Kat vs. The Washing Machine

Or rather, Kat vs. The British Washing-Drying Combo Machine. Which I wouldn't have known was a dual-purpose machine off the bat if my boss hadn't exclaimed happily that I could wash AND dry my clothes the day he dropped me off at my temporary abode.

Believe me, this story is a lot more entertaining than Kat vs. The Radiator. That fight boiled down to realizing that I only had one dial to turn on both radiators (one is in the living room, the other is in the bedroom), and I had to remove said dial from one room to the other when I wanted to turn them on/ off.

This adventure actually started the day before, when I tried to buy laundry detergent. The good: everything is smaller here, so I didn't have to lug home a behemoth-sized bottle. The bad: there is no such thing as dye-free, fragrance-free detergent, so my skin may curl up and die.

The Washing-Drying Combo Machine

This weekend, I decided I needed clean socks, dishtowels, and jeans. Side note: why do clothes you wear while traveling always smell so bad by the time you get to the end of your journey? How the hell do you get so smelly from sitting around in airports and airplanes? Oh wait- I went through Newark to get here. Never mind.

I threw everything into the drum, poured a capful of detergent on top, and shut the door. This was when I decided to look at the detergent bottle, and realized crap! the detergent has to go in this:

Soap Drawer

And I said "ewww." Luckily, the detergent does in the middle space, but that mildew is pretty gross. Good thing this machine doesn't belong to me. Because then I'd have to clean it.

Okay, detergent in drawer. Now to set up the washing protocol.

Dials

Ack. Okay, deep breath. Far right looks like a typical washing machine dial, so let's go with that. The middle says drying time. Leave that alone for now. No idea what the third dial does. Let's not touch it.

Get the dial set. Push the on button, and behold! water starts to slosh into the machine, bubbles start to sud up. We have washing!

This process proceeds swimmingly (snrk) until the washing cycle stops. Because at this point, I have NO IDEA how to start the drying cycle. I push buttons. I spin dials. I start yelling "No! Stop! don't do that! OFF! OFF! OFF!" I finally figure out the magic combination of dial-spinning and button-pushing, and the machine spooks me when it turns on and starts drying.

Sigh of relief. I realized afterward that you can set the machine to go straight from wash to dry. Which, I have to admit, it's a much more convenient system than what we have in the States, of wash clothes-forget to put clothes in dryer-oh crap my good pants are still wet and I have to go to work.

I am now master of the washing-drying combo machine. To celebrate, I'm going to go turn on the radiator.

Comments

Anonymous said…
This is J-Lo. I encountered similar washers in France. The far left dial is water temp in centigrade. So basically, warm, hot and lava-hot. You know, in case you need to boil your clothes with your pasta.
November 12, 2008 at 4:38 AM
Blockenstein said…
Victory is yours! Always shall it be remembered that on this day you stood alone against the dread machine, and that you did emerge... less stinky.
November 12, 2008 at 2:39 PM
Trista said…
KITTY! =)

Awesome story. You should be used to the 'one dial' system after all the training our stove gave you. :)

Maybe you need to make a lanyard for the dial so you can wander the house with it? (only kidding)

Really glad to see you're doing well. Those are awesome pictures.
November 12, 2008 at 2:53 PM
Stacie said…
The Brits have fabulous machines but terrible cleaning powers. Glad to see you are showing them that Kat is the All Mighty!
November 12, 2008 at 3:16 PM
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