Sunday, October 11th - Salou, Spain

Well, this is definitely going to be a short one because I really didn't leave the complex today.  I got up and showered and washed my hair, and then I did some computer work.  Around 11:00 I was just getting myself some breakfast when there was a knock at the door.  It was the guy from reception and he had a washing machine I could use now but not one that could be used later because the rooms were full.  I told him I'd be down as soon as I finished breakfast.

I have a toaster in this unit and was so looking forward to fried eggs and toast.  Well, by the time I got done talking to him about laundry, my eggs were overcooked and rubbery and there was nothing to dip my toast into.  It was not a good start.

I gathered up my laundry and went to reception to find the guy.  Together we went up to the first floor and he opened a unit yet to be cleaned and said I could use the machine.  I put the first load in at 11:30 precisely.  The water ran in right away.  It's another water saver machine so very little water goes in but I'm used to that.  However, it didn't seem to do anything.  The clothes on the bottom were wet but the ones on top weren't.  The drum moved every once in a while but it didn't seem to go anywhere.  I wasn't too concerned because I thought it was probably just the pre-soak anyway.  However, after half an hour of nothing happening I started to wonder.  I went to find the housekeeper and, since she couldn't speak English and I can't speak Catalan or Spanish, we had quite the funny conversation.  Eventually she realized what I was talking about and said she'd be down in five minutes.  She came down and the machine still wasn't doing anything.  I had written on a piece of paper what time I had started and what number I had on the machine.  She understood the water had run in but the soap hadn't gone in.  She tried something else as she started cleaning the room and then a few minutes later she started just putting the soap in by adding water manually to the dispenser area.  I never would have thought of that!  So we thought we were on the way.  However, the drum still never really rotated so I don't think the clothes ever did get washed.  There were no suds in the water because the soap never got mixed up with the water.  I was not looking forward to seeing what kind of shape the clothes were going to be in and how much soap they were going to have on them.  This, by the way, was the dark load and the heavy material load.  Eventually the machine did go through a spin cycle and she declared the wash finished - about two hours later.  I wasn't so sure but what can you do.  I took them all out and put them in a bag and went upstairs to hang them up outside to dry.  By this point she had already taken the pink/red load to another room to wash them there.  The white load she was putting in this machine as I left.  I have no idea how either of those loads worked because I wasn't there to see them and that's probably just as well.

I think I lucked out a bit as my travel towel and my bandana must have been at the top of the pile when the soap went in.  The bandana I could tell right away needed to be rinsed but I didn't see that with the towel until it was almost dry and I could clearly see the soap on it.  The bandana, by the way, had hardly even unfolded itself in the wash - another indication that the agitation was just not working.  Probably the folds were what trapped the soap.  When I rinsed the towel out after it was almost already dry, it took forever to get the soap out.  I bet I did ten rinses in the sink and the water just kept lathering up.  It was most annoying.   However, so far everything else looks fine so I shouldn't complain.  She brought the other two loads up about 3:30 and everything is outside drying.  I don't think they will get dry today but I'll leave that final decision until later.

Because I was doing laundry elsewhere in the building or waiting for housekeeping to return with my wet clothes, I was inside all afternoon.  And my clothes are all on the patio so I didn't want to leave for fear the wind would come up and blow them all away. I blogged for a while and did some other computer work and I ate occasionally and I read for a bit.  Eventually the day was done and it was time for bed.

Now wasn't that an informative blog and well worth reading?