My Beautiful Launderette

Yet again I have proved to myself beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am missing the DIY gene. Completely and utterly.

Picture the scene. Finally the rain has stopped and the temperature in good old Surrey is rising. Perfect day to do some washing I thought. First lot of whites go into our 7 year old (ie past its best) smeg. Take bizarre work call which gets me confused & slightly annoyed & I am about to pop second lot in when I (foolishly) look closely at the detergent drawer; Ugh, Could do with a clean.

Musing on the call & so not really paying attention I clean out the drawer and put all the bits back properly (so I think) and as I am slightly cross I whack the drawer back into place. I don't push is gently I thump it. Then I try and open it to put detergent in. It won't open. It is jammed. Naturally my instinct is to whack & pull and thump but no. I guess I could do a load without Calgon or Vanish Oxi whatsit & without softener but I don't want to.

I look online for a solution. There isn't one. The most helpful suggestion is to completely break the drawer OR take the machine to pieces & remove obstruction from the top. Despite the fact the machine is less than new I don't want to break anything. So I decide to take the machine to pieces. Lovely competent neighbour pops over to help - pah how hard can this be? Who needs boys??

An hour & a half later we have dismantled the machine, wriggled everything about then eventually had to force the lid to get to the damn soap drawer but WE HAVE REMOVED THE OBSTRUCTION! Then putting the machine back together begins. How hard can it be - we kept the screws in separate piles .. didn't we? Ooops droped one ... was it important? Doesn't fit well - oh just keep screwing. Does it matter that plastic thing broke off? Bang lid back on & hey presto!

I start a mini wash just to see my handiwork work - all goes well until 2 minutes in BEEP BEEP error code E01. Look it up. Leak /electrical malfunction - stop now. FSHubby gets home and spends an hour on a wet floor (after a 12 hour day at the office) trying to rectify my bodging. He is not best pleased (but most impressed I had managed to dismantle the whole machine!) I buy fish & chips. Pour beer. Wring out towels. Apologise. Turn electricity supply off. Then at 9pm I admit defeat & go online & spend £500 of my hard earned cash on a brand new washing machine. And here I am, waiting at home, twiddling my thumbs, as despite paying £30 to guarantee a timed delivery it will be 2 hours late.

One of those days huh?