Wednesday 4 March 2009

My DIY Skillz

The most impressive thing I have ever repaired has to be the washing machine in our current apartment. For reasons known only to itself it decided to stop half way through the cycle and give out a warning "peep".

Its a clever machine, it knew what was wrong and it tried to let me know too via its little screen. The problem being that I don't speak that much technical Dutch and the machine doesn't speak English.

No problem, I crack open the dictionary and discover that the machine has a problem with the pump.

I know nothing, no, less than nothing about washing machine pumps.

I hit google.

The responses are 50/50, either its something very simple or the machine is in the death throes.

I resort to hunting the apartment for a manual left by the landlord.

I find it.

Its in Dutch.

I haven't a hope.

Back to the computer, Bosch is a fairly common European brand I'll just look up the manual online.

Fail. The machine does not have a European manual in English.

I hunt harder and with mounting desperation, we have guests, I need clean clothes.

I finally establish that the only English speaking country this machine has ever been supplied to is Australia. I hunt a bit further and...

Ah-ha (of the choirs of angels variety), I find a pdf of the Australian manual.

A few minutes later, with liberal application of brute force from O to the pump cover, I have drained the machine and removed the pump. A 5 pence piece falls out.

That's it. I put everything back together and bask in the glory of my achievements.

And that, is the most impressive thing I have ever repaired.

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