Lilly Sway

Have you ever had the misfortune of having more than one appliance break down at the same time? You’re not alone; many people suffer from what is known as massive appliance failure. The fun aspects of summer were short-lived and the oppressing heat proved to be too much for my refrigerator. My fridge sprang a leak; the frost-free side was frozen over and the fridge was warm so I called a repair man. The repair service was very busy and rather than complain about the 3 day wait, I placed everything into our old back-up refrigerator. The back-up has become the revolving door for drinks and frozen snacks. Our family grew and our kids were accustomed to eating at home so we invested in a larger fridge to curb the overuse of our first model. The older fridge was 8 years old and it had always worked well but in anticipation of our children using it more frequently, we purchased a new one 3 years ago. The repair man came out and had the refrigerator running in a matter of an hour. With the description of our problem, he brought the part that is most likely to fail in that model fridge. I was happy as could be even after paying $119.47. But by the end of the week my dryer was grinding and shaking violently. It sees a lot of work and I have learned to treat this machine with respect. It is a very costly appliance to repair, so I keep it clean. I’ve even gone as far as to read the manual and I’ve found out about the reset buttons inside the faceplate. If I have to call a repair man out for this machine, I usually have to reach into the entertainment budget. (Sorry kids, no movies for a fortnight) I did in fact have to call the repairman and as luck would have it, the parts were no longer under warranty and if my better judgment had not kicked in I would have put my hands in the air and said “don’t shoot, it’s all I have” I felt as if I was in a hold-up. So I just forked over the $328.50 and said it would surely be at least 4 more years before I would have to call a repairman for this machine. A week later, I found that the washer was not ringing out the clothes as I was doing a load of laundry while making dinner. The repairman said that the bearings were shot and he went on to let me know that front loaders sag after a few years and that my washer would have to be replaced and not repaired. Yes, three is a charm; although this morning my toaster was set to light and I got charcoal instead of toast.

Food for the Mind

Lilly Sway