A Story About Our Appliance Repair Lady

We have a very talented young woman who lives at our house.  She keeps our family organized by writing everything on a calendar on the wall and checking it often.  She makes great meals even though she actually doesn't love to cook or bake all that much.  She spends at least an hour each day helping the children with homework and doing extra academic activities with them to help them in areas they are struggling.  She manages to keep her head in stressful situations (most of the time).  She is a great nurse (although not very symptathetic) and has a knack for figuring out what ails each family member and finding what will help them to get well.  She keeps our house clean and sanitary only because cleaning a bathroom is less distasteful that using a dirty bathroom.  Sometimes she suprises me by all that she accomplishes in a single day.  Did you know this young lady is handy with a tool set too?  Well, it's true!  She knows how to install a garbage disposal, change the oil in a car (if she had to), and repair appliances.  Give her a manual and a tool set and if she can't actually repair the problem herself, she can at least figure out what the problem is.

Well, one day a couple of weeks ago, our organizational specialist/cook/teacher/nurse/housekeeper/appliance repair lady had an unfortunate but fairly humorous experience.  I'm going to let her tell you the story in her own words:

Our washing machine and dryer have been problems since they were purchased three years ago.  They have been so awful that Rick and I have banned purshcases from Frigidaire for the the rest our lives--even if they are a "screaming deal" which we thought this set was.  My first clue that these weren't a great purchase was when I had to call the repair man less that 2 months after their purchase to fix a thumping sound in the dryer.  Since the set was under warranty, I didn't waste time researching the problem before I had an expert come;  I just made sure to watch him closely while he removed the snap from a onesie that had gotten stuck between the turning drum and the side of the dryer.  From that point on, I had to listen carefully to the dryer or risk losing buttons/snaps from our clothing.  Sometimes, I had to use a butter knife to unstick snaps, hems, or other pieces of clothing.  Often the article of clothing would leave the dryer with a hole or tear.

Soon after our 2-year warranty expired, the washing machine stopped draining.  I called for a repiar expert to come and, again, I watched carefully as he dismantled the bottom of the washing machine and removed a moldy baby sock along with other disgusting debris from the filter.  Since that first visit, I have had to repeat the process on my own at least four times.  I hated doing it, but at least it was a problem I could fix, and as much as I regretted our purchase, I decided we were stuck with it until it really broke down.

I dealt with the clothes-grabbing dryer and sock-swallowing washer until just two weeks ago,  when I noticed water seeping out from underneath the washing machine.  There wasn't a ton of water and it wasn't leaking out quickly so I thought I hadn't done a great job putting together the washing machine the last time I took it apart.  After taking off the bottom cover, I discovered my handiwork was not the problem.  The leak was coming from near the back of the washer.  I needed to do more investigating.

Now for the funny part.  Our washer and dryer are stacked, and it is not easy to get behind them.  They are also heavy and, despite my many exceptional qualities, "brute strength" is not a description that would apply to me.  I used my miniature muscles to scoot the units away from the wall enough for me to see where the water leak might be coming from.

I could see a puddle of water that needed drying, so I armed myself with a couple of towels and leaned over the counter top as far as I could to mop up the mess.

I could see the problem needed a little more investigation, so I wriggled myself down into the space so my hands could nearly reach the floor.  It was an uncomfortable position, but it gave me a good view of the back of the washer and allowed me to investigate the source of the leak.

I leaned myself over the sink just a little further until I was actually doing a handstand with my legs leaning upright against the cabinet.  A little further . . . . a little further . . . I almost have everything cleaned up . . . a little further . . . uh oh.

Sean was taking a nap, Andrew was watching a movie, the older kids were at school, Rick was at work, and I was stuck head down in handstand position in a small space behind our washer and dryer.  Eeek!!

I called out to Andrew--not that he could really help.  "Mom, what are you doing?"

"I'm fixing the washing machine."

"Why are your feet sticking up?"

"I'm stuck."

"How will you do the laundry now?"

What?  I was stuck behind the washing machine with blood rushing to my face and Andrew is worried about whether or not I would be able to wash his Leggo Star Wars pajamas so that he could wear them to bed that evening.  What to do? . . . what to do?

I knew the situation was funny, but I was in pain and really needed to get out.  I started squirming and trying to find different positions that would give me enough leverage to lift myself up and out.  Like I said before, I'm kind of a wimp.  I don't have the arm strength to do a push up let alone crawl up the wall with my arms.  After a few minutes, Andrew was getting worried.  He coped with his nervousness by becoming the Laundry Room Commentator.  "Mom!  I can see you moving your feet!  You're going to get out!  I see your feet!  You're moving them!  Your legs are moving! I see you!  I see you moving!"

After a few minutes of using my legs as a lever I was able to inch myself back up to the edge of the countertop.  I was close to being free from my predicament when my hair got caught on the screw that held the dryer vent.  Aaaaaaghhhh!  My choice was to lift myself out and rip out my hair or try to free one arm which would mean losing my gained progress.  I went for the hair-ripping out.  It hurt, but I finally got out.

I called Rick, laughing.  How stupid could I be to let myself get caught in a situation like that?  I needed somebody to laugh with me because Andrew did not fully appreciate the humor of my painful predicament.

Needless to say, when I went back to further investigate the source of the leak, I went feet first.  It was still cramped and difficult, but at least I could get in and out without incredible pain.

OK, that was a long story.  Here's the sad part.  I found the problem with the washing machine and it turned out to be a fairly inexpensive part that I could easily replace.  Unfortunately, in order to remove the part, I needed a special Frigidaire-Repair-Person Tool to get out the faulty water intake valve.  That would mean yet another call for a technician and another couple of hundred dollars down the drain.  Grrr.  We decided to give the old set to another family (with full disclosure, of course) and bought a set made by LG which are known for their reliability.  I hope I never have to climb back in that space again because my legs don't look nice with big yellow bruises and because my arms are not made for that kind of work out!