The Builder in Me

A while back I posted about the Kreg jig and wanting to build some things for the house.

Well I've had this beauty pinned to my pinterest page for quite some time.

Photo and plan can be found here

The pin keeps disappearing, but luckily it's popular and can easily be found via a quick google search.

Looks like a good way to get the washers up, off the floor without spending all the money for pedestals.

Building project #1 on my list.

Aloha a Hui Hou!

Top or front loader?

©me2011

I know it seems a bit early to start looking for a washer/dryer, but when we were there last year I had to go to the laundromat. It was about 20 some minutes away from home. I needed A LOT more quarters than I need at home, so it got pretty expensive. The place was nice and clean and they had a tv and were playing some old movies....but still, I would have rather spent the time at the house doing something productive while waiting for my clothes to wash and dry. Not to mention I wasn't thrilled with the fact that I had to lug our dirty laundry to Rogers parents house because I didn't want to leave dirty laundry behind or have to run to the laundromat as soon as we return. So the plan is to pick out a washer and dryer so it will be there waiting for us on our next visit.

The first clothes washer I ever owned was a front loading, under the counter, built in washer. By built in I mean it had a extra door on the front and when it was closed it blended in seamlessly with my kitchen cabinets. As far as the functions - it was a very simple machine, but because of that extra door it cost about 3x's as much as a regular washing machine. It looked kind of like this:

That was almost 25 years ago and our situation has changed. I am so happy that we have a laundry room, our very own laundry room. It isn't in the corner of our bedroom, as it was in Waikiki. It didn't vent outside vent, so we had dust build up like you wouldn't believe.

We no longer have to share it like we did when I managed the care home and here at the apartments. We no longer have to worry about strange left overs or smells from the others that are using them or them breaking down because others over load the machine or throw in the wrong coin.

Thankfully it is now all a thing of the past and we can look at what we've learned so far to help us pick out the best set for us. Lets start at the top with what we find are pros and cons of what we've and have now.  It's a short list.

Simple dryer:

Pros: Three choices of temperatures

Cons: 25¢ gets you 20 minutes. That's very cheap compared to the laundromat - but since we have such high humidity we have to put everything in the dryer to get it dry at all.  I'm stuck at paying for 20 minutes, a waste of time and energy. Not having control over that is not a good feature.

Cant's say much more about dryers.

The Front Loader:

Pros: it has a big drum, I can put bleach in a special compartment on the top. If I get one that has a drawer for the detergent I could put a countertop across the washer and dryer - al the way to the corner.

Washer and dryer will go on the wall with the green shelf and the counter would go all the way to the corner near the sink (this photo does not show the new plumbing).

Cons: It is an HE machine and since I can't leave it open to air out, because the stupid feral cats will go in there and mark their territory, it really STINKS. Because of the stink I have to buy an extra product to make it smell good again and use more of my quarters.

The Top Loader:

Pros: If I find a stray item that I wish to add after I started the machine, I still have the option to do so. Compared to the top loader, the washing time is much shorter.


Cons: If I want to add bleach I have to fill the drum with water first. I have to hang around to put in softener. I can't put our comforter in it. If I only want to wash the shower rug because the cat barfed on it or worse, it goes out of balance because the load is unevenly distributed

Another con in general is these washers don't seem to have lint traps and the pipes get clogged on a regular basis. I remember my mom tying a stocking to the exit hose of the washer to collect the lint. Do people still do that?

Now before you start telling me that top loaders have a special compartment for bleach and softener  too or that some of the other pros or cons are not the way you see it - this list applies to what I have here, not what is out on the market.

For now I am leaning heavily to the front loader, just so I can get that counter top all the way to the corner.

That being said, I would love to read your pro and con list!

Ma' Pipes

Yes, we bought an older home. Yes, we knew that we had to update a few things.

One of the things we knew we had to tackle was our plumbing.

When we had the home inspection the inspector said that the water was coming in surges. Like it never got enough pressure to flow. Lots of back and forth with the plumber who said there was a problem and the selling realtor saying there isn't and nothing got fixed. Just one of the other unhappy things that came up when we bought the house. The home owners warranty insurance we took out when we bought the house came and looked and sang the insurance song of my life - "I'm so sorry, your policy just doesn't cover that"

While there in July, Roger discovered that when he was watering the trees the pressure in the house was just fine. Turned out that the pressure tank in the well house was leaking. We told our then contractor that and that getting it fixed is one of our top priorities.

Well, we were already home from our trip in July when we remembered that we had forgotten to turn off the electricity to the pump. Bad thing was that even if no water was being used the pump kept switching on and off...Click, click, click...this in turn was wearing out the pump. We didn't want to buy a new pump so we tried to get in touch with the contractor, to see if he might be in the area to turn it off....no response....one of the reasons he is NO LONGER our contractor.

Anyway, long story short we had the contact information of the guy that told us that there is something wrong in the first place and after a couple of weeks we had a new pressure tank.

Another thing we noticed was that the water didn't taste too great and the faucets were pretty gunked up.  Based on the photos that Angela took for us we knew that the pipes were galvanized pipes and most likely have a lot of deposit and rust in them.

Thanks to our new, fabulous contractors every inch of plumbing throughout the house has been replaces. They also relocated the plumbing for the washing machine and put in lines for the dishwasher and ice maker. Last, but not least, they even removed the outside spigots and put in 2 frost proof ones! Every bit of progress counts!

The true test will come when we go back to the house and see how the water tastes. If it still takes funky we might have to consider a water purification system...oh and also a water softener....Always something! Not quite a money pit...but a money sucker for sure...lol

Aloha Hui Hou!

Laundry day

So today is one of my laundry days and since I shouldn't lift heavy loads I guess I will have to pass...for today.

I'm looking forward to buying a washer and dryer but am unsure what kind of washer to get.

In the past I've always had a front loader and like the fact that I will have a flat surface across the top of the washer and dryer and can put a counter top across...for folding and such...

But a top loader has it's benefits too. You can add something quick. You can leave the lid open and let it stand and soak for a while...

Then comes the question of having them stand on pedestals or not.

 

You'll get that extra storage, but it is too high to work on.  Also having it on the pedestals means if the basement ever floods, the machines will be safe.

Not to forget about the all new steam washers and dryers. Does anyone have them? are they good? are they better? Is it worth the extra you pay for them?

Looking for some good feedback :o)