House Post: Horse Laundry, or Living the Dream

Our house came with one washing machine: an older Kenmore, inefficient and top-load. It was a workhorse but could also die at any moment. There was a dryer hookup but no dryer.

We knew we would have to buy a washer and dryer, and had budgeted accordingly. A friend was buying a new washer and dryer – apartment-sized and a better fit for him – and sold us his barely used, HE washer & dryer for a fraction of the cost of new. Excellent!

Then I had a stroke of genius: could I double-plumb the washers?

So I started.

Things I had to do: replace the shut-off valves (the original 1920s copper valves had finally given up mid-install), bifurcate the drain pipe, bifurcate the intake valves, rewire the dryer plug, trim the new drain hose to size, and reconfigure the dryer vent hose.

Five hours and four trips to the local hardware store later, I had achieved laundry nirvana.