Proud Sinner

I know that Pride is one of the seven deadly sins but I can’t help myself. Not in this instance. On Friday, on schedule, I placed my whites in the washing machine. After I let it fill with water and the soap get all sudsy I noticed that, what I have since learned is called the agitator, was not agitating.

The bottom part was doing its back-and-forth thing but the tower portion stood motionless. After a press, a pull and a whack, I decided it was indeed broken. IronMan calls me his handyman but such machines fall outside my realm of expertise.

I feared an unplanned expense that would cut into my established wine budget for Italy this July. If that were curtailed I’m not sure it would be worth the trip. Mind you, it might not have hurt the captain of the Costa Concordia to have one less glass with dinner.

Memories of my dad’s ‘support local business’ stance and the repeated references from the Doll House girls motivated me to visit Faulkner Appliances. I found out that they sell units but don’t make repairs. They did however furnish me with the name and number of a serviceman they recommend.

Calling on Saturday, I didn’t expect, or indeed get, an answer or a response before Monday. The whites had been washed, if not properly agitated, but I still had towels to do! This wouldn’t stand.

Putting on my “now” generation hat, and mustering up my dad’s DIY attitude, I scratched my noodle and hit the internet. In less than 3 minutes I found a YouTube video explaining just my situation. In less than 10 minutes I had my agitator removed, disassembled and the worn out dogs removed.

Chronic impatience and frugality led to one slight misstep. Instead of ordering the part on-line, as explained in the video, I drove to Canadian Tire, Home Dept and Rona in search of it. Why wait AND pay for shipping I thought?

Soon enough, I found myself back in front of the computer ordering the piece on-line. $8.44 shipping for a $2.62 part – I was outraged! Pink Girl has since informed me of a plumbing supply store par excellence that I will keep in the old filofax for future reference.

I must concede that $8.44 for overnight shipping isn’t THAT bad when I consider the expense of a repairman. Mind you, depending on the hanyman…..

So here I sit, Chianti in hand (I need to start practicing now), prouder than I probably should be, listening to the gentle slosh slosh slosh of the WhirlPool SlimTwin that I fixed!