More Strange Behavior

[whirlcool]

My sister who is known for rather strange ways of doing things hasn't disappointed us this season. We sent her a box of Persil Megapearls for Christmas since she liked the Persil liquid. She called us and told us she was sending it back. She said she can't use it. She has a Kenmore HE2t set. Our phone conversation went like this:

Sister: I can't use this detergent you sent me.

Me: Why?

Sister: The Sears repair guy said if I use powdered detergent in this washer it will void the warranty.

Me: What?

Sister: That's right, he said they weren't made for powdered detergent and he told me to use ONLY Tide HE with bleach, in fact only the 2X stuff.

Me: That's ridiculous. Why was he there in the first place?

Sister: The washer was stinking up the house.

Me: I told you to leave your door open between use. That's how FL machines are. What did he do to fix it?

Sister: I think he replaced a belt of something, I wasn't watching him. I can't leave the door open as the cats will go inside of the machine.

Me: I have never heard anything like this before. Have you read the owners manual for your washer?

Sister: Well, call Sears, they'll tell you the same thing they told me! I read the manual and it said that if you use "express wash" too much you'll damage the machine.

Amazing isn't it?

 

[sudsmaster]

There's a simple solution for people like that

A wash tub, a bar of soap, and a washboard.

 

[lavamat78800]

Haha, never heard of something weird like that..
Is that reality? Does warranty really void by using powdered detergent?

 

[whirlcool]

Does warranty really void by using powdered detergent?

Of course not. While my sister appears normal most of the time she does strange things like:

She has a Miele dishwasher she won't use. Why? Because when you go to sell your house and you have an unused dishwasher it'll raise the value of the house by $5K. It's an investment.

She has two Sub Zero refrigerators in her kitchen. Mostly stocked with out of date food. Her pantry is loaded with food to the point of overflowing. Things like 25 cans of corn, 20 cans of beans, etc. I asked her why does she stock so much, it's because "it's on sale!".

When she got her Roomba vacuum, she gave away her Kirby G4. She thinks the Roomba is effective enough for all of her house.

They have a Sony 52" HDTV, but don't have an HD feed. She thinks that they are seeing their programs in HD becuase it's an HD set.

Now her family lives in Lake Forest, IL a rather tony suburb of Chicago. Her husband makes more money than they know what to do with.

Last year Karen and I spent Christmas up there and stayed at her house, a beautiful place BTW. Her and her husband drove us nuts with their behavior. This year we didn't bother flying up there as we didn't want a repeat of more of the same.

I just thought that our community here might think this is funny. You know if there is one out there like this, there are probably more!

 

[maytagbear]

Well,

more Megaperls for you, then! (Or, kidding....you could send them to me).

Relatives!

Lawrence/Maytagbear

 

[petek]

Our good neighbors across the way back in Calgary refused to use their dishwasher claiming that they didn't clean dishes as well as by hand. So the machine sat their, still sits there no doubt untouched since the house was built in 92

My dad always used to say that an upright vacuum with a beater bar wasn't good for the carpets. His mom had told him this geeze back in the 20's or 30's. She didn't even have a vacuum and probably scant few rugs as they weren't very well off. I think she just said that as an excuse because she couldn't afford one back then.

 

[whirlcool]

This isn't a recent development with her and her husband either.
Back in 1982 she called and said they were going to buy a VCR and she asked me if she should get VHS or BETA. I said to go with VHS as that appeared to be the winning format. A week later she called to say she bought a "Betamax, that's VHS, isn't it?"

When they got their first computer in the late 80's, she asked me if Tandy (Radio Shack) was any good. I told her to go with a Compaq or IBM AT. I stopped by a few weeks later to find a Tandy in the house.

And the final insult was she called one time to say they were going to Paris and wondering if the snow in Chicago would affect their take off. I told her probably not, the pilot knows what the weather minimums are. She said "Oh, you only fly those little planes, don't you?" This was during my stint on the 747 flying trans pacific routes!

 

[58limited]

~She has a Miele dishwasher she won't use. Why? Because when you go to sell your house and you have an unused dishwasher it'll raise the value of the house by $5K. It's an investment.

