My Husband Chose My Washer - Again!

About a week ago, I jumped out of bed fearing a fire. I tracked the burnt smell to our laundry closet where our top-loading washer was having difficulty. I quickly turned off the chugging machine, pulled the plug from the outlet and made sure of no flames or smouldering before leaving the load in limbo and returning to bed.

The next morning, I alerted Dan to the trouble. He eventually diagnosed a worn out transmission. To fix or replace it? That was the question with our four-year-old washer.

At the time we bought it, I wrote a blog post called, "My husband chose my washer." Dan figured we'd get 10 years use out of this one being our previous washer had lasted that long. What he didn't foresee was how our washer's work load would increase as our boys grew. Sometimes the machine washes eight loads a day and into the night, especially if the boys return late from their sporting events. One could surmise that we got 10 years of normal-family use from that machine in less than half that time. Or perhaps, as Dan concluded, "They just don't build machines to last like they use to."

Given our active household of five, our rural septic system and the cost of repair, Dan opted for a replacement. This time he chose a front-loading washer for its water-and-soap efficiency as well as the five-year warranty. His hope is that if this machine doesn't last as long as the other one, the warranty will cover a replacement.

Our front-loading machine arrived today. During installation, one of the delivery men ran a test round. The machine lit up and sang a musical tune.

"It sounds like R2D2," I said. He replied, "Oh, it'll talk to you. In fact, if something ever goes wrong with it, you just call the 1-800-number and hold the phone up to the machine. It will talk to a computer that will diagnose the problem right over the phone."

Later when I explained this feature to Dan, he said, "You know what the washer's gonna tell the computer? Help! Get me outta here. These people work me too hard!'"

Wish I could tell someone that too. Meanwhile, I'm glad my husband chose my washer, again!