Return of the Washing Machine

I let our clothes line dry in the sun room. Even the ones I take the the laundromat, I bring home slightly damp after centrifuging them to hang. It is starting to get colder here and the clothes are taking longer to dry out there, because the sun room, is not heated, and I don't want our clothes freezing in the winter. I can hear it now....

Michael: Cutie, did you wash any brown socks?
Nichole: Yes, they are out in the sunroom, but you can't wear them.
Michael: Why not?
Nichole: They are frozen.

Last night Michael had the brilliant idea of using our broken washer/dryer (they are one in the same) to JUST dry the clothes without washing them. Dry the clothes, in the dryer! Oh my gosh, what a genius idea, and WHY and HOW, on earth, has it taken us many long months to come up with that? Surely there was a reason, but we couldn't think of it. Surely we had tried that before, but we couldn't remember it. We must not have even thought to do it. Seems silly huh?

Today I did my first load of laundry and hung everything on the hanging rack to dry except one shirt, the test shirt, which I stick in the machine. I turn on the dry cycle and everything seems great, test shirt is tossed around, and the glass is heated up. Wow, did we just figure out a way to dry our cloths? GREAT! I'll let test shirt dry completely before I put a whole load in.

I wash load number two. When I look down I do a double take to see that the washer is filled with water!! WHAT WHAT WHAT?? First, how did that happen when I had it on the dry cycle? And second, how did that happen without the water spewing all over the floor? I have no answers but start to slowly feel like an idiot as I'm running through the possible conversation in my head...

Nichole: (trying not to laugh at her own stupidity) Michael, I need a beer...or 5.
Michael: (with a confused look) Why?
Nichole: I've been doing our laundry by hand SINCE FEBRUARY, when our washer actually does work!!
Michael: (feeling really bad for his hard working housewife) your kidding?
Nichole: No. I'm not. But we can't tell my mom. She is going to love this, and we will never hear the end of it.
Michael: (laughs)
Nichole: No, seriously, we can't ever tell her.
Michael: Here, have a beer.


So, how in the world does the washer magically fill with water without flooding our bathroom? I need to find the trick so I can stop lugging our big stuff to the laundromat and maybe finally stop washing stuff by hand too! I sit and stew over this wonderful possibility for about 10 minutes when I hear the washer/dryer stop. I think its time for the water to drain...NOPE! The next thing I remember I hear a VERY familiar noise that wakes me from my happy dreamy washing machine at home state, and I take off like a bolt of lightning to the bathroom and fumble with the controls to make the machine stop. I grab a towel and place it below the dryer to soak up the puddle of water that I think is still pretty much under control. Not wanting to cause it anymore stress, I get test shirt outta there, which is now soaking wet, and throw it in the sink to be rewashed.

Now, I have to drain the water.
Ok, easy enough, I'll hit the drain button.
Nothing.
Crap, I forgot that the machine doesn't drain either!

I change clothes so I can clean up the mess. I come back and sit in front of the machine with a damp towel between us. Then, I hear the machine click over to another setting and without warning water is spewing not just all over the floor, but me too. I try a couple different things with the machine, and everytime I just manage to get more wet and the bathroom gets more flooded.

Nice.

I think it is at this point I text Michael


Nichole: Your idea of trying out the dryer was a bad bad idea. Very bad. I definitely have my hands full till you come home. BAD IDEA
Michael: What happened?
Nichole: Too long to type
Michael: ok......
Nichole: but its a mess of water everywhere
Michael: sorry!
Nichole: oh its not all your fault ;)
Michael: I think it is
Nichole: then you should come home and help me
Michael: I should
Nichole: awe dont worry about it
Michael: I'll help when I get home
Nichole: ok

(I'm still waiting for him to come home to help. Soon though. Soon.) I look back at the bathroom and water is still kinda leaking from somewhere and now, the couple piles of clothes I had on the bathroom floor to be washed are also all wet. I felt better about it when I decided to look at the wet clothes as lucky cuz they got a pre-rinse. :)

I manage to clean the floor all up, which was difficult because I didn't want to get more then one towel sopping wet, nor did i feel like using 4 rolls of paper towels to do the job. I washed the towel, test shirt and all the rest of the clothes that got wet. And those are all happily drying on our hanging rack in the sun room making fun of all our other clothes that didn't get a pre rinse.

Now the machine is sitting there half filled with water with no way to drain it. Well there is a way, but I was wet and cold and couldn't deal with it any longer, so I'm gonna have Michael help me because it too, will create a mess. Basically, we will take cups, and toss water out of there cup by cup. Unfortunately, at the end, there is a little trap on the machine, that has to be drained which will again, get water all over the floor, but with both of us, hopefully it will limit the amount.

Now, I am sitting here nice and cozy in warm flannel pj bottoms that Sharon got me for my birthday and a nice dry shirt, writing this as a way for us to remember, that YES, we have tried just drying the clothes, and please, don't under any circumstances, try it again.