Tummy Bug and take backs

Last night was a very long night with Eric. The eyrpy tummy bug that is going around town has hit Eric with vengeance. At he peak of the mayhem Eric made a full basket of laundry in just 30 minutes. This lead to a couple of learning experiences with the new washer.

The first thing I want to say is never ever wash eyrpy laundry on the turbo cycle unless you want to wash the load twice. On low water machines use extra water and a longer wash cycle.

The second thing I learned was that there is a child lock on our washer. It was not on my list of needs, but I have it anyway by default. Reading the washing machine manual at 4:30 am looking for a code is not my idea of fun. The good news is that by 5 am I had figured it out by myself and did not have to wake John to solve the problem.

I guess that this is part of my learning curve on the new washer. Washing machines have changed a lot in the 25 years since I last got a new machine. When I looked at the manual, when it said heavily soiled, I assumed kids playing in mud and dirt. I think that it should have a different section dealing with sick, but that maybe just me because we deal with it a lot.

Oh by the way, Sears sent people out to level the washing machine, without a level. I have yet to do a load but we will see how they did. They still gave the self adjusting spiel. No that does not work. This crew added the self adjusting springs as well. Don't they know people do read the manuals that come with the machines? So I got out the level and pointed out that even I knew it was not level. It also made me uncomfortable when the delivery guys said how nice our TV was.  I made sure to point out that it was 5 years old (therefore not worth stealing).

I am sure that with Eric home tomorrow he will help me knit a few more hats. I have a pile of 6 hats that need tags, with 2 more in progress. We just have to get rid of the fever that came with the eyrpyness before we can send Eric back to his day program.

I am positive that tomorrow will be a better day.

Eric's New Washer

Our new washing machine arrived today. We got the LG model WT7700H*A. John did all the research and found the largest, most energy efficient top loader that LG makes.  I would like to say that the washer held what use to be 2 loads in the old washer and did not even top out the new washer.  The washer runs about 30 decibels quieter too, around 50 decibel's instead of 80 decibel's. Did I mention it uses less water too.  

The second load I ran today would have been 1 full load and then some in the old washer.  In the new washer it did not even make a dent in capacity. The new washer weighed the clothes and added just the right amount of water. Kudos go to the engineering team at the LG Washer Group.

The only downside of the whole day was the delivery made by Sears, where we bought the machine.  John had asked the driver  twice, if the machine needed to be leveled. The driver told John that is was self leveling,twice. The delivery man than ran the first wash. We noticed that the machine was noisier and shaking more than the reviews said it would. So John check the position of the tub. The tub was not level.  So John used his level to verify the results.  We called the delivery number and asked that they be sent back to level the new washer. Multiple call were ignored. 

Meanwhile I did some research on the web and found that we could do serious harm to the washer if we used it unbalanced. This upset me to no end that Sears could not install a washing machine properly.  I think that they sell a lot of them too.This made me long for the days of Circuit City, where we bought our last washer when the kids were little.  They got the install done right at the time of delivery. 

By the time I lost it, John figured out how to get the machine level. So how I would some up the day, good job marks go to LG for making a great machine and to John for getting the machine as level as he could. On the other hand Sears needs to make a cheat sheet for its delivery drivers that tells them what each install requires.  They also need to be more responsive to its customers.  Just in case you are wondering Sears did not respond to various tweets on Twitter either.  I guess it is take the money and run. 

The old and new washing machines side by side.  The geek picture of the day is of the 1st load of clothes running.  I could not get the whole tub in the picture.

A Day Without Cable

24 hours without internet is really bad for me unless we are on vacation with a lot to do. So yesterday when the gas company contractor cut my cable line while checking on the gas line I was not a happy camper. Knowing that the problem lay between the house and the cable box I went through the must go through check list with Comcast customer service.

After that there was nothing to do but house work. While cleaning I did find the manuals for our first home computer. They have now been dutifuly recycled. So I guess a day without cable is kinda of liveable. Don't get me wrong I love my internet.


I will have to give a 2 thumbs up to Comcast for getting 2 techs here this morning to do the repair. Last time this happened we were almost a week without cable/ internet. So this time I have to admit I did play the sick kid card (bad Sheri, very bad mommy) and took them to Eric’s room first to show them the cable was out. Then I showed that the rest of the TV’s we out as well as the light on the little box by the computer, you have to ask John the name of it because I really don’t know what it is called but it is made by Motorola.

They agreed to put a temporary line between the street and our cable box and have the construction crew come out at a later time to dig the ditch to bury the line. It is my sincere hope that it is put at least 2 feet away from the gas line so this does not happen again. While they were here they found damaged cable line that had water in them and repair them without being asked to do so. Hint, hint management they did a very good job.

While all this was going on I had the service tech from Sears out to do a yearly maintenance check on the washer and dryer. There was also a service call to repair or replace the icemaker. He also did a very good job, hint, hint management.

I did get a few more squares done on Teri’s blanket and will catch up with correspondence tomorrow or this week end. I will also catch up with not doing laundry for 2 days. Eric alone made over 3 loads all by himself.

So now it is time to cook a fast dinner for John and catch up on life as I like to know it.

Have a Great evening and enjoy your families.

*This blog has been edited at the request of Eric, most mentions of his room have been deleated.