Hello, scummy laundromat
There are so many things about our house that make no sense whatsoever. One of these is that our dryer is not vented out the nearest exterior wall, but rather up, through the basement ceiling, and out the far end of the house. When we had a repair person in to check on our washer, he noted that this length of venting was too much, and that had we gone for the humongous, energy-chomping North American-style dryer, as opposed to the sleek, pricey, and energy-modest European equipment, the length probably wouldn't have been such a problem.
Harumph.
Fortunately for us, our neighbours hired a home inspector before the one-year anniversary of the buildings, and this inspector flagged the length of the vent as beyond acceptable, according to code. (Our own inspector, not imagining any possible reason for the vent to be off the far end of the house, couldn't find it.) And the builder eventually conceded, arranging for a booster fan to be installed.
After being promised said booster fan for two months, the installation was finally arranged. We were given a choice of during the day on Friday, or Monday morning. Neither day worked particularly well for us, but late Friday afternoon was slightly better. The appointment was set for 3:45. Around noon, the deficiency guys started stalking me, trying to get permission to come in earlier - at just the time I had planned to head out with Jakob. Given their take-it-or-leave-it approach, that left us with Monday morning. They were scheduled for 8:15 am.
Saturday evening, one of our neighbours stopped by. She shared a very interesting tidbit: the booster fan had been installed in her home on Friday, and she was told not to use the dryer until the electrician came through and hooked up the fan. That would not be happening until Wednesday. Werner and I talked about it, and agreed that it would be unacceptable for us to not have a usuable dryer for three days when we have to baby laundry at least every second day, daily when the spit-up is particularly bad. We agreed we'd play naive, assuming that they wouldn't possibly make our laundry facility inaccessible for days on end, and that if that was indeed their plan, they would not be allowed to start the work.
Monday morning, one of the guys managing the deficiency work came in. Then he finally divulged that the electrician wasn't scheduled 'til Wednesday and, ho ho, the dryer would have to be out of service until then. Of course, there was no promise, either, that the electrician would get to us on Wednesday, if he even came in. And, yes, this was the same electrician who has been rude and demeaning to me (I am but a dumb housewife, after all) every single time he's been here. I asked why he didn't warn us about this in advance, and he actually said, "Because it wouldn't have made a difference." Pardon me?? Could you be any more patronising? (Oh, right, he'd already asked me whether I clean the lint trap after each load.) Yes, it would have made a difference, said I. "I would have done a load of laundry last night, if you'd given us warning." He also had the nerve to tell me that nobody else complained. (I know the neighbour who came here was pretty ticked off, and although she didn't tell me that she'd complained to him, she's no pushover.) I pointed out that we have a baby, ergo mountains of laundry. He didn't budge.
Deficiency manager guy said that if we didn't agree to have the blower installed right then and there, we were on our own.
Werner blinked. He told them to go ahead.
So now we have no dryer. Nor do we have a clothesline. And a baby prone to vomiting at any opportunity.
Oh, won't this be fun.
Harumph.
Fortunately for us, our neighbours hired a home inspector before the one-year anniversary of the buildings, and this inspector flagged the length of the vent as beyond acceptable, according to code. (Our own inspector, not imagining any possible reason for the vent to be off the far end of the house, couldn't find it.) And the builder eventually conceded, arranging for a booster fan to be installed.
After being promised said booster fan for two months, the installation was finally arranged. We were given a choice of during the day on Friday, or Monday morning. Neither day worked particularly well for us, but late Friday afternoon was slightly better. The appointment was set for 3:45. Around noon, the deficiency guys started stalking me, trying to get permission to come in earlier - at just the time I had planned to head out with Jakob. Given their take-it-or-leave-it approach, that left us with Monday morning. They were scheduled for 8:15 am.
Saturday evening, one of our neighbours stopped by. She shared a very interesting tidbit: the booster fan had been installed in her home on Friday, and she was told not to use the dryer until the electrician came through and hooked up the fan. That would not be happening until Wednesday. Werner and I talked about it, and agreed that it would be unacceptable for us to not have a usuable dryer for three days when we have to baby laundry at least every second day, daily when the spit-up is particularly bad. We agreed we'd play naive, assuming that they wouldn't possibly make our laundry facility inaccessible for days on end, and that if that was indeed their plan, they would not be allowed to start the work.
Monday morning, one of the guys managing the deficiency work came in. Then he finally divulged that the electrician wasn't scheduled 'til Wednesday and, ho ho, the dryer would have to be out of service until then. Of course, there was no promise, either, that the electrician would get to us on Wednesday, if he even came in. And, yes, this was the same electrician who has been rude and demeaning to me (I am but a dumb housewife, after all) every single time he's been here. I asked why he didn't warn us about this in advance, and he actually said, "Because it wouldn't have made a difference." Pardon me?? Could you be any more patronising? (Oh, right, he'd already asked me whether I clean the lint trap after each load.) Yes, it would have made a difference, said I. "I would have done a load of laundry last night, if you'd given us warning." He also had the nerve to tell me that nobody else complained. (I know the neighbour who came here was pretty ticked off, and although she didn't tell me that she'd complained to him, she's no pushover.) I pointed out that we have a baby, ergo mountains of laundry. He didn't budge.
Deficiency manager guy said that if we didn't agree to have the blower installed right then and there, we were on our own.
Werner blinked. He told them to go ahead.
So now we have no dryer. Nor do we have a clothesline. And a baby prone to vomiting at any opportunity.
Oh, won't this be fun.
posted by Melanie A at 10:07 a.m.
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