From the minute I moved in, every appliance in my house was against me.
Really.
Every. Single. One.
When I moved in, the house came with a refrigerator, a washer and dryer, a dishwasher, a water heater, a toilet, a gas stove, and a couple of sinks. As a first time home buyer, this was a big plus for me since I owned none of these items after moving from an apartment. Many of the other houses I looked at didn't come with these essential items and I was relieved and thankful that I had found a place that was move-in ready.
That feeling was short lived...
After listening to the dryer squeal and whine for a whole year at my rental, I was over the moon to be moving into a new place. That dryer would be far behind me as I made my way through my new life. During the first week in the new house, I triumphantly sorted my laundry and started the washer machine. Forty minutes later, I was mopping water off the floor; the washer had backed up during the spin cycle. After a $150 Roto Rooter bill, it was explained to me that there was no trap between the kitchen sink and the laundry water pipes. The pipes were so clogged with food matter, that it was backing up the drainage line. Wonderful. "Ah, well. It's an older house, stuff like this is bound to come up from time to time", I thought. I started up the washer again and went back to unpacking. Twenty minutes later, I was staring at the washer drum, which was refusing to spin. It did make a lovely growling, metal-on-metal noise as the little engine tried unsuccessfully to spin a load of wet laundry around. I had to take each piece of clothing out and wring it out by hand before throwing it into the dryer. "Well, at least I have a dryer. It will take longer, but it will eventually be dry", I thought. I finally got the load in the dryer after squeezing myself into the narrow space between the appliances and the stairwell to the attic. As soon as I turned the dryer on, I heard it. The same "someones beating a cat in heat" squeal that I thought I'd left at my crappy rental had followed me to my new house! Ever stalwart, I retreated into my bedroom and turned up the Darling Buds of May until I couldn't hear the whining anymore. Two hours later, I opened the dryer to discover that the corner of the plastic seal on the dryer was loose and trapping corners of my clothes as they went around. Not only does that leave a great big grease spot, by the way, but it also twists the clothing beyond recognition. It was with great relish that I replaced those monstrosities with my new washer and dryer in April. I replaced the ancient water heater as well with one that was actually up to code. Out of the 8 original appliances, I replaced 3 in one fell swoop. It felt glorious! I transformed the cramped laundry area into a laundry/ mural/ pantry area and couldn't be happier.
Now, after all that, I've only had to deal with the kitchen sink draining at a snail's pace, the toilet clogging, and the wheels on the dishwasher racks suddenly popping off and derailing all the dirty dishes. Irritating, but tolerable. Until last Tuesday...when I came home at 10pm after a long day at work and dinner and a movie at Matt's to find that the refrigerator had quit. Not only was it not cold, but was blowing warm air all over my food. I was up until 11 at night throwing out all the defrosted food from the freezer and moving the few things I could salvage into the garage refrigerator (thank god I had it- thank you Suellen and Paul!). After slogging through the rest of the week, making breakfasts and lunches in the garage, We (Jan, Neil, Matt and I) went shopping and finally found the best deal at Lowe's. They delivered it yesterday and it is fantastic!!
Ta Da!!!
It's so shiny and clean! None of the door racks will suddenly pop off, spewing milk all over the floor. I won't have to search around in a dark fridge because the light doesn't work (despite a new bulb). And I won't have to worry about spoiled food or something going wrong with it for at least five years (yep, I got the warranty). Two nice young men from Lowe's came, took away the old piece of shit, installed the new one, and left me to enjoy the contented hum of my new refrigerator.
While I wasn't expecting to buy a new fridge quite yet, it was Worth. The. Money.
I'm off to have a chilled glass of wine!
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