A Wonderful Clean

My washing machine has been broken since Saturday. At first it didn't seem like a crisis. My machine is a Bosch front loader - highly efficient, quiet, easy on the water - a busy mother's dream. But what happens when the control panel stubbornly continues to flash E:04? Well, one checks the filter of course, and sure enough I found two screws, two hairpins, a nickel, and a broken chain. Unfortunately, this quick fix that had always worked before failed to solve the problem. Papa, Joey, and I cleaned drainage hoses of jelly-like gunk and still no results. Finally after about 15 gallons of dirty water spilled onto the floor over the course of 3 days, laundry piling up, and about a dozen towels soaked with gray water, I put up the white flag and called the repairman. He was the same man who had come the week before to fix the refrigerator. (When it rains it pours. I think I'm going to bless the dishwasher with holy water.) Long story short, the drainage pump is broken, and of course, it will be 3-5 business days before the new pump will arrive. Great.

Now comes the confession. I hate laundromats. Oh, I know, they work well for many people. But I have had many a bad experience with laundromats, and I didn't relish the thought of having to go. Neither did I relish the thought of having to pay more for a load of laundry than I would pay for almost a week's worth of cleaning here at home. Then again we were all in need of at least clean underwear. And socks. The situation appeared desperate. That is until I remembered...the Wonder Clean.

I don't know how many people recall the panic over Y2K. Suffice to say that my clear-headed husband carried the day in not getting carried away. We made a few bulk purchases of oatmeal, wheat berries, and rice, but on the whole we did't go overboard. We also purchased a Coleman lantern and a grain mill, both of which we still use regularly. The Wonder Clean was my only real "panic purchase." For, with a household of little children, I would need to get clothes clean. And so I became the proud owner of, well, a white elephant. For ten long years the Wonder Clean sat, first in the basement of the little white house, and then on a high shelf in the barn, neglected, forgotten. That is until today.

Although covered with dust the washer did not seem to have suffered from lack of use. After a thorough cleaning I loaded the empty drum with underwear and socks, added about a gallon of hot water, and one teaspoon of laundry detergent. Once the lid was screwed on tightly the fun began as the boys took turns rotating the handle of the washer each competing to see who could get the washer to spin the fastest. Ten minutes later (the instructions say only a maximum of 2 minutes agitation is necessary) we drained the wash water and added more water for rinsing. Round and round went the drum as lessons in the physics of inertia, friction, and heat conduction were discussed. Drain, wring and toss the laundry into the dryer and we were done. Everyone was amazed at how clean the laundry looked and smelled. The Wonder Clean had saved the day!





Will says we should do laundry like this more often. I say let's get that washing machine fixed soon! But in the meantime I will be grateful for life's blessings and count among them my little hand cranked washing machine. It really is a wonder.