The dryer: we were determined to conquer this one ourselves. When we did the walkthrough of the house we were happy to see that the previous owners left all of the large appliances, most of them in decent shape.There was a washing machine and a gas dryer hooked up in the basement apparently ready for use, and a second dryer sitting off to the side looking a little rough. We also brought our washer and dryer from the old apartment. The basement was starting to look like an appliance store! Except the stock was looking pretty haggard.
We tried out the washer/dryer right away. After a few loads of laundry, mostly rags and other cruddy stuff from our epic post closing deep clean, it was clear that the dryer just wasn't cutting the mustard. It would turn on and get hot, but the clothes would never fully dry, so it took me a while to finally diagnose the problem. First I cleared out the exhaust tube which was well packed with lint, but it still didn't dry a load of sheets. Then it seemed like it was a sensor problem, but that wasn't it, the timed dry was just as bad.
So I went to the books. My dad gave me this copy of the RD Fix-it-yourself manual when I got my first off campus apartment in college. It's come in handy over the years, but now more than ever!
After doing some research and detective work, the problem was clear. The dryer door was slightly bent, it still latched shut, but enough hot air was escaping that the dryer was useless. Obviously anything running inefficiently is no good for the environment OR the wallet, and by now the tenants had moved in and we were all anxious to use the laundry. We looked at the row of dryers and decided to try the one we had taken out of storage from the previous apartment. It seemed to be the most likely to work out of the two extras. The gas hookup would probably be tricky, but I figured we could handle it if we just went through step by step. Now, neither of us are plumbers, but I thought it was worth a try! Hooking up a gas line is like Legos for grown ups! Well, sorta.
On a Monday night, I came home on a mission and Bill and I went to work. We turned off the gas supply to the dryer, an important first safety step when dealing with gas. Then we unplugged and unscrewed it from the power sources. The whole time we worked we had our noses on alert, checking for that unmistakable gas smell. At one point Bill had to spin the dryer on its belly to coax the pipes to let go. I ended up taking three separate trips to Ace, in rush hour! To get the parts we needed. Bill coated all the joints with plumbers goop and finally we were ready to fire her up.
Woohoo!! She worked! I put in a load of wet towels and they were dry in no time. We were thrilled!! But when I opened the door there was that unmistakable odor. There was a tiny gas leak coming from inside the dryer. This has nothing to do with our install job, just the second dryer to prove to be trashed. We took a look at dryer #3 and decided to throw up the white flag and call a professional. As the tenant Matt put it, "it's not defeat, it's just a different solution." I like that.
Then Craig's List saved the day again! I searched for Gas Dryer and happened upon an add for GAS Dryer Free Delivery, Installed. Yes, please. It wasn't long before I was in contact with Derron Darcy of Big D's and Little C's Appliances. He agreed to bring us a used/repaired Whirlpool Dryer, have it installed by a licensed plumber, and cart away the three junk machines for a great price. We made a date.
The guys showed up a few minutes ahead of schedule so Bill was here to greet them. By the time I showed up 20 mins later the job was done and Bill and the guys were chumming around and bonding over their similar work vans. I missed this part but Bill said "he picked up those dryers like they were toothpicks!" Oh, and he was wearing flip flops. Before they left we had them give us a quote for installing a second laundry set up for the tenants, a job we will need in a few weeks. We will definitely have them back!
So, now we are back in business. We REALLY wanted to fix that dryer ourselves. But we gave it a good try, and there are just too many things to get done to tinker around for fun. It wasn't defeat, it was just a different solution.
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