now the washing machine is broken

**grneyegrl** · 07-21-2004, 10:24 AM

boy when it rains its pours..now the washer is broken,its now spinning..but i think i can get my best friends son to fix it.. i loaned him my sewing machine and its not back yet soooooooo
he woes me one

i just have to track him down,, im sooooooooo mad at my sister.. she knew it wasnt spinning but didnt tell me..i could have got this fixed sooner or atleast found out if it was possible

in the mean time

i need to run to the laundry mat to get one load that i really need done..then i will hang it on my line..my uniforms are all clean and i have enough till monday when im off and can run to the laundry mat again..

im not really mad about the machine braking..it was purchased new in 1982 or so ..we got our moneys worth..i did manage to talk my mother in to watching the sears flyers for a deal..

oh my sister has very mild mental retardation and cant help a lot of what she does..we just dont trust her at all.

**guest2** · 07-21-2004, 01:58 PM

I know how you feel. We had to replace the washer, dryer, water heater and a few parts on the cars all within a short time frame. Hope you find a good deal on them soon.

**canadian gardener** · 07-21-2004, 02:23 PM

Oh hon, that is not fun!

PS when I had to live without one for a while once, I took a laundry detergent bucket and a new toilet plunger, filled it with hot soapy water and washed the stuff by pumping the plunger up and down a lot, squishing soapy water thru the clothes.

Fish the stuff out of the bucket and sling into a bath tub of cool clean rinse water, and let it sit till all the "loads" are into the tub,

swish them around, let the water drain,

fill up with a second rinse and repeat till the soap is gone.

(helps if you don't put too much detergent in to start, about 1/8 cup or 2 heaping TBSP of detergent per big 5 gallon pail)

If you then hang the dripping uniforms and shirts on a plastic hanger, out on the line, you can finish the last rinse using the hose.

the weight of the water pulls the wrinkles out.

However it's a lot of work, and I used it for about a month when dh and I were on our own and I didn't have money or laundry facilities.

**canadian gardener** · 07-21-2004, 02:25 PM

Oh and for big stuff like sheets, fill the tub with hot water and laundry, and use the plunger for the "wash load" and then drain and fill a couple of times for rinsing.

That was my dad's method. I think I did the big stuff in the laundromat if I recall.

**gkp1031** · 07-23-2004, 06:41 AM

I hope you can find a new washer on sale soon.

**simplemom** · 07-23-2004, 07:40 AM

I hope you find a washer and dryer soon.

Wow...Margery! Now that's a good idea if your stuck with no way to wahs your clothes! You are very imaginative!

**canadian gardener** · 07-23-2004, 10:27 AM

I had my dad for inspiration. He washed everything in his bathtub for more than a year at one point.

**canadian gardener** · 07-23-2004, 10:36 AM

Oh and I wouldn't recommend it long term. My dad is rather hyper and needs outlets for his energy. This would kill me now to do it more than once.

And my dad didn't bother agitating the clothes or using hot water, just cold water detergent -- I think he used arctic Power, don't even know it is still on the market.

He would let things soak overnight, then swish them with a stick a bit (we aren't talking major agitation here). Let the water out of the tub. Fill the tub and swish a few more times to rinse.

Hang to dry out on the clothesline. That was the process and after a while his whites became somewhat grey and dingy.

He was in a log cabin he built and he didn't want to bother with electricity or hot water. It was heated with a wood stove in the kitchen and a tiny hot water tank on the side. The water was cold as ice and was fed by gravity into the house.

Worked for him, and would work in a pinch for anyone, but I recommend soaking in detergent no longer than 20 minutes without agitating the clothes.

Somewhere I read that sitting longer tends to redeposit the dirt, firmly onto the cloth fibres.

And I would recommend a more thorough rinse job.

Dad was a widower with a strong inclination to stay single at that time (changed his mind quick with my step mother)

**grneyegrl** · 07-23-2004, 07:58 PM

a lady at work gave me the name of an honest repair shop,,she have used him many times and the shop used to work with her late husband..so i will go there on my next day off and see what they recomend..but i will still contuine looking for a good deal on a washer