Thread by @ClaireBerlinski

I'd be grateful for any advice from #WashingMachineTwitter, if that exists. Or #HandyTwitter. Or #ImBrokeTooAndIDidMyOwnAppendectomyToSaveMoneyAndItWentFineTwitter. Anyone who can weigh in on my washing machine situation in an informed way. Here's the deal:

I've got no money to spare this month. You know that survey you keep hearing about, the one that says 40 percent of Americans don't have $400 bucks in the bank they could access in case of an emergency? Yeah, that's me.

The washing machine: Proline PFL 80 F. Six years old. Purchased from Darty for about 209 Euros. (It was the least expensive one they sold.) I wrote about how pleasant the experience of buying it was: berlinski.com/2016/09/14/the…

Used at least twice a day since then. (Seven cats. and a menopausal woman who sweats all over everything at night--and five times at random during the day, too. A washing machine here gets no rest.) Held up heroically--

--until yesterday, when it stopped, mid-load, began beeping plaintively, and its "20" and "40" lights started blinking.

According to the manual, this means there's a problem with the "tuyau de vidange." I checked the drainage tube: It looked fine to me, but what do I know?

I tried all the standard tricks: I unplugged it; I inspected all the parts, understood none of them, and swore.

My laundry is still trapped inside, soaking wet.

According to Darty, I could get a new one for 199 Euros. But I could also subscribe to their "service de reparations," for 9.99 Euros a month--minimum one year. 119.88 Euros, but spread out over a year. This, according to the repairman, is the best deal:

It includes not only visits to my home to repair *any* "appareil gros électroménager"--including those I didn't purchase at Darty--but parts, if required.

However:

1) The repair guy told me the machine is considered reparable until its seven years old. So I might be spending 119.88 Euros to fix a machine that will die on me in a year's time.

2) I don't own any other "appareil gros électroménager." It's just the washing machine.

However again: Washing machines, I am given to understand, are pretty simple things, and can last--according to my father--as long as 14 years. His has.

What would you do? The options:

1) Never wash my clothes again.
2) Max out my credit card, destroy my credit rating, go without food, and buy a new one.
3) Subscribe to Darty's repair service, and only pay 9.99 Euros up front.

Option 3) would be good if I get an unexpected windfall this year and manage to score my heart's deepest desire: a dryer. I could get one used on eBay, and if it breaks, make use of my Darty repair contract, right?

How lovely it would be to own a dryer. Warm, tumbled, unwrinkled clothes! No more wet clothes dripping over the living room! But that remains a fantasy ... only when my ship comes in.

Anyway, #WashingMachineTwitter, what's your verdict?

"it's"