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NOV

04

2012

what was supposed to be a relaxing sunday evening back from having dinner at my parents' place turned out to be a night of drama. drew was just about to dry his laundry when the dryer made this terrible grinding sound. i'd experienced this once before, but the sound went away after a few scary seconds. this time however the sound persisted, enough so that it was impossible to dry the clothes since it sounded like machines were being murdered.

i tried to do the calculus of what it'd take to fix it. my in-unit (in-closet) washer/dryer is installed in such a way that it's impossible to get access to the back of the appliance without tearing down some walls. for the most part it's been pretty reliable for the past decade, dying once due to a blown fuse, and malfunctioning for a period of time because my upstairs neighbors had been turning off my cold water supply.

i rigged up some makeshift indoor clotheslines using a few chairs and a length of rope so drew could at least dry his wet clothes. he told me back in pittsburgh he rarely uses his dryer, and probably in all the time he's had it he'd only used it less than a dozen times, preferring instead to hang dry his clothes.

trying to figure out how much of the dryer guts i could get access to, i began unscrewing some panels after first turning off the electricity to the washer/dryer from the basement circuit breaker box. luckily it seems i can gain entry to everything from the front of the machine and won't need to tear down any walls. i also came across a short screwdriver while i was in the basement, which was crucial to opening the front panel of the dryer because the screws were located on top of the machine with very little clearance for a full-sized screwdriver.

3 online sources really helped in figuring out how to take apart the dryer: clothes dryer noises and sounds website, repair clinic's how a gas dryer works video (even though i'm not sure if i have a gas or electric dryer), and their maytag dryer repair drum support roller replacement video (i have a maytag LS7804 model).

the 2 door switch wires (yellow and white) attached to the front panel of the dryer took forever to remove, even though the online video made it seem so easy. i was afraid if i pulled too hard i might break the wire or possibly damage the switch itself. after i worn the skin of my fingers raw i finally managed to yank out the wires.

a stacked washer/dryer is a little different from a traditional separate washer and washer in that the control panel is actually embedded in the front panel. that meant i couldn't easily remove the front panel, but instead could only rest it on top of the washer lid directly below.

a possible clue as to what might be causing the loud high-pitched squeaking noises was when i actually ran the dryer with the bottom panel removed: i had a partial view of the guts and noticed that the right drum support roller wasn't rolling. that could mean the drying drum is resting only on one of the rollers, which might explain the noises, as well as the fact that the dryer has been vibrating more violently in recent years.

it was getting late and drew disappeared into his bedroom to sleep. i fiddled with the dryer a bit more before calling it quits and and continuing my repair tomorrow morning.

i had to force myself to sleep an extra hour this morning because my circadian clock was telling me to wake up. on the first day of the end of daylight saving time, everything felt a little later than what it says on the clock. i was outside pumping the tires of drew's bike when i ran into franz and jen and their new baby. this was my first time seeing their daughter, although on a few occasions i've heard her crying from their house. we chatted about the elm tree drama and i told franz about replacing our roof.

drew left for the harvard library around noontime. soon afterwards my mother and sister came to pick me up. they'd wanted to visit the burlington ac moore and bed bath & beyond, but i suggested they visit the ones at the assembly square mall; that way they could give me a ride to belmont and i could pick up my motorcycle. i printed and clipped out some coupons before they arrived.

my mother bought a basket full of yarn from ac moore. she really likes the small bundles of furry yarn; unfortunately they didn't have the moda-dea brand she was looking for. at bed bath & beyond my mother and sister purchased a few boxes of keurig coffee and a bunch of new placemats for thanksgiving.

back in belmont my mother fixed me up a bowl of spicy noodles since i didn't have breakfast or lunch yet (it was well past 2:00). when my father returned home from the cafe in the evening, he and my sister went to the chipotle in fresh pond to get some burrito bowls for dinner.

the temperature was in the low 40's when i returned to cambridge via motorcycle. my usual spot was waiting for me when i arrived. seeing how my schedule is for the rest of the week, i may send my motorcycle into the shop to get the rear wheel replaced. the treads are pretty well-worn and i can't get proper traction.