too sudsy

crazy thing happened today.

actually, about a month ago our washing machine started leaking. or something started leaking everytime i did the laundry. this made an already ridiculously tedius job all the more annoying because i would have to lay out a towel or two to catch the water, and then need to do the laundry again soon after to wash those towels. vicious vicious cycle.

chris started to inspect the laundry as it would run to see what the real issue was. he said the washing machine started leaking near the end of the cycle as the washing machine was draining. i had no idea what he was talking about and was convincced he was just avoiding buying another washing machine. i started looking on craigslist.com and he kept preaching about the wall.

then we bought some 'liquid plumber' cause chris read on the internet that sometimes there can be a clog in the wall. so we poured that in the wall and waited. (you like how i used 'we' in the last two sentences, when clearly only one of us bought the stuff, and the other actually poured it into the wall. you can figure out who did what.) no change. flooding? check. dreams of a beautiful new washing machine (aka one that doesn't pee all over the laundry room and leak into the kitchen)? check.

so, chris did something we should have done a month ago- called a real plumber. the guy showed up today, did this thing and that and then declared the wall was clog-free. then he asked me if we had changed laundry detergents while this was happening. and though i thought it was an absurdly absurd question for him to ask, when i took a second to think about it- i had changed detergents at PRECISELY the exact same moment that our flooding issues began. i usually use Purex or Arm and Hammer (cause i get coupons for them! and chris doesn't have an allergic reaction to them) but when i ran out a month ago, i started using a detergent that has like triple concentration. and apparently that backed up the drain! and thus the flood! who woulda thunk???!?!?!

so after the plumber left, i ran a load with some new detergent that i had just bought yesterday (cause i was running low on the evil detergent) and VOILA! no overflow of water. just a nice clean load of laundry and dry dry floors.

so, if you are experiencing the same heartache/hatred i have been experiencing the last month or so with your washing machine- try using a different detergent instead of buying a new washing machiine. this little tip might just save you $200...