I don’t spend a lot of time pining for the conveniences of modern life in America that are missing in China. I can do everything I need to do, so why worry about the few things that are not available.
This week was different. This week, I would have paid any price for a washing machine.
We have a washing machine in our apartment, but it is not fully automated like a machine in America. It leaves quite a lot of work for the human being operating it. The machine has two cylinders. One of them is for washing and rinsing clothes, the other is for spinning them dry. After the wash cycle is over, we have to scoop out the clothes and put them in the spinner. Then we put them back in the wash basin to rinse them. Then we have to scoop them out to spin them again.
Unlike in the states, where you can put your clothes in the machine and then forget about them for an hour, this machine requires attention at every step of the process.
The time consumed by washing is not the problem. What’s bugging me is the absence of a dryer. After our clothes have been wrung out in the spinner, we hang them on a line to dry. And for the past week it has been drizzly or foggy every single day. We can hang our clothes there forever, and they never dry. Never.
And on top of that, soon there will be three of us. Josh and I are pretty good at keeping our clothes clean, but Artemis is going to be a poop and puke machine. We will be doing laundry every day.
I don’t know what we are going to do if the weather doesn’t improve. I will either have to iron all of her little onesies, or buy her new clothes every time she makes a mess.
8 Comments
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If the weather stays icky, might you be able to get a dehumidifier? If so, you could turn on the dehumidifier in a room with the still-wet laundry. Good luck. =)
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Smudge has quite a wardrobe already! Taking after her parents she’ll be too savvy a shopper to need new onesies after each wearing. I imagine a very discerning baby! Besides you’ve got to have some dry Beijing air headed your way soon, right?
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I think there are dryers available in the upper-end appliance shops…
Really, you have two cylinders? I’m not sure if that’s a higher-quality model or not… but I’ve always had just one thing. I put the clothes and soap in, and it just runs through various fill, swish, drain, spin, cycles…. and beeps when it’s done.
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It is my intention to be your laundress when we join you. And you look great! and your laundry is more beautiful than any I’ve ever seen. xoxB&B
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I actually wouldn’t mind switching back to that two-bucket contraption. My current (shared) washer is supposed to be a newish front-loader, but the spin cycle’s been busted for six months or so. By the time my clothes are dry, it’s laundry day again. This is the price of free university housing, I suppose.
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I think you have a semi automatic washing machine. You should buy a automatic one. Try the Haier brand from Tsingdao. It is a very rekonown brand in China. There are integrated automatic machine with dryer function. But I don’t know whether they are available in China. Check it out your local electrical appliance store.
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Poop and puke machines definitely require a dryer.
I had the double cylinder washer in Japan. It killed my clothes, after about 4 months all of my jeans were on the verge of ripping apart.
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I feel your pain about the clothes taking forever to dry. In Fuyang, I think it would sometimes take a week if not more to get our clothes to dry during the winter. If I were you though, I would venture out and try to find a washing machine that washes, spins, rinses, and then spins it for you again. It still may take forever and day for your clothes to dry, but at least you won’t have to keep transferring the clothes after each cycle.