I learned a valuable lesson last week. I need to be better about checking pockets when putting clothes in the wash.
Last week our front-loading washing machine wasn’t draining right. When you have four boys in the house, one of which is not quite potty-trained, you need a working washing machine.
At first I took the frugal approach: searching online for answers and trouble- shooting what is in my very basic skill set. (My husband is even less tool-savvy than I am, so not much help there.) But after almost losing some parts inside the machine (parts that should not be lost inside the machine), I decided to call a repairman.
The first guy I called no longer travels to my area. He recommended guy #2. Since I’d had a good relationship with guy #1, I called guy #2…. and called, and called, and got quite the run around. Guy #2 told us he would come on Tuesday. He would call before he came. Guess what? No call, no show. And then, he did the same thing to us Wednesday! When we called Wednesday evening, he said, “Look, I have a lot of customers, what was your problem?” and said he would come Thursday.
At this point, I was frustrated, so my husband asked a co-worker for his opinion. (His co-worker is an appliance repair instructor, so he knows his stuff). He suggested guy #3, who not only returned our calls, but arrived when he said he would and solved the problem!
It turns out that a quarter had gotten caught by the drain hose in our washer. As soon as that quarter was gone, the washer began functioning normally again.
The repair set us back $56, which wasn’t fun to pay, but far better than having a broken pump, at a cost of $200, as the second guy had estimated!
I will definitely be more diligent in checking pockets. Our repairman said that it’s a common problem: golf tees, coins, empty shell casings (from hunters), and toys, can all end up causing drain problems. I also know how to check that part of the washing machine now if the problem happens again.
I have also learned that I will not blindly accept the first recommendation given to me when it comes to repair people. I’m glad I learned this lesson before it became a very expensive mistake.
And by the way… Guy #2 still has not returned our phone call from two weeks ago!
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