For the last few months, our dryer has been sounding like a sick mongoose scratching its nails against a blackboard. The dryer is located in the basement. I can close the laundry room door, the basement door and my upstairs bedroom door (two floors above) and still here the dryer enough to keep me awake.
Yes, I know I shouldn’t be running the dryer at night while I am in bed, but it was an emergency situation. The squeaking can be lived with, although it isn’t pleasant, but when I timed a recent load and found that it took two and a half hours to dry a small load, well then we knew something had to be done.
We took a look in Sears this weekend, since they were having a 20-25 percent off sale on washer and dryers. I won’t leave you in suspense…we didn’t buy one. One thing that I noticed is how flashy dryers are getting. No longer a strictly utilitarian addition to the home, a dryer is now a “designer accessory.”
The saleswoman pointed out all of the great features. I pointed out the fact that the computerized displays are more likely to break than the simple dial. She agreed. I also balked at paying more for a washer and dryer set than I did for my first car. She pointed out that we could shave off a hundred or two by opting not for the gorgeous red or champagne colors but choosing white.
We thanked the saleswoman and did a little hunting on our own. Hidden away were dryers without all of the frills. They had, guess what, dials and were affordable. Unfortunately they also had cheap construction and flimsy materials.
We couldn’t find something that was both simple and yet well made. Somewhere there has got to be a dryer for us. Any suggestions?
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