My Nemesis: The Washer/"Dryer" Combo

Whenever anyone asks me what I miss most from home, I list three things every time: 1) family and friends, 2) our favorite foods, and 3) my washer/dryer. Now you’re probably wondering why in the world I have that so high on my list. Well let me introduce you to the British washer/”dryer” combo:

This tiny piece of machinery lives in my kitchen and is the standard size for UK households. (Our real estate agent explained this to me when I complained about its size!) It can fit about 4-5 pieces of clothing at a time, unless of course you are washing towels or jeans or anything large. Then you are forced to wash only 1 or 2 pieces of clothing at a time. A full wash and “dry” cycle takes about 2 hours; and in case you are wondering, I keep putting “dry” in quotations because the thing really just steams your clothes. I’ve gotten to the point now where I don’t even try to get it to dry our clothes; I just get them washed and then hang dry everything.

As a result of this tiny capacity and extreme length of time to get through a cycle, I do at least 1-2 loads of laundry each and every day (I used to do about 3 a week in Florida). If I don’t keep on schedule (either because we are traveling or because I rebel and refuse to do laundry for a few days), I end up having to go the Launderette just to get everything back under control. We also end up at the Launderette when we have to wash our sheets or Lilo’s bed or anything since they wouldn’t even come close to fitting in the combo. It’s funny when we go there on Friday or Saturday nights – it feels like college days again!

What also makes this machine special is the extreme loud sounds it makes during its wash cycle. It sounds like a 747 is taking off in our kitchen! As a result, we now have a new standard joke about buckling in your seatbelt when the wash is running!

Everyone who has come to visit has looked at our washer/dryer combo in amazement and just laughed. I laughed too, until I actually had to use the thing. =) It’s so bad that when we visit the States, we make a point to wash all of our clothes before returning home because it’s so much easier! I even took bed sheets home with me last time. Think about that: I took sheets across the Atlantic and back! So I hope this blog gives you insight into our world a bit more and explains a bit why I hug my washer and dryer every time I go home to Florida. =)