Apartment 2024

Last Friday, my parents celebrated their 38th wedding anniversary. It’s an impressive feat, especially given the fact that they had known each other just six weeks on the day they got married. My dad was 21 and my mom had just turned 23 six days before. After the wedding, they drove from San Francisco to Virginia, getting to know the other person’s quirks and habits, held together by a marriage license and a two-door Karmann Ghia. There were times in the first year (as well as some of the years between now and then) when they weren’t sure that it would work and that the commitments that held them together wouldn’t be enough, but somehow they always managed to make it work.

Recently they were at a party, where the majority of people in attendance were closer to my age than theirs. Someone turned to my mom and asked her how they had done it for so long. She thought for a minute and said, “You have to just keep working at it. Oh, and make sure to take some separate vacations.” Sounds like good advice!

I just needed to take a moment and gush about the new washer/dryer. So far, it’s amazing. I have to admit that I was a little concerned that the convenience of having more space in the kitchen would be offset by the fact that it was going to be a fussy appliance, but it was a gamble we decided to take. And as of yet, the risk seems to be paying off. Many of the reviews talked about issues with drying, and how everything would come out wrinkled. So far, no problems on that front.

Another thing I was concerned about was the duration of the cycle. In the online reviews, people complained about the length of time it would take to do a single load. While it is true that it’s a slightly longer cycle than a traditional washer and dryer would require, it fits into my laundry habits perfectly. You see, since I started working a block and a half away, I would often start a load of laundry in the morning and then come home at lunch to switch that load to the dryer and start another load in the washing machine. Now, I can start the machine in the morning and when I get home at lunch time, it is totally done. If need be, I can start another load then, which will be done when I get home from work. I did this today, as I had something of a laundry backlog because I didn’t get around to catching up with the pile before they took the old machines away last Sunday and then we added to the basket over the last few days.

I feel a bit like a 1950’s housewife, getting so excited over a new washing machine, but let me tell you, this thing is awesome. The giddiness I feel is totally warranted.

I learned an important lesson last night. Always check every hose, even if it’s one that you know you didn’t loosen. You see, I ran a load of laundry in the new machine last night and everything seemed to be fine and dandy, until I headed into the kitchen to clean up for the night. When I noticed that there seemed to be some water leaking from the cabinet onto the floor. I opened it up to discover an inch of water. I started bailing the water out, grabbing towels while also trying to determine where the water was coming from. As I mopped, I ruled out the water pipes themselves, which meant that it was coming from the drainage tube. When I reached out and grabbed that hose, it was loose.

As in, not tight around the pipe at all, allowing water from the washer to pour straight into the cabinet.

I ran for a flat-head screwdriver and had the leak stopped within moments. I sat there, watching until I was convinced that it was truly no longer leaking, did the clean up and went to bed.

However, this morning, I woke up to strange voices in my living room. Scott was in the shower and so I cracked the bedroom door and called out, “Hello?”

It was two maintenance guys from the building. Apparently the water from the initial leak had seeped into my neighbor’s hallway, she had called the front desk and they had come to check it out. They called twice, but I didn’t hear the phone ring, so they came on in (understandable when it comes to water leaks). Thankfully, after hastily getting dressed, I was able to explain what had happened, so they were prevented from ripping a hole in the back of my closet to look for the source of the problem. We ran the wash cycle again and it didn’t leak a drop.

So now I’ve learned that you should always check all the hoses, even if they aren’t ones that you touched during removal or installation. The guys who took the old machines away on Sunday must have loosened it in their haste to get to the washer disconnected and since it wasn’t one I had touched, I didn’t even think about needing to tighten it. Next time I have reason to install a washing machine (or any appliance that involves water) I will double check EVERYTHING!

They cleaned up the water in my neighbor’s apartment, and Harvey the maintenance guy said that the leak wasn’t a bad one. I still need to check with her tonight and find out if there’s any permanent damage, but as accidents go, it wasn’t a bad one.