General Chat

Names, I urge you to buy a new dryer! In my last house I moved to, I bought a dryer in 2017.2 years later after the guarantee had run out mind, it started making a loud humming noise after it had been running a little while.

I would turn it off, let it cool down and then start again. My dad who is an electrical engineer told me it was the bearing that had gone and if I continued to use it, I ran the risk of it catching fire!!! To replace the bearing was inexpensive, but the labour to strip it down to get to the defunct bearing would probably cost more than a new one.

Hence, I bought another one which I have just sold. Not because it was broken, it worked fine but did not have reverse spin and was only 6 kg so too small for my super kingsize duvets.It was a cheap model and all I could afford at the time.

My new one is working well, and the reverse action is super for the duvets as dries a lot quicker.

So, I urge you to tell him, it's not safe to continue using it!
Florence in the hebrides

I agree with Florence about the cost of a repair.

I had to replace my trusty 20-plus-year-old washing machine a few months ago, because the bearing had gone.

Our local excellent repairman told me it would cost as much to repair it as to buy a new one (at the lower end of the washing machine price range) - which was true.


In retrospect, I rather wish I'd paid for the repair!
New machines are all cold fill, whereas the old one allowed for a hot fill, which greatly reduced the length of a cycle.
The new one also doesn't feel like such a sturdy machine, and I doubt it will last 20 years!

We’ll see. It’s a bit of a brick wall situation.

I need read the other day that new EU washing machines must have a 20c option which people are expected to generally use. I expect the special soap products that are needed are very expensive.

You may be 'expected' to use the 20c option, on a washing machine, but if it's got higher one - use that!!

Mine starts on cold, then goes to 30c, 40c, 60c, and 90c.
The default is 30c, but I do occasionally use higher ones.

If I want to do an extra clean wash, (white stuff with armpits) I put some 'Oxy Active' , similar to 'Vanish', but only (last time I bought it) costs £1 in Poundland. :-D

There is no default on mine as I can choose my program. I used to use the quick wash as I thought it mor economical until I realised it wasn’t cleaning the clothes so now I only use that if if is a half load.

I would think the specialist soaps needed for a very cool wash could be quite harsh. I’ve used a sensitive blend for years because of my daughter, who has now left home. But they have perfumed the general one now and it is awful. She gave me her pack of oxyaction as it caused her problems butstandard Vanish is ok.

Oooh Names - the perfumes/smells :-| :-| :-|

When I was a classroom assistant, I could tell which parents used 'Ariel', by the smell, and had to avoid those children as much as possible, as I would either end up with a runny nose - or, even worse - retch!
I could even smell it on people's clothes in the street.

I don't think it smells so much now - I haven't noticed it in the street for a few years, and I know my sense of smell is just as acute.(embarrassing moment at my sister's a couple of weeks ago) :-D :-0

Teenage-hood and discos were ruined for me. Brut! Can't stand the smell.

Lol Maggie... How did you get on with Hai Karate, that was a popular brand back in the day?

Interesting how some people are so perceptive re. perfume /smells.

My elder daughter hates the smell of lilies, they make her ill so much that we have requested that none be in the chapel, when a family funeral was held.

A blind student once asked her why she had a different smell that day. He wasn't being rude, but that sense helped him to identify people. She thought about it then realised she was wearing clothes which I had recently washed for her, as her washing machine had broken down and I used a different brand of washing powder.

Hai Karate never 'hit me in the face' like Brut did.

Weirdly, although I'm sensitive to smells, I'm not OCD about cleaning.
However, I can tell if Betty (ancient cat) has had an 'incontinent' moment from 2 rooms away, and have been known to get out of bed at 2am to clean it up.