Laundry Love

I'm in louerve.

So, remember my troublesome American washing machine that inexplicably flooded the communal laundry room?

Well, I take back all those nasty words I said about it. I was being selfish and inconsiderate and I'll never speak to it that way again. It's not you, it's me.

Yes, that was necessary.

Good news! Husband and I used our collective brilliance to discover the source of the washing machine leak- a backed up drainage pipe. Bad news! There is nothing we can do about it except wait around in the creepy laundry room throughout the entire wash cycle to periodically lift the lid on the machine, thus stopping the outpouring of water during the spin and rinse phases so the sputtering drain can gulp up all the soapy water. I can totally do this now while reading a book. Goes something like this: *click* The washing machine switches over to spin...get ready! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Lift the lid. Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, silence. Close the lid. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Watch as the water just barely crests the top of the drain in the floor. Lift the lid just in time to prevent major spillover. Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle, silence. Close the lid. Repeat 3 more times for spin and 4 times for rinse. Read 3 chapters in my book and then check please! Clothes are clean.

Waiting expectantly for the click.

Act fast!

The twenty minutes I spend pacing the laundry room are totally worth it because (get this) I can do 2 weeks worth of laundry in two loads. TWO LOADS. That's how big this washing machine is. I'm surprised the other washing machines in the room haven't started lifting weights and dating younger dryers yet, because they should be jealous and ashamed of their own shortcomings.

So the situation isn't perfect, but it sure beats 5 times as many cycles with a German washing machine. And I get to periodically scare the lederhosen off our fanatically recycling apartment caretaker when he ventures in to use the sink and I'm hunched in the corner counting to myself while reading a book...in the laundry room. Like you do. I'm sure he thinks I'm nuts.