The Frugal Homeschooler - Tightwad Tuesday - Don't Give Up On an Old Appliance

• Jul. 28, 2009
Tightwad Tuesday - Don't Give Up On an Old Appliance

When DH and I got out of the Navy in 2000, we brought all of our belongings from Hawaii. But we did not own a washer or a dryer, so we went to an auction and bought a matching Kenmore set for $125. We paid $75 for the washer and $50 for the dryer. They were probably close to 20 years old when we bought them, possibly from the late 70s or early 80s. This is a good representation of my dryer. It's as close as I can get anyway:

I think the washer lasted us two years. It started leaking water out the bottom and my then spendthrift husband went out and got us a high end Kenmore Elite washer, brand new. With so many buttons that I wasn't sure how to run the thing at first. But it was a repossessed model so it was discounted. (It finally gave out a few months ago. I literally ran it to death and it could not be repaired!)

But the old dryer hung on. It worked great. Then last spring, the it quit drying. DH is not really the mechanical sort but he knew enough about dryers to realize that the heating element went bad. So we went to Kenmore's website and ordered a new element. He installed it himself. Cost, about $60, including shipping.

We were up and running again. Then I got pregnant this year and carried the baby all out front. I also carried him an extra nine days, so that accounted for some of my added girth! Anyway, DS 10 usually helped me get clothes out of the dryer but this one night he did not. I had a really hard time reaching into the back of the dryer. I forgot to mention I am short, 5'3" and already have a hard time reaching into the back of the dryer without falling into it. Well I decided to lean on the door for some added stability and bam! I broke the cable that holds the door up.

I settled with propping my now saggy dryer door with a chair. DH says we need a new dryer. I say it still works so we're keeping it. A week after this incident the Kenmore Elite washer died, and we only had enough money at the moment to get a replacement, which we bought used, and at a discount. This all happened literally days before the baby was born. I was planning on cloth diapers so the prospect of no washer was more devastating to me than having to prop the dryer door. (I'm sure the hormones and the anxiety of an upcoming birth did not help my devastation any!)

Then about a month ago I broke the catch on the dryer door that attaches it to the dryer. Now propping the door with the chair doesn't even work. We are doing two loads of laundry a day now with the baby due to either extra clothes or the every other day diaper washing duty. I tried to Velcro the door shut. That kept it from hanging open but the dryer wouldn't run. DS 10 would have to sit in front of the dryer and prop the door shut with his leg while it was turned on. Since he likes to read, he did not mind. Well, not too much!

i did some searching and lo and behold they sell replacements of these as well. Another $12. I just popped the catch into the hole, took me about 5 seconds to install it! I still have to prop the door with a chair. Oh, and place my large bucket of homemade laundry powder on top of it for added weight. I think the door is not as tight as it used to be so it does not want to stay in place. I'm sure if it had both cables on it again it would work. Even one cable would work, which is all I think I've had on it for all these nine years. If I knew how to fix it without breaking the dryer door, I would think about it. I think, sigh, it's time to start saving up some money for a replacement.

But I'm going to put it off for as long as possible!!!

My cost for this dryer for the past nine years is a whopping $122. That's not including the electric, of course!

I hope my next dryer will be just as thrifty. :)

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