Simple Pleasures

I bought a new washer & dryer recently. Not a big deal. Being that I'm retired and live alone, my laundry needs are minimal. I could probably do without my own washer/dryer but I hate hauling my stuff to a community laundry room or a laundromat. I do laundry at all hours and I am less than prompt about moving the wet clothes to the dryer or getting the dry clothes out of the dryer. Neither behavior is welcomed in community facilities. 

I wouldn't have gotten new appliances, but my old washer sounded like a 747 during the spin cycle and "normal", "permanent press", and "delicate" cycles were all exactly the same. The dryer "high heat" and "low heat" settings were now the same too. You could cook a meal on the top of the dryer. Yet despite the heat, it kept taking longer to dry my clothes. 

So, I searched the web for a new laundry set. Do you realize you can now spend thousands of dollars on a washer? The pedestals for some washers and dryers cost more than I spent on my new set. Although, those pedestals are stainless steel and contain a drawer. These new washers have infinite water levels, agitator action (if they even have an agitator), durations, steam, additive dispensers, water temperatures... The dryers have 3,000 options too. Temperature, duration, auto moisture sensing, special settings for every possible fabric, auto fluff cycles for 12 hours in case you forget to remove the clothes... Some of these babies are even internet and smart home connected. That's in case you loaded the washer but forgot to turn it on but remember on your way to work. 

As you can imagine, I didn't go with the $15,000 stainless steel option. I went with the cheapest, white option I could find. I checked the reviews to make sure it wasn't a dud choice. No frills, basic stuff. Wash the clothes, dry the clothes. Like most technology, things have improved in the washer/dryer arena.

The new washer has basic water level, temperature, and cycle settings. All controlled by knobs, not a touch screen. Same with the dryer, two knobs. There is one fancy feature, the washer has LEDs that indicate where it is in the cycle. And, they were at least "Assembled in the USA". 

So, now I don't have a 747 taking off from my laundry room. In fact, I don't really hear any of the wash cycle. Same with the dryer. It also only takes one cycle to dry the clothes with the moisture sensing setting and the top of the unit gets warm, not painfully or dangerously hot. 

This is a simple pleasure for an old guy. A simple washer, a simple dryer. Less noise, probably cleaner clothes. No more synthetic/permanent press stuff getting cooked. Probably should have done this replacement years ago. We don't realize how broken old stuff is until we get the new stuff. 

wjh