More domestic irritation

~ beetleypete

Monday, 25/11/2019.
(Yes, my American friends, that is the right way round)

Just when I thought it was safe to start feeling positive…

The decorating is finished, at least until the kitchen is tackled next year. On Wednesday, barring Acts of God, the new carpet should be fitted in the living room. Everything has been paid for, and anything unexpected is covered by savings. I am hopefully approaching the end of my awful cold, and although Ollie’s fur continues to refuse to grow back, at least he has no sores or itches.

Could all finally be well, in the world of Beetley?

You guessed it. Not a chance.

After a load of washing finished at lunchtime, I went to the machine to get it out. My usual routine is to sort out what can go into the tumble drier, and after that is loaded, I hang up what cannot be tumbled on a clothes airer. As it is winter, nothing can be hung outside, for fear of rain and cold.

But everything in the washing machine was still soaking wet. Wet enough to drip copiously over the floor as I tried to take it out.

Undaunted, I closed the door, selected ‘Rinse and Spin’, then pressed the button. Other than a constantly flashing red light, nothing happened.
Wash it again, I thought. I set the dial to a 40-degree wash, pressed ‘Start’, and waited. Nothing.

Try ‘Spin’, my mind informed me.

I set ‘Spin’, and pressed ‘Start’. Nothing.

Hmm… It is over eight years old, bought in summer 2011. It has earned its keep, and decided to ‘die’ gracefully.

I can go to the shops today, and buy a new one. Though I would sooner not have to spend up to £400 this close to Christmas.

But will it be delivered and installed this week? If not, we have a problem.

And Houston cannot supply the answer.

82 thoughts on “More domestic irritation”

  8. About 10 years ago our Bosch needed a new motor. We had a self-employed washing machine repair man whose telephone number we knew because it was so similar to ours we sometimes used to get calls for him. He had retired but came anyway and said “It’s a Bosch, it’s worth mending” and he replaced the motor with one he’d reconditioned and it ran for another six or seven years until it began to leak and did need replacing. He took away the old motor to rewind for his next call out. He probably repairs God’s washing machines now. These kinds of skills are disappearing fast.

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    1. I checked on a repair, David. The local man told me £60, plus parts. The motor costs about £25 to repair/replace, so that was at least £85, plus VAT. I doubted we would get away with less than £100, almost one third of the new machine’s cost. So I bought a new one, even though I don’t like the fact that all the old white goods are just dumped in massive ‘graveyards’..
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. I have never had one last more than 9-10 years, John. I think it is ‘planned obsolescence’. Mind you, I do only buy the fairly basic models, as I don’t want all the electronic ‘gizmos’. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  12. I assume trips to the laundry mat are in order or you will have to hang all your clothes inside. I don’t know about Britain, but if you wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday, you should get a great deal on a new washing machine.

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    1. The supposed ‘Black Friday’ deals were not on the model I wanted. (Naturally!) He took a paltry £10 off for ‘goodwill’. We have a separate tumble drier, but always have to hang some non-tumble items in the house. There are very few days in Beetley where you can hang washing outside, unfortunately.
      There is no nearby laundromat, but we have a friend not far away, and she will let us use her machine until Monday.
      Best wishes, Pete. x

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      2. I didn’t know Black Friday existed anywhere else but America. I thought that was just a special kind of madness we had the market on. You couldn’t pay me to go out into the middle of all that insanity.

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        1. We ‘imported it’, Pete. (Unfortunately) But as expected, it is mostly bought-in rubbish, and the things you actually want are rarely included in the so-called ‘deals’.
          Best wishes, Pete.

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  13. I left a comment elsewhere about our washer blues so I will not repeat it here. We bought an American brand (Speed Queen) to replace it. All manual. No bells and whistles. We sold it with the house. Now we have an older model in this house which hubby has repaired several times. I know the clock is ticking.

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  15. Have you checked the waste pipe under the sink? If thats blocked it will sometimes cause the machine to not turn on. Probably won’t be that but worth a quick look… Knees and lower back permitting of course…

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    1. I haven’t to be honest. The main issue is that the start button isn’t working any longer. I doubt I have the strength to pull it out to check the pipe either. Just had to ‘surrender to age’, and buy a new one.
      Cheers mate, Pete.

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  16. We do rely on this technology, don’t we? I have to choose my washing days by the weather as far as possible, as I don’t have the room for a tumble dryer [and they’re fearsomely expensive to run] but, as you say, in winter that can be problematic. I’m glad you found a reasonable deal: I avoid all this Black Friday nonsense on principle, and Which confirmed only today that it’s a scam anyway. Cheers, Jon.

