My Washer is Out to Get Me

Okay, not really. But our laundry saga continues to drag on "ad nauseum." The latest chapter began the night before we left on our Tennessee Trip. 


Hannah and our brand new grandson, Samuel, had come to visit for a couple of days while our son-in-law, Jeremiah, was on a business trip. Hannah knows what it's like around here as we prepare to leave town (picture an Antbed), so she didn't feel the least bit slighted as we buzzed around packing. 


The plan was for Kregg to go to the office for a few hours that next morning, then he would come home and we would have everything ready to pull out. The trailer was all hooked up, and we were going to finalize loading that next morning. But as we all know, "the best laid plans of mice and men. . ."


I don't know if my lovely washer was feeling abused from overuse or whether it was feeling neglected because we were leaving town without it. (Does anyone know a good washer therapist I could consult?) 


Anyway, it was probably 11 that night when Hannah threw a tiny little load of diapers in the washer before heading to bed. THANKFULLY, we were still awake. I was sitting in the family room working on something, and Caleb was sitting at the island in the kitchen working on something when he happened to notice water flowing across the floor!


We jumped up and ran into the utility room to find the connection behind the washer had broken and scalding hot water was shooting out of the wall right into the back of the control panel on the washing machine. All I could think of was turning the machine off, which of course was now impossible because the circuitry was fried. Electronics and water just refuse to play nicely! The lovely green LED read out was flickering eerily as I futilely pushed buttons. Meanwhile, the flooding continued. 


Kregg galloped to my rescue on his shining white horse and turned the water off behind the machine. Why didn't I think of that? At this point, it didn't matter because the damage was done.


The kids hadn't been in bed long, but because I had been working them like slaves all day, they were already asleep when they answered the summons to come help with our mess. Stumbling into the kitchen to survey the situation, it took the repetition of their marching orders several times to get them moving.


A mop was useless to stem the tide as we tried to keep the water from flowing under the baseboards at the bottom of the far wall of the family room. We needed a barrier and we needed it fast! We sent the kids, knowing my fate was already sealed, to retrieve every towel in the house (which I now had no way to wash). Everyone started damming up the water as quickly as possible to prevent the expansion of the wet area. By the end of the battle, the pile of wet towels was enormous. 


Now what?


It was probably midnight by the time we sopped up the last puddle. The washing machine lid was locked and wouldn't open because the lock is electronic. Which meant all of Samuel's diapers were now trapped inside. We piled the towels in some big tubs and fell into bed, planning to deal with things the next morning. 


As soon as their office opened, I was on the phone to our appliance repairman. Big surprise. He had no openings until well into the following week, when we would be in Tennessee. I hung up and started to call another repairman, but remembering the terrible time we had before trying to get someone who actually knew what they were doing, I called my guy back and scheduled him for the Monday after we got home from our trip. Caleb and Mackenzy would just have to make do while we were gone. 


But Samuel's diapers? Hannah was leaving that morning, too, and I didn't know what to do about them. Thankfully, my resourceful youngest son decided he could solve that problem. Unbeknownst to me, he had gone into the utility room to attempt a rescue mission. He came out smiling, telling me he had gotten the lid open and the diapers were now free!! Still dirty, but free! Yipee!!!


But all those towels and diapers had to be dealt with immediately, so I left the kids with a list of the chores to be accomplished while I was gone, reminding them that our very vacation depended on their faithfulness in carrying out their duty to the utmost of their ability, and headed to the laundromat. Surprisingly, I actually remembered where one was!


Knowing I'd be there a while, I took my Kindle to try and catch up on my daily Bible reading, which I hadn't been doing daily or I wouldn't have been behind. 
And everything worked out perfectly. The dryers all went off in unison as I finished the last verse to be completely caught up! Now I could start the vacation on schedule with my reading. That was a great blessing.


Thankfully, I had almost been caught up on laundry, which for me means everything in the house is clean except what they are wearing at that moment. By the time we returned, the dirty stuff made quite a pile. So Monday morning, I waited anxiously for the repairman. He came that afternoon and told me what we already knew: the control panel was fried. Locating the part two hours away, he scheduled his return visit for Wednesday. Which meant, two more days worth of outfits and linens for 8 people would be added to the already formidable pile. No problem. I am, after all, a seasoned laundry veteran.


Yesterday came and I waited and waited, missing (again) Josh's orthodontist appointment. Finally he called to tell me he was on his way. The actual repair didn't take more than a half hour and as I was writing another check ($320) to repair this wonderful machine that we could now have more than replaced with the money poured into repairs, he told me how there had been a mix-up on his  schedule for the day. We weren't even on his list! EEEEEKKK! The lady that makes up his route, even though we were on his schedule, didn't add us to his driving list. He just happened to remember, because I had been so pitiful, while he was in a nearby neighborhood that he was supposed to visit us that day. So, because he is the best repairman on the planet, he drove all the way back across town to the shop, even though he was booked solid. He asked the parts guy if our part had come in, thinking that might be the reason we weren't on his list. But, sure enough, there sat our new control board, all bright and shiny. So he went to the scheduling lady and asked her to double check things. Yup, she had accidentally left us off his route for the day. He told me that if he hadn't remembered, it would have been next week before they could possibly have worked us back in! Needless to say, this repairman has our undying loyalty as long as he's in business. 


I had already told the kids to get their laundry ready so we could get it started the very second the washer was working again. So before he pulled out of the driveway, an enormous load was piled in and the machine started. I assumed things were now looking up. Rebekah, walking by the utility room noticed the washer making an odd noise. NOOOO!!! This couldn't really be happening, could it? I went to check. It was humming. But it wasn't running. I turned it off and back on. Still nothing but that annoying hum.


I hated to call the guy and make him come back, I really don't want to ever make this man mad at me, but there was no choice. When he answered his phone, I said, "Please don't hang up on me, but my washer isn't working. It's just sitting there humming." I was hoping he wasn't too far down the road and wouldn't get upset having to come back.


He said, "You might want to flip the water valves on."


I just started laughing! How silly of me! He was laughing at me, too. But that's okay. He can laugh at me all he wants as long as he answers his phone when I call him next time. 


Maybe I should add him to our Christmas card list.


We have to go out of town AGAIN in a few days. Do you think I should worry?