Laundry no-no

See this product called " Tide Boost"?  Let me tell you what it is not....it is not laundry detergent.  No siree bob, it is not meant to wash your clothes.  How do I know this?  Because it took my mom coming for a visit and while she was here, she went to do a load of towels and wondered where my laundry detergent was.   When I showed her what I've been using (for the last 55 or so loads of wash), she said this isn't detergent.

Um, what?!?!?!!?  You know...my mom was right!  This isn't laundry detergent.  OMG!  What a fool I've been.  All this stuff does is help release stains and aid your regular laundry detergent.

Thank G-d my mom came when she did.  I had almost finished this container of 62 pods and probably would've grabbed another the next time I was at the store.

I just want to go back and rewash all our clothing.  Good thing we caught this before we got into the really hot, sticky days of Summer.  Boy, do I feel like a fool.

Meet Bailey; Our cream puff of a German Shepherd

So our washer is finally fixed! It was touch and go there for about 24 hours, when Mike came back yesterday to put in the new part and left with the machine humming along nicely. I went to go pick up Ian from preschool and returned to find the same error message (LD) flashing at me. Ugh!

After rescheduling a return visit for earlier today, I got the call from Mike that he was on his way, just as I was heading out the door to go pick up Ian again from preschool. Not wanting to give up our space in line and jeopardize Mike going to someone else's house first, I told him to come to the house and I would leave the door unlocked.

The wash situation was getting out of control as Ian was down to his last pair of clean pajamas and he was starting to freak out. I thought for sure I would end up at the laundromat again tomorrow night. And I had plans to go purchase a new washing machine on Saturday at the first place that promised delivery and installation within 24 hours.

I was pretty confident that Bailey would be okay with Mike letting himself in. He had met him twice before and Mike expressed no fear at what I proposed to him on the phone. I got home 20 minutes later and found that the washer machine was finally fixed! In addition to the part needing to get replaced, there was also some kind of blockage in a tube in the way back of the machine. This was a first for Mike and the tech he consulted with when he reported that I was still getting the error message. Lucky us!

On one hand I am very happy that Bailey didn't eat Mike. I am also happy that we wasted no time in getting the machine fixed. But, it would've been nice to know (in some small way), that I do have a guard dog on my hands if I need it. Whenever a repair or service guy shows up at our house and Bailey greets them at the door, the first thing I get asked is, "Does he bite?". My standard answer is, "Not unless you give him a reason to." But who knows? Maybe even if there was cause, Bailey would still be more intent on bringing the new guy who arrived a toy to play with, rather than cause him any harm. I am thanking my lucky stars that we haven't had to find this out.

Quarters, anyone? Part II

I was definitely out of my element. The place was hopping and bustling with people getting their wash done. It was mostly filled with families and little kids in tow. Definitely not the scene you see in the movies when young, hip, single New Yorkers are at the laundromat, getting their wash done and flirting with one another. :)

I was the only Caucasian girl in the place and in the minority by not speaking Spanish. Since I only had HE detergent at home, I needed to purchase some regular tide and of course get enough quarters to do the job. Part of me thought that maybe the machines would be able to operate by credit/debit cards, but that was not the case. The machines still took only quarters and lots of them!

I wasn't sure exactly where to start. There were rows and rows of machines and they all looked a little different. I went to the front and introduced myself to the woman who was in charge. She was doing all the drop-0ff laundry. She was so incredibly nice and helped me get my bearings. She told me the differences in the size of washing machines and how much each cost. Yowzer! The washing machines ranged in cost from $2.75 up to $6.75 a load. The difference in price was determined by how big of a machine you are using. I had 4 loads of laundry with me and combined two loads in each machine. I went with a $4.75 washing machine and it seemed to fit the clothes nicely. 24 minutes later it was done! The dryers cost .25 for 6 minutes of drying time. Each of my two loads took 42 minutes to dry.

I kept myself busy with a People Magazine (Kate Gosselin now has extensions; It's a new Kate for the new year -- whatever!!! How can this woman still be making headlines and why do I still care to read it?!?!?).

Once the wash was done (I decided to do all the folding at home, although it seemed like the popular thing to do was to fold on-site), I packed up the clothes and headed home. I felt victorious!! Within 2 hours, I got 4 loads of wash done and went a little beyond my comfort zone by doing it in a laundromat. Go Robyn!

The new part should arrive by Tuesday and the technician is scheduled to come on Wednesday. Regular washing should be able to commence at home and my time at the laundromat very short lived. If the washing machine were to break again, Jeff and I agreed we will go out and replace the washer immediately and not even consider repairing this one. Obviously Consumer Reports was wrong about this one. Ha!

Looking back at the scene at the laundromat on Friday night, I feel for those who have this as their only means of getting their clothes clean. Obviously over the long term, spending $19.00 each week to do your wash is not cost effective. I figure these people could've bought a decent washer and dryer free and clear in about a year and a half and not have to drag the kids to hang out at a laundromat while it is getting it done.

In my effort to not take for granted all I have and am blessed with, I went to sleep on Friday night so incredibly grateful for having the means and opportunity to do my wash at home. It is something I have taken for granted and never realized what the alternative is. I appreciate knowing that if necessary we could go out and get a replacement washer in 5 minutes without worrying too much how we'd pay for it.

And, the next time I have stop everything to put the clothes from the washer into the dryer, I will not look at it as an inconvenience, but will happily do it with a smile on my face.

Quarters, anyone?

We are still having problems with our washing machine. It all started right before the big blizzard of December '09. Since then I've had a repair man tell me that we need to replace the motor and it would cost $389 to do so (not including the $50 diagnostic service call). Ugh!! It was a fine line between deciding to get it repaired or just purchase a new one. Since the washing machine was not that old, I was having a hard time swallowing such an expensive repair and called Whirlpool yet again to talk to them about the situation. They agreed to send any necessary parts for free, as long as I took care of the labor costs in getting it replaced. Fair enough. So I received the new motor and called back the technician to replace it.

In the meantime, I was able to use the washing machine, not efficiently, but I could still get the job done. Sometimes it would work fine, just like the old days, and other times we'd get all the way through the cycles up until the Spin cycle and then get the LD (long drain) error message. When this happened, I would have to take the clean, soaking wet clothes and put them in dryer for about 5 hours to get dry. My days of doing all the laundry in one day was over and I would do a load a day in case the machine was acting up, which most days it was.

When the tech came to put in the new motor, I was told the wrong part came. Oh no! It was the blind leading the blind when requesting it. I didn't specify a certain part number and the customer service rep I spoke to just looked up the word "Motor" and ran with it.

While waiting for the new motor assembly part to come, I tried to continue to use the washing machine and ran into a huge roadblock. Now I was getting the LD error message at the very beginning of the cycle. I still have until Wednesday before the repair guy comes back and I desperately needed to get Ian's, mine and a load of towels done.

I ventured into uncharted waters for me and on Friday night, I went to the laundromat in Springfield to get the wash done. I've never been to a laundromat before and I wasn't sure what to expect. I think I picked a good place to go because part of the laundromat was a business that will allow you to drop-off your dirty clothes, someone will wash them for you, fold them and get them back to you the next day. While this had major appeal and seemed like an easy out, I just couldn't get past the idea of some stranger touching my underwear. I then thought about taking my underwear out and handing over the rest, but it seemed like such a prissy move to do. I'm a big girl, I can do my own wash!

Stay tuned for the conclusion of Robyn doing her wash at a laundromat. :)