Sunday, November 11, 2007

I feel so betrayed.

For ten years, I believed this to be true:
Hot/Cold
Warm/Warm
Cold/Cold
Warm/Cold

I've never selected the first two settings, only the third and fourth.

Today, as I tossed clothing into the machine, some water splashed on my hand. Hey! Wait a minute! This was supposed to be the Cold/Cold setting and the water was just about hot. I turned the knob to Warm/Cold and there it was. Cold/Cold.

Was this duplicity the case all these long years of doing laundry? Ten long years with a machine I thought I could trust? If so, I'm left with so many unanswered questions. Does temperature really matter? Does the setting capriciously change mid-cycle?

We all know that the same detergent is in all those mega-bottles that scream from the shelves about their different benefits. Bleach! Unscented! Eco-friendly! Turbo power! Lies- lies all. But I could live with that.

It's the shiny, white, space-saving, up-til-now reliable duplex washer-dryer that is making me so sad. The trust. It's gone.

And now I wonder: what about its dryer settings?
Oh, no...

4 comments:

Carrie P said...

I can sympathize with appliances that lie. I bought a house almost a year ago. Anything warmer than the warm/warm setting does not work. The cleanest I can get my clothes is warm/cold. However, I have not tested the actual temperature of the water that comes out. I'm now very concerned. Luckly, I have a trusty radio-transmitter thermometer that I can impress into service.

At least I *know* my oven is a tempermental bastard--he runs hot.

Carrie P said...

Gah! As promised, I tested my water temp in my washing machine, and it's at a steady 60 degrees! On both warm/warm and warm/cold.

I have not yet tested cold/cold. The tub filled before I could switch the knob again.

I confirmed that I'm not out of hot water (I also did dishes this morning) by running the tap next to the washer, which came out at 111 degrees.

I wonder if my hot water hookup to the washing machine not working or something. I'm pretty sure the water has been warm before.

Yay scientific method! Experiment, analyze, repeat!

Brickgrrl said...

Oh my gosh- if I had half your energy, my life would be so turned around. Clean studio! Holiday cards in the mail! No paperwork backlog! But alas, no. More power to you, though. Inspiring.

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking this was a metaphor, right?