Dirty Laundry

Let’s air the dirty laundry from the start. Lots of it at times. Other times, not too much.

Thankfully, I really do mean dirty laundry. Adds up quick and can smell. I’m not telling you my deep, dark secrets, dirty laundry. After all, who is interested in that? I am speaking of the kind where socks multiply like rabbits.

We live in an apartment that has stood for over 100 years. We have access to the basement and let me tell you, I avoid it at all costs. The basement has not been upgraded since the Roman Empire. Dark, dirty, other previous renters’ discarded stuff piled up in heaps. Bits of past lives relics discarded in dark corners.

Some spiders have lived down there since this house was constructed. It has a toilet down in the cobby darkness, called a Pittsburgh Toilet. It stands there like a sentry for the Other World. Odd thunking noises in the middle of the night emanate from that porcelain commode. It’s the reason I don’t keep closet doors open when I go to bed. An idea of the monsters in the basement coming out at night, coming through a closet door. The things of childish fears but funny how they pop up at times as an adult.

But I regress…

Laundry. We don’t have a washer and dryer in our apartment, we would have to put one in the gates of hell’s basement. We used a laundromat for years, which in itself is always an experience. Then along came a pandemic. The laundromat was not a place I wanted to hang out to observe human behaviors for extended periods.

I did some researching on the internet and saw in many other countries they make use of smaller, portable washers all the time. I didn’t realize how many places use smaller washers, not the industrial-size washers we in the U.S. are used to. The portable washing machine can be hooked up to a kitchen sink very easily or even a shower. I use mine in the kitchen sink. I also had an old wooden trolly I had that I put the machine on to wheel around easily instead of having to lift it. It can be cumbersome otherwise. Pictured below is the washer hooked up. Like our carpet in the KITCHEN???

Granted you can not put as much laundry in per load. You can fit 2 pairs of jeans or around 8 large size t-shirts in at a time. At least you don’t have to stand around a bunch of other people when you have no idea what a pandemic is going to bring.

I started researching pricing and where I could buy a portable washing machine. Apparently, everyone else had the same notion during that time. I found that most retailers sold out or the price including shipping, was so high that it was not worth it for me. After a bit more hunting, I struck gold. I found a refurbished unit for a great price. I have found in the past, that refurbished units are well worth purchasing. It is generally a returned item that is brought back to a new condition at a cost saving to you. It was a bit of a drive to buy it, but I was pent up after a month of lockdown and ready for a drive.

It is large enough to keep up with a normal week’s laundry, but not large enough for blankets or bulky items. It got us through the lockdown of the pandemic. I still use the washer on a regular basis.

With that being said, the semi-issue comes to drying. I picked up a clothes rack from Amazon that works great. The bad part is it sits in our dining room, with clothes, hanging, for few days at times, to dry. With hang drying clothes, they are not soft. They can a bit stiff and rough. At least they are clean. I will take clean and a bit rough. Picture below is the SHAREWIN Clothes Drying Rack that I bought off of Amazon.

How do you like the green shag carpet?

At the height of usage, our water bill went up around $20, a cost I was willing to deal with. Going to the laundromat, we would spend up to $50 washing and drying, generally twice a month. I paid for the refurbished Magic Chef 0.9 cu. ft. Compact Washer $120, retailing on Amazon for $299.00.

This is one of my better buys in the long run. Over the last 2 years, I have used it often. It has held up after a lot of loads running, some, when he does the wash, overstuffed.

The biggest plus, for me, is it is worth not to go into the basement of doom and arachnids. Anything is better than that!

---

(When you buy through links on this site, I may earn an affiliate commission.)