Wednesday, May 12, 2010

2x Clothes Detergent Use....Avoid Costly Mistakes!

Sandy River dam...source of Bull Run water.
    Don't you just hate it when you call the repair man for a cost of $110.94 to find out you have been using your 2x Kirkland liquid washing machine detergent wrong?  Apparently, following the directions on the container is not a good idea!  Let me tell you the story.
     My husband and I have lived in our condo for 9+ years so the appliances are not new.  When the washing machine decided to overflow, leaving a puddle of water in front of the machine, we thought we were due for a new appliance.  While having new stuff is very cool, I do like things that work and are paid for.  So I called the repair man.  In the mean time, I had quit washing on the super sized setting because every time I did, water was on the floor.  It was a little scary.
    The repair man came the next Monday and my husband followed him upstairs.  They couldn't have been up there more than 5 minutes when I heard my husband calling my name.  He and the repair man greeted me at the top of the stairs.  They wanted to know how much detergent I was using.  I knew right then I was in deep trouble...I wasn't sure why but it just follows that when something is wrong, I am to blame...like night follows day.
     It turns out that in Portland Oregon metro area we use Bull Run Reservoir water...pure snow water from the slopes of the Cascade Range.  People around here claim it is the best water in the nation.  The bottle direction do not apply.  The repair man gave me a demonstration with machine insides exposed.  When I used too much detergent, the foam overflowed onto the floor during the spin cycle.  The repair man suggested I use 1/4 the detergent called for on the bottle and feel the water to see if it is slick.  If it is, that is plenty.
     WHO KNEW!  I wrote him a check as he continued to talk about how to wash clothes correctly!  I don't want to do that ever again.  $110.94 is too much to pay for a lesson in washing.  Interestingly enough, he said that this kind of service call was not unusual in the Portland area.
     As a side note, we had to replace a dishwasher because the dish detergent ate the pump up....to much soap.  That repairman suggest we use less than half what the soap manufacturer recommended.  How could I have not seen the connection!
     Now you are in the loop...don't call the washing machine repairman until you check your soap usage and use less soap in your dishwasher.  You dishes and your bank account will thank you!

b
note: Incidentally the repairman also cautioned against using Kirkland powdered detergent...it will erode and ruin you washing machine!
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2 comments:

  1. So, guess we all have learned at your expense. And now you can save on detergent - to make up for the service call in a year or so....

    One thing I learned at the condo we rented. Miele dishwashers are awesome, but if they are not run for like a month or more - it does something and cost our landlord a couple hundred to simply reset it - all because they had not rented it out right away. That was crazy!

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  2. I'm a mom, a blogger, and a Ph.D. student, and I need your help. I'm doing a study about why women blog, and you have been selected at random to participate in a short survey about what motivates you to blog and what you get out of blogging.



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    Gina M. Chen
    Ph.D. student
    S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
    Syracuse University
    215 University Place
    Syracuse, NY 13244-2100

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