Laundry

About six months before we moved into this house, our trusty clothes washing machine started making this HORRIBLE noise during the spin cycle... kinda like a cross between thumping and grinding. It was loud and long. We called the repair guy out to our house ($75 for the house call!) and he basically said, "Its the blah blah blah basket thingy (obviously I can't remember what its called) and he said we would be better off buying a new washer. He said that either the motor would burn up and catch our house on fire, or else it would just stop spinning one day and we'd be left with a washer full of wet soapy clothes.

Well, I guess I should be thankful that we never did see a fire ignite, but I was not happy with the alternative either.



I had to take each towel and piece of clothing out individually and wring it out as best I could. And it wasn't just wet, it was wet and soapy with dried bits of undissolved powdered detergent on them. The long beach towels were the worst to deal with. I got water all over the floor, of course.

Thank goodness my mother came to my rescue. She stopped by after work that night and picked up my basket of wet things to take back to her place.



A few days later (and two children with stomach viruses later!) we got our new washer and dryer delivered. After much internet research, we narrowed our choices down to three brands. The Maytag Bravo, the LG Elite, and the Whirlpool Duet.

Then we called our neighbor Dennis from across the street. He works at Lowe's in the Appliance department. He said he loves his Whirlpool Duet. Then it just so happens that Brian's company gets a discount on Whirlpool appliances! Can't beat that! So, the Whirlpool was the winner.


So, this was the source of entertainment in our home that evening:


I was really surprised at how high tech it all is now. Sensors, lights, buttons, etc. Of course, Jayce is absolutely obsessed with the buttons, lights, and noise. And the child lock on it? Yeah, can be undone with no problem by him. We had to get yet another doorknob lock on the laundry room door and sneak in and out so he won't hear us do laundry. He loves to watch it go around and around and he repeatedly asks us to go watch it. Except that we aren't doing laundry constantly, so the answer is usually no.




So, do I love it? Yeah, not really. I mean, they are great and all. I'm glad I am using less water in this new washer. But I have to admit that I am not overly impressed. I am just not sure its worth the money. It takes longer to wash, about the same amount of time to dry, the clothes don't feel any less wet when you transfer them, I can't use my good smelling Surf Sparkling Ocean detergent anymore, and I'm just not convinced that they get the clothes any cleaner. For $2,000 you would think that I would be in love with them! Maybe they'll grow on me :)