The New Gas Dryer

As you may (or may not!) recall, back in May I posted about the dodgy dryer. How dodgy? This dodgy...

Yes, that's duct tape holding that thing together. It still worked, but the door catch had broken and had to be taped at the exact right angle in order to function. Sadly, even once that had been achieved, a bit of steam and heat usually meant a shift of a couple of millimetres and it'd stop. All during two weeks of continual rain in Melbourne. I could have broken it apart with my bare hands it was driving me so crazy!!

I'm not a huge dryer fan. I'd rather the clothesline any day and resisted even owning one until a lot of kids, a plumber and Melbourne weather eventually got the better of me. 

So my wish list was simple; a sensor so the clothes wouldn't cook and to have it flued or a condenser so it'd stop fogging up the laundry. The plumber decided it needed to be gas - which of course was a special order.

Finally the day arrived, the call received, the gas dryer had arrived. But they sent the wrong flue. Twenty wet days later the right flue arrives and the plumber and his plumbing bro finally get a day to install it. There's no just plugging in and hitting 'start' with this appliance, no - that's be far too simple.  To be wall mounted, they needed to put extra timbers into the wall cavity, then replastered, then install the brackets, then mount the dryer, flue it into the ceiling and then out the roof. Some hours later and mission accomplished. Until.....

'MWW, can you just come in here please,' he calls. 'Can you reach that?' Hmmmm. I stand on tippy toes in ugh boots (house wear - not my 15cm heels of outwear) and can just touch the bottom of the cylinder. I'm not even close to the filter. 'I'll use a stool,' I offer, deadly seriously as I'm sick to death of wet washing all over the lounge room. 'No,' he insists, 'we'll change it'.

Some hours and some days later it's finally in. It's amazing! It dries a full load in about 25 minutes instead of the old electric one that could chug on for a good 90 minutes and still be soggy. And the plumber was pretty happy with his handy work!

A pair of Jimmy Choo's should bring joy, but compared to a dryer that works and spares me the lounge looking like a Chinese laundry (another great shoe brand FYI!) I'm thinking they could be compatible...

Thoughts?

On The Blink

The dryer is on the blink and the washing machine is making a funny sound – and I’m excited!

I can’t pinpoint the moment I became so infatuated with new appliances, but each time one needs replacing, the thrill might even be greater than a new pair of crazy shoes. You may recall the fridge we bought – you know, the one that cost about the same as a small car – and a new small car at that. I still love that fridge. I literally puff up with pride when anyone glances in its direction (not hard given the rest of the kitchen really needs a renovation – it is the highlight – trust me.)

Anyway, what I can remember is a new vacuum about 10 years ago. We were excitedly unpacking it in the kitchen when the doorbell rang. My brother was staying and his blind date had arrived. I answered the door and welcomed her in, as my sibling was still busy preening himself for the occasion. She stepped into the kitchen and her eyes lit up, she stood taller and a dazzling grin spread over her face…and I don’t think it was our new vacuum. ‘This is my partner,’ I said, doing a quick intro, ‘my brother is just in the bathroom.’

Back to the dryer….I’ve been hankering for one with a condenser for years. In spite of being shacked up with a plumber, do you reckon that dryer is vented? NO, IT IS NOT! So every time we crank it up, the laundry turns into a steam room, sadly not like the lovely ones at Aurora Day Spa with tasteful tiles, relaxing whale-calling, plentiful white fluffy towels and chilled water served in gorgeous little Moroccan glasses, more like our laundry full of rapidly chilling fog.

In addition to a condenser, I want a sensor. I hate it when the clothes get over cooked and that smell only clothes-left-in the-dryer-too-long get. It reminds me of absolutely everything that came back from my boarding school laundry.

So the plumber has now added gas-powered to the list.

I want to renovate, the plumber wants to move – but at the rate we’re investing in appliances, I’m not sure either will be happening any time soon. But more disturbing, is my ever escalating excitement over appliances. That and linen.