Monday, September 14, 2009

How did I live in New York City for ten years without this?

No seriously, how have I been living in apartments for a decade without this machine? Through single and couple-dom life, I've been dragging my clothes to the local (and not-so local) laundromat resulting in frantic minutes scrounging for quarters, two hours of boredom, whites slowly turning yellow in those questionable big machines and a less-than-enthused significant other. Sometimes, I would just give up and wash those needed socks or undershirt in the shower praying they would dry hung up overnight. It was one of those nights that I finally had had enough and the boy started scouring the internet for a solution.

This machine is *my* miracle of modern technology and has significantly improved my life in quantifiable hours - and I bet has saved me money in the long run (if you consider it's five dollars per `big' wash load at the laudromat, and they only have `big' load machines.)

At about 2 1/2 feet high and 17 inches wide, this machine easily plugs into a three-pronged outlet, screws into a normal sink (normal screw-in adapter included - thank God!), and drainage hose hooks over the side of the sink, super easy. And it packs a powerful punch - everything comes out clean and surprisingly lint-free. I did have my doubts about the weird lint collector inside - which completely works, although a bit difficult to remove and empty. It's also surprisingly light - at 5'3" I'm not exactly a brute force of strength, but I have no problem sliding the machine back into the corner easily once finished, although I would have a problem lifting it up entirely. It's also quiet, there's only a slight audible hum when it vibrates - about the same level as a person humming, which you can barely hear in the next room. It's nowhere near as loud as regular machines and doesn't bothers anyone.

Any problems? Well when we first received, like others here we screwed in the bottom plate (there isn't much installation, just the one plate) backwards - curving away from the ground and it did make a weird crunch sound while running - however, it's a pretty tell-tale signal, and we flipped it around (like a cup sitting on a counter) in five minutes. Also, I was so excited about my first wash and over-loaded it - so we had a little puddle on the ground, but not since.

There are three water levels to choose from and at the high level it washes about two pants, a shirt, and three little items (say socks or underwear), or two towels and a facecloth, etc. I've easily fit in four t-shirts and five undergarments plus socks. By carefully ensuring everything is evenly distributed, I've even managed to wash my comforter cover - heaven! Realistically, it's about a half-load of laundry to a normal household washer. You control the water temperature by your sink. Being a girlie-girl when it comes to underwear, I can even throw in my delicates without worry. In two months I've had no problem with lace, silk, cotton or nylon ripping, and I haven't even used a mesh bag to protect them. Horray! The machine even allows for prolonged soaking if needed. Best of all, nothing comes out dripping. The spin cycle on the machine thoroughly drains water so many things dry overnight. After about a half hour wash, everything is ready to hang.

Definitely now part of my *must have apartment appliances* along with a microwave and toaster oven, I love this thing so much that I've actually named it Einstein and joked that should the significant other and I split up - the machine stays with me.

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