My washing machine saga

Yesterday I spent over nine hours waiting for the Sears repairman to come and fix my Kenmore Calypso washing machine.

I HATE my washing machine. I liked it when I bought it 5 years ago, but in the last year or so, it has caused me nothing but trouble. The point of a washing machine is to clean your clothes, but mine come out with dirt on them they did not have when the went in. I have been told it is because it is a high efficiency washer and there is not enough water. Then I have been told that I need to clean my machine. I have also been told that the dryer takes off the lint and debris, but I don't dry all of my clothes.

They no longer make this machine and for good reason. Of the ten settings, five of them are too harsh and will shred your clothes. Yesterday the repair woman told me that the heavy duty setting is for car parts. What?! Yes, I find myself putting car parts in my washing machine all of the time.

I have had Sears out countless times for this dirt/lint issue. We have even taken the machine completely apart twice and washed in to get all of the gunk off. I am so ready to rent a steam roller and run it back and forth over this piece of junk.

So last week after having my new sheets come out of the washer with dirt and grease stains, I called them to come back out again. I selected the 8-12 time frame. By noon, no one had called or arrived. I called and checked on the status and was hung up on in the process. (Okay, so maybe I didn't need to make the sarcastic comment about my machine not being able to be fixed, but I said it laughing and not snidely.)

Two hours later I called again. This time I asked to speak to a manager or someone else. I finally said I wanted to file a complaint.

Thirty minutes later Andy called me and said that I had been put as the last call of the day. When I told him that I had the 8-12 slot, he said he would look into it and what could they do for my troubles. I asked for a new washing machine. He said no. Boo. He called a few minutes later and said someone would be at my house around 3:30. Fine.

At 4:00 I tried to call Andy, but was connected to the retail store, not the repair center. The retail store was nice enough to call Andy and have him call me. During that time a repairman called me and said that he couldn't make it to my house today and the next available day was Thursday. This totally set me off again. I told him that Thursday was completely unacceptable and I had been waiting for eight hours. He said he was at a call and wouldn't make it for a couple more hours. Whatever.

Andy called back and said they were looking into this, someone would be coming today and he would personally keep an eye on this. Fine.

At 4:45 I receive a call from Kelly, saying that I have just been added to his route and he will be at my house when he finishes up his next appointment. He wanted to know how late he could come. I said, "I've been waiting since 8a.m., so I guess it doesn't matter."

At 5:20 they finally arrive, right as I'm putting dinner on the table. I show them what the washing machine is doing to my clothes, they go about replacing the U-joint. I ask if the washing machine will now clean my clothes. She said I shouldn't have any problems. Right, that is what the said the last five times they have been here. She tells me that washing machines no longer have lint traps and the debris comes off in the dryer. Anything that doesn't come off can be scraped off with a fingernail or I could use bar soap and a scrub brush. I said, "I thought washing machines were supposed to clean your clothes." In my head I thought, "And while I'm at it let me go beat my clothes against a rock down by the river."

I am done with this machine. I HATE it. And as soon as possible I will be buying a new one or I'll be down by the nearest river beating my clothes with a rock.