Laundry

This week my washing machine simply stopped working. I had my suspicions of the cause, but I called for service anyway.

The service person came today. She was a woman. After I explained the problem she knew just where to go. I needed a new pump, which fortunately she had in her truck.

As she was vacuuming out the water left in the old pump, she found two knee-hi stockings lodged there and saw another one stuck in the hose. The box that had the new pump included a mesh bag to be used for small articles. She suggested that I use it. I used to use a mesh bag, but after a while, it just seemed like too much trouble so I stopped using it. After she installed the new pump, she checked the space between the drum and the wall of the washer and found about a dozen knee-hi's. It was very embarrassing.

I admitted that I thought the problem might have been the amount of powdered detergent I was using, which is a lot. She said that I really don't need too much detergent. She also added that it has recently been discovered that Oxy-Clean can cause damage to the rear bering in front loader washers since it is designed to go after grease. Another mistake I've been making.

The third mistake I've been making is that I don't separate my laundry except for light colors and dark colors. I put sweaters in the same load as jeans or bulky towels. That's a big no-no.

She also suggested that I occasionally run the machine with about 1/2 cup of white vinegar, just to clean it out.

Imagine, after close to 50 years, I'm finally learning how to do laundry.