The wood house was occupied by a lady named Katherine.  Many knew her simply as Kathy.  Kathy had left this world suddenly and as such a lot of her possessions are still here at the property.  Lots of books, a few dishes here and there, some shoes and a few appliances.

Since we are now living here rather than just visiting we have the need to wash our clothes.  We tried to wash some items in the kitchen sink, but neither of us can imagine doing that for long.  Plus we have blankets and sheets to wash.  Sure, we could locate a laundry mat, but we don’t want to be hauling our clothes and hanging out at the laundry.

Luckily there is a washing machine in the entrance to the wood house. The other day I decided it was time to give it a whirl and see if we would be able to use it.  It has sat for 10-12 years, but even washing machines in constant use over that time might still be in working order I thought, so there was a good chance that it might fire right up.  Besides this would be a good first small project in getting into the wood house.

The washer is the first thing that greets you when you walk in.

I opened up the door to the house, and wiped of the years of dirt from the washer.  I went upstairs and turned on the breakers, almost all of them stayed on!  One circuit trips and none of them are labeled so I hoped that wasn’t the circuit that the washer was on.  I went back to the laundry room ready to go.  I turned on the machine and it started pouring water into the bucket as they usually do.

“Great!” I thought, “We can save some money reusing this thing.”  Then the rat ran out from underneath.  It gave me a good scare and drew my attention away from my task at hand.  It ran around my feet for a few seconds and was unable to locate a new hiding spot so it ran back under the washer.  That is when I noticed water pouring out from underneath.  I looked back at the control board to shut it off and that’s when I noticed the smoke coming from it.  I shut it down as the water and smoke continued to trickle out.

I popped open the top to see what was going on, and the washing machine was apparently the rat apartment.  There were a few of them inside.

So needless to say, yesterday we made a trip to Mayaguez and purchased a new washing machine.  Having a truck, is already paying off.  I wasn’t sure how we would have fit this into a rental car, but I am pretty sure we would have tried (Fridge in the backseat, toilet in the trunk).  I’ve never owned a truck, but they do make life easier.

We are now in the process of cleaning out the washroom.  It becomes a difficult decision as to how far we take this process.  I am thinking I will take all the wood siding off the inside of the room, check all the electric connections, paint everything with Killz and put it all back together.  Or maybe I’ll just clean it out for now and hook up the washer so we can do some laundry.  Don’t let great get in the way of good right?

We already have a collection of old appliances.  Anyone know the proper way to dispose of appliances here in Rincón?  If I don’t start getting rid of some of this stuff, I might as well open up a used appliance store!

BK’s Appliances