Laundry Troubles...

After a week of cleaning, scraping and painting the basement laundry room and forgoing laundry duty I was excited to see the two grumpy men delivering our new washer and dryer last Friday. The deliverymen were unbelievably rude and crabby - and this after being 2 1/2 hours late in the delivery time. I won't go into it here but let's just say that I really believe that if Dave had been the one at home instead of me and the kids, they would have acted totally different. Maybe even (GASP!) a little courteous.

After they succeeded in getting the washer and dryer down the steps and setting it up they commented that a "cheap" part that holds the hose into the drain broke and I should get it fixed (see pic).

They then left with the words, "The dryer has been in the truck all day, it'll take a little while to heat up." I thought it was a strange remark but at the same time just wanted them to be gone. I got a load of laundry going (remember -we were without a w/d for an entire week - there was LOTS of laundry to do) and later on, when the same load was still damp after 1 1/2 hours in the dryer I became frustrated. It only got worse the next day when we realized there was, in fact, no heat whatsoever coming from the dryer. Finally, on Sunday I called the store and told them I needed a technician immediately.

The technician, Don, showed up today. From past experience I know he's a great guy and very helpful. It was no different today and he told me he thought the problem must have to do with the electricity so I then called an electrician. Russ came over and within a few minutes he came back upstairs and told me the problem was fixed - he'd plugged the dryer all the way into the 220 outlet.

I can't believe it; Don, I'm sure, can't believe it, and the store rep we were working with certainly couldn't believe it. We'd already had a long conversation about the two characters that delivered the set - but I'm sure he's had yet another one with them by now. He was wonderful though and immediately told me the store would pay for the electrician's bill when we get it. He then called Dave and apoligized to him as well.

I was just happy to having a working pair, thrilled in fact. I put in a load of laundry and couldn't wait to get it into the dryer - just to check things out. Imagine my surprise when I went to move the clothes to the dryer and this is what I saw in the laundry room: Apparently the hose that needed the cheap part came out of the drain and sprayed water all over the freshly painted floor.

I just cried, and then as I mopped up the floor and some of the new paint came bubbling off, I cried some more. Then when I moved the washer to dry out underneath it and the paint came right off in tracks, I cried even more. Throughout this whole ordeal I've gone through such a range of emotions - but the crying didn't come until today. Because, really, they did warn me about the cheap part so I'll take the blame for this one. But man, I'm ready for this to be over.