Earlier this week, our washing machine gave up on us. After filling with water and agitating, it stopped in udder protest, completely full of water. It taunted us with half washed, sopping wet clothing. So we did what any good handy people would do – an internet search. After much debating, we figured our problem was most likely a faulty lid switch.

However, during the debate, our first possible solution was to check the hose that the water pumped out of for clogs, which of course, was full of water. While we had buckets handy, we still managed to soak our utility room floor in determining that was NOT the problem. Awesome.

Next was taking off the cabinet. As someone whose expertise in home repair is limited to fixing a running toilet, this, well, sucked. It didn’t help that our utility room is not wide enough to allow us to remove the cabinet. We had to shimmy the washer to the door of the kitchen and pull the shell into the kitchen. Where it has sat for 3 days. Once we determined the lid switch was broken (at least, that’s what we figured the rattling noise was when we shook it) we had to replace the part. Which they don’t make anymore. Le sigh.

Tom however, found a local appliance shop that still had some old parts, and thankfully, they had ours – for a fraction of the cost of the newer compatible “replacement part.” Tonight we managed to get all the parts together, the screws tightened, the cabinet shimmied, and all the hoses connected. We plugged it in, and started her up.

Ka thump thump thump.

Well crap. The cabinet was definitely not aligned. We decided that since, technically, the washer was working, we’d let the cycle continue to drain all the water out and finish the days old load of laundry.

So, back to the internet! With a quick jog over to youtube we found a visual for the “stupid thing you were doing wrong.” After the washer did its thing, we tackled the cabinet again. Armed with our new knowledge, we finagled that beast into submission. It is currently re-washing the days old load (5 days of wetness in a dark room *shudder*) and Tom and I have the sweet sense of victory over the world of broken appliances. Maybe in 5 – 10 years we’ll be ready to tackle home ownership!