December 1, 2017 – Washer door latch broken!

        Well, everyone has now successfully pulled me kicking and screaming into the new way of living and dealing with a crisis.

BY THE INTERNET

        Of course, the house is now very clean after the Thanksgiving Holiday when I had guests in and I want to keep it nice, neat, and clean from now into the Christmas Season.

        One load of laundry done and I have just now stripped a bed and put the sheets in the washer and – what?  Door doesn’t want to latch?  WHAT?

        I pull all the sheets out and try it again – NO GO!  Problem  - it is flashlight time for inspection.  Yup the door latch – broken  - I think it is so engineering silly that the “door striker” is made out of plastic – but I guess they want to build in obsolescence so that I run right out and buy a new washer;  not this chick.

        Of course my first impulse is to grab the telephone book and look for a washer repairman - oh, such a thing does exist still – doesn’t it?  Eventually I find it under Appliance repair.

        I have already gotten down on my hands and knees with flashlight, spectacles, and paper and pad and written down the model number and the serial number.   I call the only appliance repair shop in the county I can find and chat with a nice young fella. 

        “We don’t keep things in stock.  If you give me the model number I can look up the part number and see if I can get it from  . . . .”  The man said.  He would call me back.

        Even I know that he will go to the internet, look up a part number, and just come back with a number.  So I circumvented this whole charade as I am going to “do it myself” since that is the way I've  had to deal with everything lately.  I will do it the NEW way, the way that everyone is doing these days - DIY.

        I didn’t hunt.  I went directly to the Electrolux website and I started a simple chat with a representative.

        I can say – the live CHAT feature that these major corporations have these days - are top notch. I am a novice at this and I took notes along the way.  That is a good thing, as I didn’t know that the information the agent sent would scroll off the screen in a moment when they asked if they had successfully helped me.

        They sure did, but I hope I wrote the information down correctly because I can’t go back and verify it now.  A lesson learned, but I did get lucky.

        Then, I called Electrolux parts department and ordered my part.  No, I actually ordered two. That way when this happens again in say – seven years – that is how old this washer is – they will probably not have this particular replacement part available and I will have one taped to the back of cabinet above the washer – waiting for the inevitable.  Same shipping fee - why not.

        I did opt for the expedited shipping and in a day or so, I will see how “modern” this chick is and take a Philips screw driver and remove the broken one and replace it with the new one.  Won’t my husband be impressed?

I didn’t get raised like one of the boys for nothing’ – I have my own set of tools.  Crisis now averted.  Thank you internet – you are useful. 

I might even toss out this archaic telephone book . . . maybe not, on second thought.