Wash Day Blues

Guess what my dear, sweet son wore today?

I wish I had snapped a picture of it. He wore his very old jeans that are too short. Shin short. High-waters, as I used to call them. He didn't know what that meant. These jeans were meant to be thrown out because they have holes in them. Fortunately, they were hidden in his closet. We never did get to his room in the big clean-out.

Why?

My washer is only putting out ice-cold water. The ice-cold water is coming out in spurts, not normally. So laundry is on hold. Maybe we should go to the laundromat tomorrow with our school books. I bet that would get some looks.

My washer and dryer are about 20 years old, give or take a year. They were awesome machines, but their time has come. I could call a repairman to have the washer looked at. I fear that because of the cost. We had it repaired one or two years ago, and I think the bill was under $200. If I repair it, though, and it goes again, I'd hate to have wasted the money to repair it that I could have used on a new machine. I mean the thing is 20 years old, after all. We occasionally find rust chips in it, too.

So, this week I have been searching reviews for washers. My goodness, buying a washer is more difficult than buying a house or car. Every time I think I've figured out what I want, further searches lead me in the other direction.

The other night I went to Wal-mart, and I walked down the laundry aisle and there was no HE soap to be found. Hey, if I can't buy it at Wal-mart, it ain't gonna happen. (I hate the word ain't.)

That knocked out all the HE machines.

All the reviews and all the websites I visited just boggled my mind. What I did learn was that washers don't last 20 years anymore. Seven to ten years is the life expectancy for a machine purchased in the late 2000s.

After reading about all the mold, mildew and smell problems with front loaders, I marked them off my list. We live in a very humid place, and I battle mold and mildew in my bathrooms. I don't want to battle it in my washer. If we lived in western South Dakota or anywhere else I've ever lived, it wouldn't be a problem. Here, it is a huge problem.

Nonagitator top loaders were my next choice. They got knocked off my list because of repair records. Lots of people regret buying them. Plus, I don't like the fact that they don't spin the dirty water out, rather the dirty water drains through the clothes and out. That means dirt floating in the water can settle back in the clothes.

So, off to find an old-fashioned top loader. Oh, they don't have good records, either. They don't clean well anymore due to water limitations. I really wanted to go green, but it's not looking good for me.

So, what's my solution? A Speed Queen top loader. We'll drive to civilization this weekend and look at them. Bad in that I can't buy one locally. Bad in that if I need it serviced, they'll have to drive to our town.

They have the best warranty in the business, though. It is reported that they will last 15 years. They're well-built, solid machines. They have excellent reviews.

The good thing is that I can manually choose the water level, so I won't use too much. I can run each load through a second spin cycle so I'll have less dryer time. I'm justifying the fact that this uses a bit more water with the fact that I have finally found a dishwasher liquid that actually allows me to load the dishes without pre-washing them. That search took years.

Money, money, money. At least Bob was able to fix our broken garage-door opener today. Now, to get the power steering looked at in the van.