washing machine, essay, daily life
When I moved into this house 14 years ago, I bought a second-hand washing machine at a recycling center.
The only place to put the washing machine was a narrow back veranda, and I chose a small washing machine with a capacity of 5.5 kilograms because I didn’t need a big washing machine to live alone, and because it was a “use before marriage and change it later.”
I didn’t know back then. I can’t live in this house for 14 years, I can’t be interested in marriage, and I can use this washing machine for 14 years for that reason. On the back porch of an old house where the capital was frozen in winter, the washing machine silently carried out its work every weekend. In the meantime, the base of the inner barrel was missing, so there was no fault except for calling the after-sales service once. Numerous clothes greeted the beginning and the end in the washing machine. Someone must have written it before I wrote it, so it was about 20 years without difficulty.
On my way home from work on Friday, when I had no drinking appointment a few days ago, the back veranda I saw in the alley was strange.
It was a sunny day and the outer walls of the veranda were wet and water was flowing. If you live in an old house for a long time, I know it’s simpler than I thought. If water flows on this clear day, it means something has burst. When I ran home and went to the back porch, it was a sight. The hose from the faucet was soaring at the point where it was connected to the washing machine, and the floor was brimming with water. The inside of the washing machine and the window frames of the veranda were also full of water. After hurriedly shutting down the capital, he stood absent-mindedly, losing the will to clean up this mess.
After regaining a little motivation, I looked at the spiral grooves of the plastic water supply valve (which I later searched and found out was also a “water supply valve”) connecting the hose to the washing machine. Originally, the hose would not have leaked because it was tight even if the tap water was turned on, but the water overflowed at some point when the crushed part burst due to water pressure.
I took the cover off the back of the washing machine with a screwdriver.
There were two plastic water supply valves, hot water and cold water, which had been connected to a hose containing water in winter about a decade ago, but were cracked when it froze, and only hot water valves were used. We decided to release the blue plastic valve on the side of cold water, which has been broken for a while, in case we can’t reassemble it. There were six screws in total and four were in a position where drivers could not enter in a straight line. I was frustrated and thought I’d just call the A/S, but I tried to loosen the two screws that were easy to undo. Then, the valve connected to the line moved completely, allowing the rest of the screws to be loosened. Easy. The blue plastic valve removed from the washing machine was about a third the size of the palm. It would have taken less than five minutes to put it back in once you got it.
The next morning, I called the service center to check if there were any new parts, and when I bought them, it was over.
But the problem was from here.
On Saturday morning, I waited for 9 o’clock and asked the service center (which takes 10 minutes to get to the counselor), and the counselor didn’t understand what I was talking about. The counselor repeatedly said, “It’s a hose problem, so you just have to buy a hose,” and then called the engineer. And the engineer’s answer was firm.
‘We don’t sell accessories separately. You need to call the service engineer.
There was nothing I could do. When asked if there were any parts, the engineer answered vaguely that there would be almost everything that was produced within 12 years. I called the reception center and asked them to look into the model name. When asked how much it would cost if there were parts, instead of saying, “My stuff is more than 12 years old,” the answer came from 55,000 won to 60,000 won.
I wondered if it was right to hang up the phone and spend 60,000 won to fix the 20-year-old washing machine.
Won’t it break down again soon? It would cost much more if parts like motors broke down, so would it be economical to extend the life of an old washing machine with that money? The parts of this washing machine, which is well over 12 years old and 20 years old, will be more expensive because they are hard to get. I’d rather buy a new one.
However, after searching countless washing machines for several minutes, I changed my mind. The washing machine I liked was expensive, and I didn’t like the ordinary washing machine. The thought I had when I moved in 14 years ago raised my head again. ‘I might use it for a while anyway, but I don’t have to……’
I swept my hand through the washing machine with the open cover. Normally, I would be going back on a weekend morning. I didn’t think it was something to throw away a washing machine that I was attached to because of a single part. I’ll fix it. But before I called the service center again, a skilled engineer came with a plastic and a screwdriver smaller than the palm of his hand and imagined finishing the work in five minutes. It was a scene of no efficiency at all. I just need to turn the screw a few times, but 60,000 won…
They’ll sell this somewhere, I typed the model name of the washing machine and searched for parts.
But nowhere did the plastic parts I was looking for float. You can call a couple of washing machine parts stores near Cheonggyecheon Stream and ask them, but they don’t have that. I searched for it and called because I thought it might be in a private repair company, and they said they would change it for 70,000 to 80,000 won. The market formed over the years was solid. I understand. That way, the repair market itself won’t disappear. After all, the most economical way was to call the service provider on Monday morning and apply for an A/S.
After working at the company, I took a rest in the evening and searched again for parts. There was someone who bought the parts I was looking for and fixed the washing machine of a similar model year. According to his writings, the part was called the ‘water valve’. The writer entered the site of a component company that he kindly linked. And after a long search, I was able to order a used valve for 10,000 won for my washing machine model.
Today when the parts finally arrived, I fixed the washing machine.
It took more than five minutes than expected. The new parts found their place in the old washing machine without any sense of incompatibility. Ten years after the blue valve broke, four days after the groove of the pink valve broke. The plastic on the left was a little damaged while covering it, but it was fine. Wipe the dirt from every nook and corner and connect the hose.
When I put in the laundry I couldn’t do on the weekend, I heard a slightly high mechanical sound and soon returned to the old noise.
I don’t know how many years to live on this old washing machine. Before fixing the washing machine, I felt uncomfortable when I saw the washing machine, which stopped leaning against the back porch door. When I went out and worked, I felt something was missing. I could have done the laundry a few days late, or I could have gone to the laundry room if it didn’t work out.
Now, you take turns looking at the washing machine with your own sound and realize the reality of that feeling. It was because of the pattern of my daily life that I had been making in this old house, little by little for 14 years.
Even though a 20-year-old small washing machine looked insignificant and the act of laundry seemed insignificant, it was the most basic way I could find stability on weekends. When I turned the laundry twice on Saturday morning with only half full of washing machines, it felt like a weekend was starting, when I could hang all the laundry neatly on the veranda. The little routine made the busy week peaceful.
With one small part, the old patterns of everyday life came back.
Look at two broken valves while clearing the back porch.
They can’t put valves that they have been struggling for 20 years in the trash and put them in the corner of their toolbox. This plastic valve, I’m thinking of putting it in with my old washing machine when it runs out of life. That way, the washing machine that kept my daily life intact will last forever.