Clueless Yuppies

[chainedbarista]

some washers do have instructions, and so does the detergent. it's either a comprehension malfunction on their parts or simply trying to wheedle laundromama into doing their work for free.

either way, they're full of fail.

[Sparky]

If they were rich, why did they have to go to the laundromat? Couldn't their housekeeper wash it? It was only a mattress pad; that would fit in a home washer.

Maybe it wouldn't.

I have a king-size bed and the duvet washing instructions specify an oversize washer, so I take it to the laundromat (once or twice a year) to put in the jumbo washer. The mattress pad will go in my washer, but it takes at least three full cycles in the dryer and I have to rearrange it several times. I usually just take them both together. I hate doing it, because it's so boring to sit and wait, but I don't whine about it.

My theory is that when this couple said they "had someplace to be" they were planning to go shopping for an extra-large washer and dryer.

[taxguykarl]

Maybe it wouldn't.

I have a king-size bed and the duvet washing instructions specify an oversize washer, so I take it to the laundromat (once or twice a year) to put in the jumbo washer.

I'm in the same boat. I have to go the the laundromat for that, comforters and most blankets. As for a couple not knowing, on a past cruise I gave a crash course to a couple from Hong Kong--she forgot as had a servant for that since she got married and he never learned...'til I taught him.

[MoonCat]

We had a friend whose husband, Mr. Engineering-Degree-I'm-Smarter-Than-You-Are, had no idea (so he claimed) how to use kitchen ranges, washers, dryers or vacuum cleaners because his mom died when he was young and he had never learned any of this.

Our private theory was that that was a convenient excuse for not even trying. So of course Mrs. Engineer HAD to do all this because otherwise poor hubby would starve to death naked in a filthy house.

[Laund-o-rama Mama]

We had a friend whose husband, Mr. Engineering-Degree-I'm-Smarter-Than-You-Are, had no idea (so he claimed) how to use kitchen ranges, washers, dryers or vacuum cleaners because his mom died when he was young and he had never learned any of this.

Our private theory was that that was a convenient excuse for not even trying. So of course Mrs. Engineer HAD to do all this because otherwise poor hubby would starve to death naked in a filthy house.

Of course it was an excuse! Ugh, that just should not fly anymore. It' 2011, people! Let's retire those 1950s rigid gender roles, shall we?

(not directed at you, of course, mooncat!)

[mikoyan29]

You wouldn't believe how many college students (and I use that term loosely) can't handle basic tasks like laundry, ironing, balancing a checkbook or managing money.

I was fortunate to have parents that made me do laundry....so I had some idea when I got to college.

[dragon_wings]

I was fortunate to have parents that made me do laundry....so I had some idea when I got to college.

Same. I'm pretty sure my mom made me learn before I started high school. And I'm grateful for her doing so.

Eta: of course I vividly remember whining and bitching about it (like so many things I bitched about as a teenager).

[Jester]

What I don't get is why not just pay the drop-off prices?

You're asking for logic from an SC. Silly rabbit.

Nah, shoving things into a dryer isn't a big deal.

No, it isn't. But you're still doing the work for them, big deal or not. Which means they still got one over on you. Sorry, but it's true.

...aren't instructions usually posted right there on the washer?

Again, logic and SCs. Tsk, tsk.

You wouldn't believe how many college students (and I use that term loosely) can't handle basic tasks like laundry, ironing, balancing a checkbook or managing money.

No, I wouldn't. I witnessed it firsthand when I was in college. I still distinctly remember the first time I walked into the laundry room to do laundry, and saw the faces on some of the other students who were there, who were looking at the machines like they were alien technology. Which, to them, they were.

His mother was an old-fashioned martyr housewife who would work a full day at the office, then come home, cook, clean, and do everything to take care of her menfolk.

Wouldn't an old-fashioned housewife not have a job to begin with, and simply stay home and do housework all day?

What you're describing is something else entirely. The word that comes to my mind is "idiot."

So of course Mrs. Engineer HAD to do all this because otherwise poor hubby would starve to death naked in a filthy house.

So, what part of that end result is bad?

I was fortunate to have parents that made me do laundry....so I had some idea when I got to college.

Ditto. Each of the three of us were well-versed in the difficult task of doing our own laundry by the time we were twelve.

[Chromatix]

By the time I got to university, I certainly knew how to do my own laundry, and cook at least one simple meal for myself (beyond simply heating up pre-made food). I still haven't really learned to clean house though - or maybe I just don't have the energy or inclination.

By contrast, my mother once managed to set fire to *my* kitchen. Fortunately it didn't cause any damage, just a lot of noise from the smoke alarms. Since it was a gas hob, the heat could be removed very quickly, and it then went out by itself. If it had been an Aga like she normally uses, removing the heat would have been impossible...

Pre-wash seems to be a very common feature of front-loading machines, which have been the norm over here for 25+ years. It's really just a simple way of applying a small amount of detergent to the first part of the washing cycle, to get the worst of the muck off, before a larger amount of detergent is used to do a more thorough job. I don't think I've seen a front-loader *without* it.

The settings on washing machines do vary somewhat with age and manufacturer, but they really boil down to different temperatures, levels of agitation, and spin speeds, plus (on newer machines) options to turn off the energy and water saving features to get a more thorough or faster wash and/or rinse. The vast majority of clothes (at least in my masculine sphere of experience) will be fine on the "cotton" setting (ie. maximum agitation and spin speed) at the highest temperature setting (for whites only) or the next one down (for coloured clothes).