Broken Washer

So today was supposed to be laundry day. I actually woke up early this morning, before 1pm, but that’s probably because I thought it was 3pm already and that we had daylights savings time change last night. Oh yah, don’t forget to update your clocks/watches. Remember, it’s “fall back”, so decrease your clock by 1 hour.

Anyway, when I woke up, I brought my laundry down with the intention of doing it sometime later in the day. I had a notion that I needed to go out to buy food or other stuff, but apparently there was no need this week. I still had enough food to last another week. If not, there’s always take out.

Anyway, time sure flies and before I knew it, it was already 7pm. I was watching At Home Dad (a new Japanese drama that has Abe Hiroshi – the guy from DragonZakura and The Guy Who Can’t Get Married), and it featured the father trying to do laundry and didn’t know how to start the machine. This triggered my brain and I went to start my 1st load. When the water started pouring in, everything seemed fine, but as I was dumping clothes in, the filling of the tub finally stopped, but I heard water trickling sound. At first, I didn’t think much of it, so I continued putting clothes in and closed the lid. When the washer started to spin up, it was rocking back and forth like crazy. I think this was actually another problem unrelated to what I found later. I read somewhere that the clothes have to be balanced inside the washer (can’t have more clothes on 1 side than the other). I can’t verify that anymore, but I guess it works like a centrifuge and as Mangerino always stated, always have an opposite test tube on the other end when you’re using the centrifuge.

Anyway, while trying to make the washer not rock back and forth, I noticed water coming out from the bottom. I’m like, oh shoot. There’s a leak. The washer was working fine 3 weeks ago (you can tell how often I do laundry). Anyway, I started grabbing towels and old laundry and started soaking up the water coming out. I waited while the run completed, since I wanted the water purged out of the washer and there wasn’t a button to do so. I even got out the mop and started soaking it with the water and draining it out at the sink.

The run finally completed and the clothes inside were still soaked. I dumped them into the dryer and started that run. That run actually took 3 hours or so, but I did a bunch of stuff in the mean time.

So when all the water was removed from the floor. I pulled out the washer and tilted it back and tried to see where the problem was. Earlier, I had shone a flashlight through the bottom and saw water trickling out. I actually used a 24 pack of Dr. Pepper and used it to hold the washer from coming down. Underneath the washer was a motor (which was rocking crazily) earlier and a huge cement block. I couldn’t tell where the water was coming from, but I did find a cork on the floor. I have no idea if this has part of the washer or not, but if you know washers and the cork is suppose to go somewhere, PLEASE CONTACT ME. I decided to start a run and fill it with some water to see where it was leaking. It turns out to be a small hole that was rusting. It might’ve been a few small holes, but since it was tilted back, it was only coming out of one. I thought about taping the hole(s) up, but this would only be a temporary solution. Either way, I didn’t have waterproof tape lying around.

And my 2nd load of laundry hasn’t even started. It contained all my undergarment, which when I run out is the sign that I need to do laundry. I had several options:

• Wear used underwear,
• Find a friend and borrow their washer
• Go to a laundromat

I believed option 3 to be the easiest.

So I used Google Maps and Live Local and searched for Laundromats in Bellevue. Stupid systems both showed a bunch of dry cleaners that weren’t related and at which point I wasn’t even sure if a listing was a dry cleaner or a laundromat. I then hit the Yellow Pages and I guess no one in Bellevue uses a laundromat because the closest laundromats is listed in Renton or Redmond. There was one in Bellevue, but at Crossroads, which is basically Redmond. Either way, that one closed at 6pm on Sunday. The one in Redmond is actually quite close to work (next to Safeway). This one closes at 10pm. I got there around 8 and the guy tells me last load was at 7:30pm and that they actually close at 9pm nowadays. What ever happened to 24/7 laundromats? Then again, the only laundromats I ever used was the one in the dorms and the one in my apartment complex, but I always thought laundromats were 24/7 since they’re like vending machines, but instead of spitting out candy, they wash and dry your clothes. You don’t need people to guard them.

Anyway, I told him my story, hoping he’d feel sorry for me and he bought it. Well actually, he asked if I had a washer at home, and because I told him my clothes were soaked, I thought he was going to suggest me to just dry my clothes. However, upon retrospect, I think he was going to suggest I wash my clothes and take it home to dry. Well, either way, I got to wash my clothes. He even let me stay around and used the big dryers and I got my 2nd load of laundry done. Total cost: $2 (excluding gasoline and my time of course). Anyway, he was an extremely nice guy. Apparently he works 12 hours a day, 7 days a week. Poor guy. I can’t blame him for wanting to go home early on Sunday and sleep. Either way, I left the laundromat around 8:45pm. My clothes were still somewhat wet, but oh well, I have a dryer at home, and my underwear is clean.

I get home, and my 1st load of laundry still isn’t dry. I put a portable heater next to the washer to dry up the remaining floor. One thing I forgot to mention was the water actually soaked through the bottom. I had a tiny puddle next to my car in the garage. The ceiling was also showing water. Anyway, that’s not something I have to worry for now, since I don’t expect that place to be normally flooded.

After this whole mess, I took a shower, dumped some clothes in the dryer and it’s actually quite nice to wear warm clothes after a shower, especially on these cold nights. Weather has also been a crazy today. I woke up to rain. Sunshine came out shortly. Then it started to rain and followed by hail. Then sunshine came out again. (You can see why I didn’t want to go out today).

Anyways, it looks like I’ll need to spend $500 and get a new washer. The dryer still works fine, so that one I can keep.