Mrs. Fix-It

So to add onto my distress on Sunday, our washing machine stopped working. We've been having issues with it from time to time, flashing an F21 error code. We'd just restart the wash and all would be fine. But Sunday, it returned the error time after time. Turns out the code means that your drain system is clogged somehow. We knew it would take a good chunk of time to repair it, or at least look into repairing it ourselves, so we decided to do it Monday after the kids were in bed and J was home.

Unfortunately, we were very backed up on laundry and since we weren't sure if we would be able to fix the machine on Monday, I toted a great many baskets to my Mom's and spent the day there doing laundry. Got home at around 3, as did J. The baby decides she doesn't want to sleep, so she watches.

After forging ahead and removing 3 bajillion screws (that's a true number there folks) to remove the back panel, Jason chastises me for not waiting for him because he would have told me that we only needed to remove the front panel, which had a total of 3 screws. Sigh.


See that white turn-y thing there (that's a technical term)? That's the filter, and that was our first stop for finding out why the tub was not draining. It was wedged in there very tight and it took both hands and a lot of umph to get it off. As I twisted it, water leaked out (good thing we'd turned off the water) and a most foul stench was emitted. Kinda like... er... fermented dog hair, if you can imagine such a thing. Now if you have a queasy stomach, just pass over this next picture. While it is rather gross, its also fascinating. The picture is poor because Jason was in the next room gagging and I had only one hand to take the pic and didn't want to get too close.


Yes, somehow... and really it almost defies physics, pens were in there. But most of it was dog hair. I thought that perhaps it was just a light coating covering a filter fabric, but no. Its all packed in there tight.

After a good shake into the bucket, it all came off. There was a shocking number of coins present as well. After a good scrub with bleach, it was in much better condition but still not pretty.


We put it back in and voila, problem solved. Then all I had to do was spend an hour putting the 3 bajillion screws back in :) Let this be a lesson to those with front loaders. Empty your filter often... do not be like us and let it ferment for over two years!

Our internal water dispenser on the fridge is still not working, but that's a repair work in progress as well. Luckily, we're fairly certain that we won't be in for a gross surprise with that repair job!

Elsa woke only once last night which is better than she's done in a long time. I feel a lot better today than I've felt in awhile. Funny how sleep will do that for you.