I don't know how much her Miele cost, but why would an unused $1000-$1900 appliance raise the resale value by $5000? Use it and then buy a new unused one when you move for a $3500 profit (if that whole $5000 thing is true). Dishwashers are better at sanitizing than handwashing, and I have never had a complaint about how well mine cleans - it cleans better than I do when handwashing. Maybe you should get her to join this forum - the members here are very good at pointing out, with facts, the flaws in that type of logic.

 

[58limited]

~Sister: I think he replaced a belt of something, I wasn't watching him. I can't leave the door open as the cats will go inside of the machine.

I have cats too. Close the laundry room door or look before you load the machine.

 

[danemodsandy]

Whirlcool:

"Back in 1982 she called and said they were going to buy a VCR and she asked me if she should get VHS or BETA. I said to go with VHS as that appeared to be the winning format. A week later she called to say she bought a "Betamax, that's VHS, isn't it?"

When they got their first computer in the late 80's, she asked me if Tandy (Radio Shack) was any good. I told her to go with a Compaq or IBM AT. I stopped by a few weeks later to find a Tandy in the house."

Here's what you do about people like this. The third time they ask your advice and don't take it, bide your time until they ask again. Then cheerfully and smilingly tell them that since they haven't taken your advice in the past, that you're going to save everyone some time and not give any more.

People you do this to are usually sore at you for a while. I find that pretty bearable. ;-)

 

[beadsobleach]

Automatic Dishwasher

My sister won't use the dishwasher in the house she bought. She says she can taste the detergent on the plates. She uses it for storage.

 

[revvinkevin]

This sounds a lot like my ex-brother-in-law (my ex's brother).

I am a car guy and other people seem to think I'm fairly knowledgeable about many things relating to cars (I am). There were a few occasions this brother-in -law had called asking me about car maintenance or what do I think about a certain car he was thinking of buying.

The "straw that finally broke the camels back" was… he was wanting to buy a newer – used car and called me asking about certain large Mercedes, BMW's and other luxury sedans. Then other conversations shifted to sports cars and certain a 3 year old Porsche 911. A handful of phone calls and conversations later he decided he was definitely buying the big Mercedes and I was convinced he would too.

Two weeks later he drove (6 hours) down to pick his daughter who had been staying with us for the summer. I look out the window expecting to see a 2 year old Mercedes S class, but was very surprised to see a brand new Toyota Celica instead. WHAT THE…..???

At that exact moment I decided I would no longer waist my breath giving him any further consultation about anything.

 

[whirlcool]

danemodsandy:

Absolutely outstanding advice. I'll take it!

I don't know how much her Miele cost, but why would an unused $1000-$1900 appliance raise the resale value by $5000? Use it and then buy a new unused one when you move for a $3500 profit (if that whole $5000 thing is true).

When they did the remodel of their home, they asked a real estate agent about what brands to buy. She suggested Bosch or Miele. And that's when the real estate lady told her not to use her dishwasher and to use the oven as little as possible as she thought you could get $5K if the DW was unused. So that's where that came from. They didn't want to overvalue the house out of the market, so they asked this woman (the agent) for advice.

As another note to this mess. They weren't planning on staying in this house more than a few more years. The same real estate lady told them that her house will be going for $2mil within the next three years. So my sister and her husband thought it would be a quick way to make a million. After all it IS Lake Forest, which is considered highly desirable. Well, after the real estate crash, they are upside down on their house by about $400K. They'll be living there forever. ...

My wife said that if what we hear about drives us nuts, what about the incidents we don't know about? She's got a point!

 

[whirlcool]

Oh, and no wonder her Kenmore HE2t stinks, we sent her a 30 load bottle of Persil (UK) with the bio-ball on the top. I told her to be careful. We only use about 25ml in our top loader. I told her to start out with about three tablespoons in it. Well, a few weeks later she asked me to send her some more. I asked her that was quick as that bottle will last us 8 months. I asked her how much she was using in her FL machine. The answer "I just filled the little cup up to the brim for each load". I told her she doesn't need anymore. The machine and her clothes have enough detergent in them to do laundry for the next year!

Another thing. Why would a repairman replace a belt for a FL machine that obviously has mold issues?

