Tuesday, September 7, 2010

An Education

I have been thinking about how my car (an 11 year-old, wonderful, worry-free subaru) is about to hit the 100K mile mark, so I took it in for preemptive service.  Then I got to thinking about all the other mechanical devices that are about to hit their "100K mile mark" and decided to thank the universe for my benevolent appliances by giving them some TLC.  I have incredible luck with appliances.  I really shouldn't say that, or I'll jinx it, but I'll knock on wood and say that none of my home appliances have cried uncle, except my water heater.  I think that's pretty good for 13 years, don't you?  I have friends who have had such trouble with appliances and repair guys and getting parts, and my appliances just keep on runnin'!


The guy showed up this morning and proceeded to laugh at how much lint had accumulated behind in the dryer cavity.  He said he couldn't see the motor, and that there was a "quilt" of lint in there.  He cleaned it our before I could take a picture.  Then he cleaned my dryer vents, and pulled out lint balls the size of jack-o-lanterns.  Then he gave me the following advice: (I paid a bunch of money for it, but you're getting it for free) 1) wash your towels with a cup of white vinegar instead of fabric softener or dryer sheets; they come out soft and fluffy and miraculously don't smell like salad dressing. 2) Put a washing machine cleaner (like Affresh) in the washer once a month to keep the water pump cleaned out; if you've never done this, use three in one day, then use them once a month.  Also do this with a cleaner made for dishwasher once a month.  And the dispose all.  I guess this was all his advice, but I thought it was pretty good.  My dryer is going to be so happy!

Hope you had a good long weekend!

4 comments:

Alice said...

I use vinegar in my wash but does that help the dryer lint problem?

s said...

so is the vinegar instead of fabric softener? and is fabric softener bad for the washing machine? and can the washing machine cleaner stuff be used on a front loader? (I am considering you an expert now on this subject, can you tell?) :)

Bored Housewife said...

Alice: the vinegar does not help the lint problem. Sadly. See below.

Shelley: Use vinegar instead of fabric softener on towels only. I don't know about other clothes. He did not say that fabric softener was bad for the washing machine, but he did say that dryer sheets, which are what I use, are bad for towels; they leave a tiny layer of wax on the towels making them less soft and less absorbent. The washing machine cleaner stuff CAN be used on front loaders, and will help get the guck out of the rubber seal.

s said...

oh, also, 11 years old and 100K? My van is 4 years and 4 months old and I am at 73K. Why can't I stay home more like you? :)