favorite appliance

The appliance I miss the most is a washing machine. Even more than a refrigerator, but of course it’s not yet summertime. I reserve the right to change my mind when it’s hot. But what a great invention is the modern washing machine—especially the new ones, which use far less water than our hand-washing methods (especially rinsing) and they actually get the clothes cleaner. I’ve thought a lot about washing machines these past few months, usually while hunched over a sudsy basin of dirty clothes, and I’m convinced that they’re one of the things I most took for granted back in the States. How do they get our clothes so clean by simply “agitating” them around and around in churning soapy water? It’s a marvel. And the spin cycle—oh unappreciated spin cycle, I’m sorry for having ignored your usefulness all these years. Wringing out a big pile of wet clothes is very tedious and hard on clothes—I once ripped a pair of pants by wringing them too hard (thanks for stitching them back together, Aiesha). And laundry detergents are really hard on the hands—makes them feel weird for a few full days after wash day. How nice it was, never to have to handle the stuff.
I’ve got my eye on this really nice plastic wash basin at the One Price store in Nhlangano: it has a built-in washboard, descending from the basin’s rim to its bottom like a miniature staircase. And I’ve sketched up plans to make a rudimentary clothes-wringing machine, using two rolling pins, a few springs, a vacuum-cleaner belt, and a hand-crank (I cannot find a similar contraption here). We have a little washing brush now, and that helps get the clothes clean, but we find that using it too vigorously fades colors quickly. Good thing new clothes are cheap in Swaziland (new jeans for about $12, collared shirts for about $6).
So anyway, next time you throw your clothes in the washer and dump in a small cup of soap and then shut the door, think of the ease of the task, the sheer efficiency of the invention before you, and smile. Hand-washing a full load takes me well over one hour, sitting in the yard by the water spout and surrounded by 2 or 3 basins—and many liters of water. By the time everything’s hung up to dry, it will have been about two straight hours of uninterrupted labor. Ah, dearest Maytag washing machine, shall I compare thee to a summer’s day? And Kenmore: so much depends upon / your agitator / glazed with soapy water / beside the white tube socks.