Appliances

Better 8-1/2 days late than never. But like most things we have run across in our move, it wasn’t that simple. First off we got another surprise arrival.

Back when the garage door opener was replaced we were told we would get a call telling us of their arrival about 25-30 minutes ahead of time. On that day we decided to walk the mile into town to check the mail knowing that we could cover the distance back in a half hour. So wouldn’t you know it, the guy called while we were downtown, but he was calling from our driveway! So I lied to him and told him we were on our way home (true) and would be home in 10-15 minutes (false.) We quick walked back up the hill and made it in 25 minutes.

For our appliance delivery we were told to expect them between 1:00 and 5:00 in the afternoon. So we decided to walk into town about 11:30 to check the mail figuring we had plenty of time to do that and stop to buy a couple of bagels on the way back. So wouldn’t you know it, the guy called while we were almost downtown to say he was about 20 minutes away! The bagel place closed at 1:00, meaning we didn’t have time to get home, get our delivery and make it back, so Plan B was formulated on the fly. Donna would continue with the walking mission and I would turn around to head home and meet our appliances.

At least they weren’t waiting in the driveway when I got back, but it wasn’t long before the knock came at the door. They were fast and efficient at unloading and placing our stuff in where they belong. The fridge was easy, but the snags reared their ugly heads on the lower level where the washer and dryer go. First off, they brought the “wrong” 240v dryer power cord. Whenever the house was wired for the electric dryer they used a 3 prong straight bladed socket which is now traditionally used for stoves and the cord they had was the usual dryer cord with one blade with a 90 degree bend in it. Staying with the dryer, the flex tubing they brought was enough, but because of the existing tubing location it would be hard to move a junction to connect the new to the old. To top it off, the drain hose on the washer was too short. For whatever reason, the house drain was over on the other side of the water heater, so we would need an extension to make it reach.

I checked the Home Depot website and they had the dryer/oven power cord no problem. The extensions for the washer hose and dryer duct connectors they didn’t have, I could order it and have it delivered to the store for pickup — in a week! We drove to Home Depot and returned the cord and dryer ducting for in store credit. Then on the off chance the web site was wrong we went looking for the three things we needed. Turns out the web site was wrong, they didn’t even have the power cord.

Crap, another trip or two to the local laundromat would be required, but then we remembered seeing ads on TV for a local chain of electrical and plumbing stores called Grover. Went in and explained our predicament at the service desk and within 10 minutes were out the door with all three things we needed. An hour after getting home we were washing a load of clothes.