 

[petek]

I'd diagnose your sister as having security issues notably big-time financial security issues from the sounds of what you've said. Over extending on buying the house, the remodel right down to taking a realtors misinformation about a dishwashers value. Instead of doing the right thing by cutting back it sounds more like they're gambling on "buying more" with the hope of a big payout when the sell like you said. The silly commentary and asking your advice without following thru is just a symptom (cover-up) for the mess they're in.

That'll be 25 cents please, you can leave it by the door on the way out LOL.

 

[sudsmaster]

I can't imagine a new, unused dishwasher raising the home resale price much if at all. As I understand it, the place to put your money when selling a house is a new roof, maybe a nice coat of paint on all the walls, nice flooring/carpeting, clean, uncluttered house, well-kept landscaping, etc. I think most advice has been not to bother to remodel the kitchen/bath if they are already in good shape as buyers of used homes who care about such things would probably do their own remodel to their own taste anyway. In my place over the past 10 years I've replace all the appliances except for the P-7 wall oven (but even then I changed the door from harvest gold to stainless).

It's unfortunate that many people who bought homes in the past couple years are going to have to wait a few more years before they break even. I recall the term that Greenspan used to describe the dot com boom at its height: "Irrational exuberance". That would certainly apply to the housing boom of the past five years. The good part is that housing is a necessity, and prices will gradually recover, in my opinion. But it will take a very long time for them to become quick speculative money makers again.

I recall a year or two ago looking at what homes were selling for on my block, and thinking that if it kept up, I'd be a millionaire on paper in a few years. The difference is that I don't want to sell or move anyway, so it would have all been profit on paper.

 

[polkanut]

Allen, your sister reminds of my Grandmother and her 2 sister's. No matter how old and worn out something might be they'll keep on using it, never mind that they may have another brand new whatever in a closet. The logic being "it might get used up". Well duhh, then why did you bother to buy a replacement at all. One year for Christmas, Aunt Alvera, Gram's oldest sister, received some new bath towels because the one's she was using were wore out. When she passed away 3 yrs. later, her daughter discovered the towels in the original box in a closet, never used. Aunt Alvera took the worn out one's and cut out the worn out spot in the middle, then sewed the 2 halves together. Why, because that was "good enough" for her, and Uncle Eldor. I've seen my Grandma darn holes in socks that already have been darned 2 or 3 times already. And the youngest sister, Elberta, unplugs radios, TV's, etc. in her home because it might be drawing "current" even if shut off. That drives me insane.

 

[whirlcool]

Come to think of it, we hand an Aunt that bought a Zenith Color television in 1964 or so. It still had a fishbowl screen. She also had a Zenith B&W set next to it. I asked her one time why she has two televisions in her living room. She said that she only watches color television when the program is in color. When a B&W program is on (remember network programming didn't go totally color until 1968 or so)she would use the B&W set. I asked her why, and the answer was "I don't want to use up all the color in the new TV"!

Hmm, maybe it's hereditary.

I don't know, maybe I'm oversensitive to issues like this. We just don't need any more crazy here.

 

[gizmo]

"...Now her family lives in Lake Forest IL, a rather tony suburb of Chicago."

What's a "tony" suburb?

We had relatives here for Christmas, my partner's sisters and their families, and my parents. We did have a very enjoyable day, but with a few "moments."
Although it is summer here and we have very (scaldingly) hot solar hot water, we decided for the safety of my elderly parents we would switch over to the Rinnai instantaneous (tankless) gas hot water, which is temperature controlled. My parents have a very similar unit at home so it should have been easy for them. After Christmas dinner, my mother and one of the sisters said they would start washing dishes.
A few minutes later the sister reached to turn on the tap my my mother blocked her hand. "I tried the water a minute ago and it isn't hot yet." I came into the kitchen and explained it was instantaneous, so you just turn on the tap and wait a minute for the hot water to come through. (The hws is distant from the kitchen and water pressure is not very strong so it can take a minute or so.) She argued with me, "but it isn't hot yet, I could feel the water coming out was hot, but not hot enough. I didn't want to waste the water." I could not get her to understand that it only starts heating when the water is flowing. But I left the room with the tap flowing and expected that was that. When I returned a minute or two later, the sink is empty, the tap is off and two kettles of water are heating up on the gas stove!!!

Visitors! It's lovely when they arrive and even better when they leave!

Chris.