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  19. Sorry about the washing machine. You’re probably right about the rest. All appliances tend to go at around the same time, as if in sympathy (perhaps they don’t want to go on without their friends…). Black Friday seems to have become black month and I agree, there’s nothing I ever need there (and I’m trying hard not to buy things just because they are a bargain if I don’t need them). At least the rest sounds good. Give my love to Ollie…

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  20. We need to replace our fridge freezer as it no longer de-ices properly, but I can’t decide on what to buy. Now one of the hotplates has died on the hob where the dial markings have rubbed off, so that needs replacing, but I cannot see how to get the old one out! We were going to replace the kitchen when we moved in, wish we had!!

    Oh, and those insurance deals are not so good. If you are paying £144 a year that’s a third of the price of a new one. Unless your appliance constantly breaks down! And Beko are fine I think. We had a dishwasher which worked just as well as a more expensive Bosch?

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    1. Thanks for adding your own thoughts and experience, Jude. My wife will not countenance anything Beko, mainly due to the endless criticism on Facebook. In fact, the one I bought today was only £20 more expensive than the Beko equivalent, so £20 is going to save any arguments! 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. Thanks, Tony. As I expected, my chosen machine was ‘not included’ in the ridiculous Black Friday deals. (No actual holiday here of course, as we don’t have Thanksgiving)
      When I expressed my disappointment, I got just £10 deducted, as ‘goodwill’.
      But that’s sort-of how my life goes, so no surprises. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  23. It’s a definite sinking feeling when the washing machine fails. Sam can usually keep them going, but in the past it has involved dismantling the whole thing. He leaves just the four walls and all the guts are spread out on the floor until he finds the culprit. Then it’s a visit to town to order the bit needed. Our tumble drier is about 35 years old and looks it. However, it’s had so many new parts that the inside is now younger than the outside. At one point we had the washing machine shell and the tumble drier shell in the conservatory and all their innards covering the lino. It takes him ages to work on them as well, as he’s very thorough and doesn’t have a lot of time what with his work commitments, so I’m used to treading over washing machine entrails for ages…

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    1. Well I have to say ‘well done’ to Sam. I wouldn’t have a clue how to open the thing up, let alone fix it. Anyway, I have a ‘golden rule’ that I never touch anything electrical, ever since I got a bad shock fiddling with a central heating timer in the late 1970s!
      The new one arrives next Monday, the earliest slot available.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. Sam’s a qualified electrician and fixing things is his forte. Sure there are other things he cannot do, but hey, we all have a talent for something. Even as a child he would take apart his parents’ lawnmower and put it back together again just for the ‘fun’ of it. I’d love for him to be able to go ballroom dancing with me, but he has two left feet in that respect!

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  24. Make the most of these supposed Black Friday sales then! 😉
    Oddly from memory I think this is how our washer died, the final spin was too much for it! … But then a few weeks later our dryer died too, he obviously missed the old washer bless him hehe … oh and it all happened just after the January sales! for me D’oh!

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    1. No doubt the drier will commit suicide next, closely followed by the larder fridge! They were all bought from John Lewis on the same day, in 2011.
      I have never bought anything on ‘Black Friday’, but I saw signs in the shop, so asked about the deals.
      As expected, the new machine I just bought was ‘not included’. Due to my look of resigned disgust, the salesman deducted £10, as a ‘goodwill gesture’.
      All those ‘super deals’ were on washing machine brands I had never heard of anyway.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. I am much the same with Black Friday to be honest – I see better offers during the course of the year than I ever see on Black Friday. And I am afraid I am not the sort who enjoys shopping much either, so you won’t catch me queuing at daft o’clock, or fighting with/climbing over strangers, for the deals either 🙂 Nowt as queer as folk eh?!

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  26. Our washing machine is 17 years old and must surely shuffle off eventually. As we are pensioners and poor as church mice, we have it insured for the princely sum of £12 a month, which will repair or replace it when that day arrives!

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    1. I just bought a ‘mid-range’ Bosch to replace the ‘dead’ one. It cost £339, plus charges for removal of the old one, and installation. It has a two-year guarantee, which at least gives me enough time to save up for the next one! Seventeen years is excellent. I have never had a washing machine that lasted that long.
      Your insurance deal sounds like a good idea!
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  28. Sounds like the pump, about £20 in parts, although no doubt a fortune in labour in the UK 😦
    I have found Beko to be a good low cost and reliable brand for replacement, not as flashy as the big brands, but good work horses.

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    1. Julie won’t hear about buying anything Beko. They have had a lot of bad press here for electrical safety issues, as they are made in Turkey. I have just been and bought another Bosch. For all I know, that might have been made in Turkey too! 🙂
      Cheers mate, Pete.

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    1. I have given up with electrical repairs, Peggy. £60 just to come out, plus parts. Better to bite the bullet and buy a new one. That’s what I have just done. The local shop guys are delivering and installing next Monday.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  32. Domestic irritations are the way of life all year round, Pete! Every month something or two needs fixing, replacing. They are just coming all together for you… I hope this phase passes quickly.

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