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. :)