Well, it's a week since we returned from holidays and already the tan is fading and I'm hard at it in the studio. Of course it is school holidays here in Melbourne so my children have returned from their beach break only to have another two weeks off....ggggrrrr, bad planning on my part!!
Our holiday was very relaxing and a great time for family bonding. This little story I am going to share with you, while stressful for myself, provided great entertainment for my children and started our holiday off with a huge laugh. Yes, I am laughing now, just not at the time.
This story involves a front loading washing machine.....
And a bottle of Dynamo washing liquid......
On the day we arrived in Port Macquarie we checked into our apartment where we always stay. Since the last time we had been there they had redecorated all the apartments. The girls ran around checking it all out: new carpet, new furniture, painted walls the lot - it looked great. After we unpacked we headed into town to stock up on groceries. When we returned I decided I would wash all our traveling clothes so the next day could be solely devoted to sun worship and relaxing.
I opened the double doors that hid the apartment laundry and to my surprise there was a new washing machine. Not only was it new but it was (OMG) ..... a front loader. Oh dear, I should have checked this out before I left to do the shopping. The old washing machine in the apartment was a top loader exactly the same as mine at home. I had purchased a bottle of washing liquid for a top loader.
Hhmmmmm......what to do? I know very little about front loaders except that you use a low sudsing detergent. Simple I think......I'll just use a smaller amount of washing liquid. Done. Too easy. I leave the washing to go out onto the balcony to soak in my beautiful and peaceful ocean view. Not a care in the world because I am on holidays.
Yeah right......those of you who have a front loader washing machine know differently already. After awhile I wander inside to make a coffee and just happen to glance over in the direction of the hide in the cupboard laundry. What's this I spy......BUBBLES!!!
Not just a few bubbles - oh no, I mean many, many bubbles, buckets load, too much for any washing machine.
I stop the washing machine, muttered several obscenities under my breath and tried in vain to open the door of the machine. It wouldn't let me. OMG, what would I do. Now the kids are there making all their 'oh no' sounds too. Just what I need - an audience.
Frantically I search for an instruction manual and find one under the laundry trough. Of course the boldly printed warning on the front page about using the correct washing detergent is of no use to me now!! Yet there is hope. In the manual it explains how to empty the machine of water so I can open the door and remove the bubbles.
Here is the problem - obviously a man or some 'stupid' person who would never use a washing machine has designed it with the emergency water release valve placed one inch...yes, that is one inch off the floor. The manual instructed me to place a reciprocal underneath the valve and remove the cap so gravity would empty the machine. Oh HELLO......what will fit in the 1 inch space between the valve and the floor that is suitable for receiving a large quantity of water. Hhuummph....that was my dilemma. I found a small dish that could be slipped in under the valve which held about 200 ml of water and so started the long, laborious process of removing small quantities of water one dish at a time.
That done it was time to open the door and tackle the bubbles.
Here is one of those 'How is it so' questions that defies an answer: how come the amount of bubbles being removed from the tub appear to be twice the volume of the inside of the tub??? I don't know either but I mulled this over in my mind while I tackled a very sudsy situation all while my hubby and kids shrieked with laughter.
A valuable lesson to be learnt here fellow domestic goddesses.....NEVER put ordinary washing liquid in a front loading washing machine - unless of course you need something to entertain the kids on a wet weather day. If you wanted the kids to help they would disappear in a flash but if you want to wallow in your own stupidity in private they are bound to hang around and humiliate you!!!!
That was pretty much the last load of washing I did while on holidays. Apart from a bit of hand washing I didn't tackle the foaming beast again.
Hugs,
Kerryanne
