the washer quit spinning because someone had a nail in their pocket during the wash and it jammed the motor.  Thank goodness it wasn’t a memory stick!  🙂

The repairman removed the nail and everything was fine but he noticed a small leak in the area where the detergent goes in.  It’s small and not really causing any issues but it’s going to get bigger. It ended up that it was going to be about $350 to fix it but if we decided to buy a new washer/dryer, they wouldn’t charge us for his initial service call.  It’s kinda like our cars . . lots of them but they’re all getting old!  We have a 2002 model full size washer and electric dryer out in the shop and a 2006 compact stacked washer and electric dryer in the house.

Vince called Comanche Appliance and talked to them way more than they wanted to talk to him I’m sure and when he was happy he’d gotten a great deal, after telling them the price of every appliance dealer in the world on the washer and dryer he wanted, they got them for us and brought them yesterday.

You’re seeing about all there is to my laundry room.  See that shelf unit there?  I really wanted to keep that so I knew I needed to stick with the stack washer/dryer, though I wanted full size and not compact.

On the shelf unit, that’s where the microwave sits because I don’t use a microwave and don’t see the need for one in the house but if Vince wants one, it has to be somewhere besides in my kitchen.  I sound like a mean wife, don’t I?  Laundry baskets go on the bottom shelf.  On the next to bottom shelf, that’s where the canned goods for the week go.  I bring them over from the sewing room once I get the menu made for that week and then I’m not having to bring canned goods over every day.  Overflow from the kitchen like food processor, grain mill, Bosch mixer, and things like that go on the middle shelf.  The next to top shelf has the microwave and the “stuff” is stored on the top shelf  . . since I really can’t reach it anyway.

But, here’s what happened when trying to get the washer/dryer delivered.  The appliance store had told me on Tuesday that the delivery guys would leave Comanche about 8:45 on Wednesday morning and be here about 9:30.  They didn’t get here til about 10:15 because the dryer had to be converted from propane to LP and they had neglected to do that so they had to do that at the shop before they brought the dryer here.  They went to hook up the gas to the dryer and the fitting on their hose was smaller than the fitting on my pipe.  They went out to the old stove in the shop to see if the fitting on there might work but it didn’t so they had to go to the next little town to get the right size part.  By the time they got back and got the dryer hooked up, it was after 2 p.m.

Then, I noticed that the dryer door opened from the wrong side.  The delivery guys said you have to switch the glass around and it wasn’t as easy as it seemed so they didn’t feel comfortable doing it.  I had the installation book out and I told them if they could find the right screwdrivers, I could do it but they said NO!

They called the repair guy, who happened to be in Brownwood, and he got here about 3 and had the delivery guys stay and watch what he did so they could do it next time.  I’m glad they didn’t let me try it.  There’s a whole lot more to it than it is with plain dryer doors with no glass.  At almost 4 p.m. . . they all left and you can say it took all day for me to get my washer/dryer delivered and installed.

I am so happy to have a gas dryer again.  Maybe without having an electric dryer, I won’t get a frownie face from my electric company. We ended up getting the Frigidaire Affinity set.

It looks like we’re about ready to open a laundromat.

And across the room, where there’s a 220 plug, there’s the other old dryer.

Another reason why we can never move . . three washers and three dryers.   Surely some day Vince will be able to part with some of them.