For the past two weeks, I have been living without a dryer. Calling the big white machine next to the washing machine a “dryer” was a misnomer. It was really more of a “tumbler” because I would put in the wet clothes, turn it on, and two hours later the clothes were very dizzy and warm but every bit as wet as they were before I had added another $10 to my PG&E bill.

We called the landlord and she arranged for a Sears service tech to come have a look; the dryer is less than two years old. It turned out that the dryer works fine, the problem was with the venting system. So the next step was scheduling someone to unclog or unkink the hose that vents to the outside.

An appointment was made. All last week I was looking forward to Wednesday because that was the day when the repairman was coming and I would have a working dryer again. No more sheets, jeans and underwear draped over the banister, backs of chairs, and hood of the car – and no more trips to the Laundromat. Even though Jennifer Lynn was learning some valuable skills there that would serve her well in college life. Skills such as how to make the dollar change machine work and why you never put a bra in a Laundromat dryer set at high temp if you ever want to wear it again.

Steve handled the appointment with the dryer vent serviceman and I came home ready to throw the first load from the overflowing hamper into the washing machine. I started up the washing machine, and Jennifer Lynn and I got ready to leave to take her to a basketball game when I walked past the washing machine and noticed water quickly spreading onto the carpet in front of it.

Then I heard what sounded like a rain. It was actually water from the washing machine on the second floor dripping out of the ceiling onto the tile floor of the lower level half-bathroom right beneath it. Indoor rainstorms are great if you’re at the Rainforest Café; not so much when it’s in your own house.

I’m looking at the inch of water now on the floor and paralyzed because I’m thinking “I should really grab some towels but that’s going to mean more wash, and now I don’t have a washing machine or a dryer.” It was Jennifer Lynn who sprang into action – Laundromat be damned – and grabbed a stack of towels from the linen closet and tossed them onto the floor.

It turns out that when the dryer guy came, he had to move the washing machine to get to the dryer and guess what – he forgot to stick the hose from the washing machine back into the drain.

Our landlord paid us a visit yesterday to assess the damage. He was expecting to find a swimming pool in the family room so he was delighted that it looks like everything will dry out on its own. We’ll know for sure when the contractor comes next week.

So with the washing machine hose reinserted into the drain and the dryer venting cleared, I was ready to do a load. The washing machine worked great. However, unfortunately, the dryer  still makes a better cabinet than it does a dryer. I may learn to love the 8.5 minutes for 25 cents in the blast furnace at the Laundromat.