Thursday, September 5, 2019

Washer Woes and Toddler Adventures

Our washing machine has been comatose for more than a week. After a couple days of tinkering, Hubby was not sure whether resuscitation was possible or even desirable. 

The repairman wasn't available until after the weekend. So off Hubby went with about a week’s worth of laundry to the local washateria (“laundromat” for those who are under 70 and didn’t grow up in Mississippi).   

The current washer woes reminded me of another washing machine malfunction that had me scurrying to that same washateria almost 40 years ago with a load of cloth diapers.

Accompanying me was our youngest son, not yet a year old. He required a near constant parental eye on him as he was an avid and determined explorer of the look, touch, taste variety.

I walked in with son on one hip and the piled high laundry basket on the other.

In that long ago era, the establishment offered no air conditioning, just an exhaust fan in the ceiling. I could see through the vent to the sky above, and the sun on the slowly rotating fan blades made shadows on the floor. 

That exhaust fan didn’t help the heat and humidity much with nearly every washer and dryer in operation. I snared the only available washer left, stood my toddler by me and started loading the washer with an eye on my son.

But when I started putting quarters in the slidey thing, it wouldn’t slide in. My mom radar failed for the few moments I jiggled and pushed until it slid in and the washing machine started.

I turned to check on my little one. He was stretched out on the floor, the dirty floor, on his stomach, licking the shadows the exhaust fan made on the floor—on that extremely dirty, dirty floor. Did I mention it was filthy?

I cannot remember what I did next. I know I avoided my initial reaction, which was to throw up. And our son is still around with full use of his arms, legs and mental faculties, so there was no destructive mom meltdown. 

Knowing his character, I suspect that in our little experimenter’s mind it would have been impolite NOT to sample this new potential and fascinating treat. Yuck!

Update: Hubby made one more trip to that establishment before the repairman came out to give us an estimate. Price was good; part had to be ordered; it arrived in a few days.

We were shortly back in business. Hooray!

-30- 

10 comments:

  1. How nice to have a handy husband who can fix appliances. My Retired Man used to do things like that but now he looks at them for a few minutes and then tells me we need a new one.

    When my first child was born, we lived in a small rental apartment in a very rural, three block town in Michigan. We did not have a washer so my husband would drive to the only laundromat to wash a weeks full of dirty diapers. When he opened the diaper pail, whoever was there left quickly. There was no a/c and the building was small. I am sure that word got out to not go to the laundromat on Mondays. The aroma probably didn’t leave for hours.

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  2. We need those washing machines in working order. Last time I had a problem with mine,I ended up buying a new one.

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  3. Boys WILL be boys for sure.I think I would have had the same reaction! Ewww!

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  4. As you probably know, I just bought a new washer. Why is it, the minute we don't have one, we have stuff we want to wash? I am glad you are able to at least get a part for yours. Or I always do. I loved the story of your son...smiling from ear to ear.

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  5. hoo ray for a repaired washer. I can do with out a dryer but not the washer. when mine were toddlers, 2 in diapers at one time, all cloth diapers, I would take the wash to the laundromat, not washeiteria, and wash them, then because I could not afford the dimes it took to use the dryer, went home and hung them on the line, unless of course it was raining and I had to spend those precious dimes... I was blessed, not toddlers licking floors, I had a mom who stayed at my house with them. I loved the laundromat because I got a time away from 2 babies in diapers.. I don't love them now though, the laundromat,not the toddlers. ha ha

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  6. Well did not see that coming. Yikes. Good that he survived so well. I use to get in some great reading time at the laundromats.
    So glad you are back in business. We never really appreciate something till it goes on the blink.

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  7. Oh, I love the way you described your times at the Washateria.
    So glad your son survived..HaHa...a little dirt is good for what ails ya.
    Happy your washer can be repaired and the price is good.
    the older we get the more we break down just like our appliances.

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  8. I cannot tell you how many times I have thought of this and started laughing. It will one of my favorite posts. One of those I remember the rest of my life.

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  9. Oh my goodness, what a flashback memory that was. Funny now in retrospect, but I think I would have freaked out at the time.

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  10. That was so funny — although not funny at all at the moment you saw your baby licking the floor! The two “laundry mats”, as my neighbors call them, here in our small South Carolina town STILL don’t have air conditioning! I don’t know how people stand it in the summer but they are well used every day year around.

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