We value the reliability of our appliances. Boomers in particular are proud of the gadgets they own which endure years of use while the newest versions cop out after five years. I am fortunate to have a simple but powerful clothes dryer that is still going strong. Not many people can say their major appliances were built in a year starting with nineteen.
Like any machine, however, a time comes when something is bound to go wrong.
My dryer picked now to suddenly stop drying clothes. The routine was the same: wash the clothes, put them in the dryer, set the timer and let her rip. Only I had put the clothes in at about noon, and by 2:00 PM they were still damp. The timer never moved, as if the afternoon were frozen in place because nothing was happening as it should.
I am also one of those people who keeps up with maintenance on the major appliances. I have one of the cleanest lint traps you’ll ever see, because I clean it after every load. The trap was still clean when I checked it.
The drum inside was piping hot, and the clothes were hot, but they were not drying. The edges of the machine held wet lint when I opened the door. And yes, they were tumbling beautifully. I had the belt replaced some time ago, the only part I had needed in a long while, which made the current situation so inconvenient and vexing.
So, the call went out to a repair shop who could not come until the following day. Same-day service usually means you’ve caught the problem early, but my laundry schedule is in the afternoon. Which meant I had to find a place to dry my two loads of damp clothes and linens.
Laundromats are used to seeing folks like me, sheepishly hefting a clothes basket full of damp clothes bouncing off one hip while cautiously stepping into the place and looking for a dryer. The neatly stacked boxes took up an entire wall, were numbered and, amazingly, still took quarters. I had a ton of quarters, because all the change I’ve gotten lately is quarters and nickels.
I loaded my basket full of woven droopiness into one of the metal maws, added some quarters, and watched as the damp pile tumbled away to a timer reading out how long my stay in laundry purgatory would be in LED numbers. It was a quiet evening, and apparently my laundry schedule doesn’t match that of a lot of folks. Two other people were there, not counting the owner and a lady mopping the floors and cleaning the lint traps (including mine).
The process took about half an hour, and the items came out fluffy and toasty. I took them home and set them aside without folding and stowing because, well, it’s the laundromat. My clothes just shared dryer space with countless other folks’ clothes, and who knows what their lint traps were like? Also, it was late and I was tired and hungry, having chosen dry clothes over dinner at my usual time. They could wait.
The repair tech arrived the next day and took a look inside the workings of the dryer. A coil was not staying on, so it was replaced. I paid the bill and decided to wash another load.
The items went into the dryer, and ninety minutes later, the same problem happened. Hot and soggy clothes.
Back to the laundromat. More confidently, but still feeling slightly out of sorts. I also used up my quarters.
Before the return visit from the shop to review the problem (which was now covered under a warranty), I did what most folks do today. I checked in Google for what could cause the problem.
When the repair tech returned, I mentioned that maybe there was lint in the vent leading outside. Sure, I have a clean lint trap, but lint can also drift serenely downward and collect in that flimsy pipe behind the machine. There was no argument to that logic, and it was something which had not been considered on the first trip.
Lo and behold, the moment the part was detached, a circular pile of non-descript color lint tumbled to the floor. After a quick sweep of the inside and the reassembly of the part, we both learned that it’s a good idea to do a check of that collection point when the issue is hot but not dry laundry. Lesson learned on both sides.
I’m pleased to say that the dryer is up and running again. I’m sure this ancient box of hot air may grow old with me.
And it will stay lint free if I have any say in the matter.
