Jen In Korea: Jen vs. The Washer

So, if you’ve read my blog before, you know that I have a bit of a problem with Korean household items. All you have to do is look back and you will see that I have not only had a showdown with the stove but, I was also beat down by the broom. Well, this time around in Korea, I was deceived by the dryer. Yes, you read that right. The dryer got the best of me.

Since we took a break from Korea, we moved into a new apartment in a new building. This apartment, like our old one, has a washer/dryer combo machine. Since it was the same brand as the old one, I (foolishly) assumed that I knew how to use it. That was my mistake.

A few days after I got here, I decided to do some laundry. There wasn’t much but, I didn’t want it to pile up. So, I loaded up the machine. When the wash/dry cycle was finished, the clothes smelled a little burned but, nothing serious. I put them away and went on with my business. This happened for about two weeks.

Then, one day at work, I smelled something. It was not a smell I could place. It was like burn, and, to be frank, a little BO. Where was that coming from? To my absolute horror, it was coming from me! It caught me by surprise. It was only 10am. I showered and put on clean clothes that morning, how could I smell?

When I got home, I investigated the problem. I found that several of my “clean” shirts had that same odor. I had to figure it out. I didn’t want to be the smelly one at work. No one ever likes the smelly kid.

I decided there must be something wrong with my washing machine. That had to be the only explanation. My shirts didn’t start out like that. So, it must be a laundry related issue. First, I checked that I was indeed using detergent and not, like, more fabric softener by accident. No, my detergent was definitely detergent. It said so, in English, on the bottle.

To further my investigation, I decided to set up the washer/dryer and start a cycle just to see what happens. The fact that my clothes smelled burned made me wonder about the machine. So, I started up the cycle and sat in front of the machine to see what happened.

Lo and behold – the mystery was solved! No water filled the machine. It just started to spin and get really hot. Then, it dawned on me. I was putting my clothes in the machine for a 3 hour dry cycle with no wash cycle. The clothes weren’t being washed at all. I was just drying dirty clothes for hours. Ew.

Now, in my defense, the washer/dryer is exceptionally sneaky. Even though it was just drying the clothes, it still shot water into the soap and softener trays. So, I was hearing the sound of running water but, my clothes never actually got wet. I still wonder where all of that soap and softener went.

There is no question who won this battle. Although I now know how to actually wash and dry a load of launder, the washer/dryer managed to fool me for weeks. It totally won.