That Just Happened.

Alternate title for this post: make sure you turn the water off.

SO.  A little back story before I just go ahead and jump into the idiot thing I literally JUST did...

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Our washer is not new.  How I wish I could buy a matching front load washer/dryer combo (like the Electrolux ones in teal...omfg); but alas those beauties are not currently in the budget.  So we have the "set" that came with the house.  The dryer I'm pretty sure is original to the house (circa 1954); but it COULD be as new as 1972.  Either way it's a piece.  

The washer is newer, but lately we've been having issues with the cold water just barely trickling out, taking FOR. EV. ER. to fill the basin for even the smallest of loads.  We almost...ALMOST... just went to Lowes and got a new set on credit (what debt snowball?) but we -- and when I say we I mean Jerry -- figured out that the problem was the little screen at the point where the cold water line comes into the washer was getting clogged because our water is very mineraly (not a real word) because we need a whole new water treatment system (another horrible story that I won't share because it's too boring); but that's not in the budget until tax $$$ comes back.  SOOOO... every week or so we -- and when I say we I mean Jerry -- have to clean the screen. 

Well a couple days ago, I noticed the cold water was trickling again, so I told Jerry and he said that he had just cleaned the screen.  Ok, but it's still not working.  I have been neglecting the laundry so bad lately that Caroline wore a St. Patrick's Day bib to daycare today (at least it's the next holiday, but it's still a good two and a half weeks off and it's not what I would have put her in if I had ANY other bib clean.  So I was determined to wade through some of it tonight, but the water was still trickling..  

Wait for Jerry to get around to it whenever he's not working 18 hour days?  Nah.  All you gotta do is unscrew the hose and clean out the screen.  Lefty-loosy & all that.  Right?  Right.. but... turning off the water BEFORE starting to unhook the hose is the best idea.  For some reason, when the water first started spraying, I just thought there was some water in the line and it would stop once I got it unhooked.  

But then the water just kept spraying and between trying to get the damn channel-locks to grasp the thing and Emily screaming that she needed a book (when she's five feet away from the bookcase and I'm downstairs); it never occurred to me that all this water was coming because I never turned it off and water was just pumping through the hose and onto my laundry room floor.  

Luckily, I had a stack of freshly washed (and newly dyed because I accidentally put two new navy blue and white rugs in with white towels and left it on WARM -- since the cold wasn't working) towels to sop up all that water.  

So after I cleaned up all the water (and left the wet towels in the slop sink), I TURNED OFF THE WATER, and grabbed the pliers again.  Got the hose off and couldn't find the removable screen.  Maybe Jerry took it out because it was still trickling when he had cleaned it off last?  Maybe there never really was one and I was just dreaming?  So I rootled around a bit on the built-in screen and was able to get a tiny bit of rust off. I "rinsed" the screen (by splashing the hole with water from the slop sink -- everything was already soaked anyway, what's a little bit more water on the floor?) and put the hose back on.  

I dried off the back of the washer and the wall behind it (including the receptacle plate where the thing is plugged in - and had visions of turning it on while standing in a puddle of water and ..) and pushed it back into place.  I closed my eyes and turned the knob to "rinse" and pulled.  A gush of brown water came out (hopefully rust) and then it ran clear.  And it wasn't just a trickle.  It was FILLING the basin.  I tossed some baking soda in and let the rinse cycle finish.  I don't know why I put baking soda in.  It was on the shelf and it seemed like something someone on Pinterest would do.  I probably just broke the washer.  

But anyway, everything seemed fine after the rinse & spin, so I put a load of clothes in.  I'm about to go check on it now, hopefully my laundry room is still there when I open the door.  It would be awesome if THIS laundry room was there instead: 

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So, anyone care to share their very own "face palm" moments??