OUT with the OLD...IN with the NEW

Remember when I posted about my wonderful HANDYMAN husband and how he can fix anything and everything in our house? Well, I take it back and here is why. On Wednesday, January 14th our Maytag Atlantis washer decided it just couldn't go on and stopped working. It quit spinning and agitating. There were tons of dirty clothes and no washer to clean them. Chris took it apart that evening and quickly realized this job was beyond his handyman abilities. This is the part of the story where I really miss my Pop-Pop Copenhaver and wished he was still alive. He owned a washer/dryer repair business and had come the rescue in 2002 when a pair of pantyhose got tangled in the agitator of the washer...oops! I got a good lecture to always use my lingerie bag and I now own several bags! Anyway, I know he would have found the problem and had it fixed asap.

The following day Chris called a repair man and set up an appointment for the following Tuesday. We had to wait a WHOLE week to find out what was wrong this machine...

Finally after waiting what felt like forever and two trips to the laundromat later, Rick the washer machine handyman arrived and took the entire machine apart. He gave me good news and bad news. The bad news was the transmission needed to be replaced. The good news was that it was still under warranty! Woohoo, we only had to pay for the labor. I paid the $80 service charge, and said good bye to Rick with a promise that my husband would be calling to confirm that we indeed wanted the washer fixed. Little did I know, the good news would soon turn into even more bad news.

Chris called and found out that the labor, kits to install the new transmission and tax would add up to around $400. Can you imagine what the cost would have been if the transmission wasn't covered under warranty?? Now I am sure some of you are thinking, hmmm...that price isn't that bad....better then spending $800-$1500 on a new washer, right? Well, it is when you only spent a little over $500 on the washer back in 2001. Why would we dish out almost that much to get it fixed and not know if it will last another 8 years without something else happening. It just made more sense to buy a new washer. So thus began the process where Chris did his research...and research...and research. The engineer in him had to look into every brand made, how it is made and which brand worked best on a 2nd floor laundryroom floor. I love that he wanted to make sure we purchased the right washer BUT after a week, I was ready to just buy something...anything!

Here is our cute Maytag Atlantis washer and dryer. Our first purchase as a couple in 2001. Please excuse the messy laudryroom. It's the only room (other than the kitchen) that hasn't been worked on and it holds the utility sink with all the paint supplies in it.



While Chris did his research, we had to continue to visit the local LAUNDROMAT...

Chris and I have a good amount of clothing so allowing our clothes to build up wasn't a problem but the kiddies go through clothes quickly! Between Kara's messy eating habits and then spitting up the food afterwards and Ryan's potty training....we use the washer A LOT. I never realized how much I actually depended on that machine until it broke. I really missed it.

I think the last time I had to visit a laundromat was in college. My memories include clothes being ruined by the machines and thinking $1.25 was TOO MUCH to pay for a load of laundry. Guess how much it costs now? 10 years later...$2.50 a load!!

There were a few times where we made going to the laundromat a family adventure and brought the kiddies. Most of the time I would go shopping with Kara while Ryan and Chris sat and waited for the loads to wash. Here is Kara saying HI while we waited for Daddy to pack up the laundry baskets in the car. Good Times!

Ryan loved going to the laundrymat. He really enjoyed counting the coins and putting them in the machines. He also liked to hang out, eat a snack and watch TV.

On Saturday (after a week of reseach!!), we took a trip to the laundromat after visiting Sears (for the third time!!). I left the boys there while Kara and I went to the grocery store. This trip would be our last because Chris finally couldn't take it anymore. On this day there was an old lady at the laundromat who smoked the entire time they were there. Both Chris and Ryan smelled like they had spent 3 hours in a bar when they got in the car. Yuck. Is it even legal for people to smoke in laudromats? Personally, I think that's just plain disrespectful to others using the facility.

Ryan also said something that embarrased his father. When Chris told me this story, I laughed and laughed. He said an old man (taxi driver) with a long grey beard came in to help the "smoking" lady and Ryan took one look at him and yelled "It's SANTA!" hahahahaha

So on Sunday we headed back to Sears and ordered our NEW washer! After all the research, we agreed on the new Samsung frontloader washer. We knew we wanted a frontloader because they are the best energy efficient ones. In the long run, we would be saving on our water and electric bills. With the decision on a frontloader complete, we needed to find a brand that offered the best Vibration Reduction. Our laundryroom is located on the second floor and we had heard horror stories (and watched YouTube videos...yes, people actually videotape their clothes washing) about frontloaders causing crazy noise and vibration while in use. Our Maytag washer would go crazy when off balance and caused a lot of shaking so I couldn't imagine something worse! We had read a ton of online reviews about the Samsung washer and they were all positive.

We bought a silver colored Samsung because the white (which would have matched our white dryer) would have taken another 1.5 weeks to be delivered!!! No way were we waiting another almost 2 weeks when we could get the silver color the next day! We left the store happy but also sad. Though we were excited to know that a new washer would be in our home in less than 24 hours, we were nervous that we spent a good penny on a machine that could die 3 or 5 or even 8 years from now. The money we used to buy the washer would have gone to a new wood stove fireplace to replace the crappy existing one we have now. Guess this project will be put on the back burner once again...oh well.

Today we received our new washer! She's a beauty!!

We didn't waste any time trying it out and by this evening had washed 7 loads of laundry! We couldn't be happier with our purchase. This machine is very quiet even when it is spinning! Here it is with our Maytag dryer.

And in case you were wondering...yes the kiddies LOVE it too. Please excuse Kara's crazy hair, she had just woken up from a short nap. We all (including Chris) sat in front of the new washer and watched it spin for the first load...FUN TIMES! Oh and don't worry...all the bells and whistles include a childproof lock so Ryan can't climb in!

So I hope all the research paid off and we enjoy this washer for MANY years to come! We are off to a great start so far....