– Random Writings: Column by Rebecca Lindquist – - Technologically challenged
– Random Writings: Column by Rebecca Lindquist –
It’s time for another riveting tale of “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up.” Of all the genes I could pass on to my daughter, Hannah, rotten luck with anything mechanical, seems to be the most dominant.
A few weeks ago, Hannah called, concerned, because she was washing clothes and when the machine reached the spin cycle, it stopped. She tried everything, without success, and was left with a drum full of water and wet clothes.
Her apartment has an in-unit washer/dryer stackable, which is fantastic…when it’s working. When she and her roommate first moved in, the dryer latch was broken, evidenced by the duct tape holding the door closed.
Fortunately, Han has great friends, who offered the use of their equipment, so Han was able to keep current with clean towels and work uniforms.
She was planning on coming home to visit, so I told her to bring any dirty laundry to wash here. She had five loads, but got caught up with everything. (A couple days later, she reported maintenance had repaired the washing machine, as well as the dryer latch.)
After Hannah headed back to her apartment, I tossed a load of towels in the washing machine to catch up on my own laundry. The load washed without incident. To set the scene, I also own a stackable unit. I placed a few towels in the dryer and, as I was reaching to grab more out of the washer, my elbow somehow caught the dryer knob with such force and the entire panel flopped forward.
I was so shocked, I just stood there aghast. I could see all the gears and wiring housed behind the panel. I’m no service expert by any means, but after carefully inspecting it, I didn’t find any frayed wires or loose circuitry, so I decided to see if it would still work. I had to use my left shoulder to prop the panel back in place, while trying to maneuver the dryer knob with my right hand.
It resembled a distorted version of the Twister game, but it worked. Once that load had dried, I started washing a load of clothes.
Apparently, I was a little too smug. Everything seemed to be progressing smoothly, until it reached the spin cycle, at which point, it completely stopped working. I tried pushing the washer knob in and out, restarting the washing cycle, holding the panel in place, all while shamelessly pleading for it to work.
I was on the verge of a typical meltdown, when it occurred to me Han and I are definitely kindred spirits, now that I also have a washing machine drum full of water and sopping wet clothing.
Thinking there may be a loose connection after all, I decided to tape the panel back in position, to see if that made any difference. The metal housing piece is heavy, so it required quite a few strips of tape to hold it in place. My only issue with that quick fix, is the tape covers the settings, necessitating a guess when selecting a cycle.
Bright blue painter’s tape may not be the most attractive, but it saved the day and my sanity… for now.
I’ll eventually call my service technician to have the machine properly reassembled, but am dragging my heels, envisioning having to explain how that could possibly happen. The dryer knob only protrudes about a half inch from the unit, so how my elbow caught it, is still a mystery. It hit hard, too. My arm tingled the entire next day.
After this last fiasco, I contemplated becoming a nudist, but with all the bugs and mosquitoes in the summer, and the below-zero temperatures in the winter, it’s just not a practical solution, so I’ll continue to wallow in embarrassment and self-pity, and keep my elbows to myself.
