Real Life Adventures by Gary Wise and Lance Aldrich for April 03, 2022

If he can’t fix it hon. Just go buy a new machine.

A supportive partner means the world

I actually did a successful plumbing repair today. It was only on our sprinkler system, but it plugged the leak.

I been forced to do most repairs because of the high prices. Thankfully youTube has many how-to videos. Ordering the proper part is a headache because most of our appliances are over 12 years old. Last week I zeroed the fault down to one $1.00 microswitch on a 14 year old washer. Repaired! (Dropped the tiny screws several times. Scraped my knuckles. Used Google to translate many curse words into obscure languages so as not to disturb the family…)

At least they understand each other.

Keep your expectations low and your laundry piled high.

Exploratory surgery, followed by some brisk percussive maintenance.

I heard that because of the Chinese new Lockdown situation, washing machines are not readily available!!! hence the do-it-yourself job!!!

Love the laundromat. Tried to fix the drier and flames shot out the bottom, LOL! Briefly, luckily. The washer needed 150 bucks of repairs too. Forget it. Take a bunch of quarters to the laundromat and done in 1 1/2 hours no matter how big a load I got.

Hah! I don’t even try any more.

That actually almost looks like a water inlet solenoid.

The only appliance that I’ve been unable to fix was our dishwasher. I couldn’t get the new part in place because of the tight fit and convoluted angles involved.

I used to own a home with a sprinkler system. Once I was the only owner, I learned to do the repairs. I knew my limits, though. I could replace heads and re-route lines, but some things I just had no training on, and the store that sold the parts was useless for help. I could also find and fix leaks and adjust the areas being sprinkled. I got soaked a lot, and I sometimes sort of miss doing that work – it almost always left me feeling like I accomplished something. I am not a guy, was not raised or taught to do any home repairs, so I was always proud when I learned to do something new like install a sump pump or repair a faucet. I could install gas appliances by myself. No leaks. A few years ago I considered having my basement finished off, and I asked the friend who is licensed for such things how much extra he would charge me if I wanted to help.

I love their communication skills. I wonder if she already ordered a new appliance?

A part store wouldn’t deal with me after I refused shipment & wouldn’t pay for the wrong part. They’re out of business.

Aw, she’s so supportive! Feel free to jump in, and not help.

Wow! This is one of the best examples of “real life” I have ever seen! Kudos!!!!

The only thing on a washing machine I would not attempt to fix was the mechanical control mechanism. Now the new digital ones are a plug-and-play thing.

There is great peace in dwelling in knowledge with one’s spouse.

I’ve worked on a lot of washing machines and dryers in my life. Never worked on one that I didn’t fix it. Of course, I didn’t work on the ones that had control problems. I know my limitations.