Ok so I'm the newby around here but I love this thread you started (apart the squabbling) because if someone has a reason for hand washing they should have somewhere to discuss it. There are plenty of reasons to hand wash things: Travel, Unexpected Trips, Unexpected Delays, Loss of Washer/Dryer, Lack of Access, Global Concerns, Minimalist Living, Avoiding Chemicals.. etc. I have long stints where my only access to washer/dryer are in a communal situation where many of the people have quite a different lifestyle than I do. The management is good about replacing the units as needed but being the one coming behind the sick person or the guy who partied/smoked all weekend is out of luck. I really enjoy the idea of doing things on my own terms in my own time and that is greatly affected when you have a few hundred other people to work around. It's more fun to take one's self out of that hectic/annoying equasion. I'm highly chemically sensitive as well so imagine the courage it takes me just to walk down to that laundry room praying that no one is running chlorox in their loads. (It could be months before I could come across a time when that isn't going on.) After seeing various shows about what lives in the water of most any washer (even privately owned ones) I can't imagine doing my laundry with anyone elses now. Dust mites, Fecal Choloforms among other things are just some of the common things found in water that cause rashes and other problems even on supposedly 'clean laundry'. Because of that now, I don't wash anything without Grapefruit Seed Extract because it's the one of the only things that kills that stuff. I was drawn to the thread also because I was looking for an easier way to handwash items with a low footprint ie.. In a small space to have multi-purposeable items that are easily stored goes a long way. My biggest concerns are: * Avoiding CRUNCHY or STIFF laundry (after all that work). * Finding a way to adequately spin/mangle the water out (without killing the hands completely as I have early onset arthritis)... I am currently using a 6 gallon drink tub with a handle and spiggot so I can move it around and do it wherever I want to and drain most of the water out before moving again. I realize I'm going to need to find a hose of some kind to hook to the sinks though. (Not as easy in the bathroom...) I also want to get a rolling plant stand or something for it so I can move around easily enough, which might actuall work out for agitation of some kind. The lid fits very tightly so it winds up having a wider opening than the WOnder Washer and holds more as well. AGitation? I'm going to look at the agitator on the Lehman's page but for right now I have one of those 'grabber' devices that people use to reach things when they can't bend over safely. Spinner verses Wringer/Mangle? Does anyone have any ideas on which is better in the long run? I've read extensively about two 'small' electrical spinners as well as the 18 inch type hand wringers and I just wonder about the benefits of either item. BOth wind up being a little pricy (@ $150 or more) and I can't imagine spending that kind of money on things that will not work on towels or sheets... Where does all that water go? Do you literally sit inside your tub? As for hanging to dry I have a single pole curtain rod from Ikea but I may go get the double one and put a rod on it without a curtain to drape the larger items over when I wash them. It allows for about a 1.5 inch space between curtains so I figure it will not affect the light weight curtain much if at all. It's right near the cieling fan as well so as long as it's well wrung it should dry quickly. I may post this kind of thread as well under another type of title about being chemically sensitive to see if more people who relate to that might have some experience with what to do. Thanks for any thoughts. I'm so tired of things coming out stiff - like socks, etc. Thanks GG

Today I've been playing the good customer and going through the paces to address this issue with the LG Washing Machine I purchased via BestBuy in January 2012. In the fall of 2013 I received a notice in the mail that my unit needed to be upgraded (you know the story). At that time we would get an occasional unbalance code. I wasn't aware of all the back-story on this washer. I called LG Recall (1-855-400-4639) and they had a local service provider come out and "upgrade" the software in October 2013. Very soon afterwards the machine consistently gave a uE code and often as not able to finish a single wash cycle, even after attempting to re-balance several times, and finally giving a UE code. We put up with this through the holidays and spring time of 2014 by running the washer and always choosing the "no spin" option. Then when the cycle finished (sometimes with a UE and sometimes not) we would then run a 13 minutes "spin only" cycle which we would have to monitor throughout the entire 13 minutes to stop the machine and attempt to re-balance the load if a uE code was given again. Most often this DID give a uE code meaning that we'd have to start the 13 minute spin only cycle again. In most cases we usually get to a point where we think most of the water had been removed, still very wet by normal standards, and just give up and throw the clothes in the dryer where they go through an extra long drying cycle since there is more water in the clothes than there should be anyway. Today I called LG Recall again and told them that the "upgrade" made the situation worse. They sent me through to the "special diagnosis" team who had me put the phone next to the washer, listen for fax-like tones and discovered that, yes, I was telling the truth. There are uE and UE codes being alerted. They then scheduled a visit from a local contractor and told me that I should expect a confirmation call from the contractor. The contractor called and said they would be charging me $89 for a diagnosis. I was not told this by LG, so I refused the service and called LG back. The recall line (who had set up the appointment) told me that they couldn't help me any further and I needed to speak with Customer Service. I called customer service (1-800-243-0000) who told me they could get the "A&E Service" to come out for a "one-time repair" at not cost. They gave me a case number and the phone number for A&E Service (888-433-3892) to schedule this visit. A&E said they couldn't accept a call from me, and could only schedule the visit if Customer Service was on the line. I called Customer Service again. (for today that is already 2 calls, and another two calls to LG Recall, and one call to A&E). This time Customer Service told me that they would cancel the previous service call request, and set up a new request for a local service to come out on Monday to service the washer, at no charge. I will come back to continue to record the events, as a means of reference for my own purposes, but also in hopes that it is useful to others. I haven't seen that anyone has had this problem resolved through these local contractor service visits, but at least I'm going through the paces and will be able to convince LG that I've been cooperative and done everything I can on my side in case I have to insist on a buy-back or replacement. I see that some others have had some success in that regard and I'm trying to follow the model.

In the last 2 years we've completely gutted and redone 4 bathrooms. They were all red and green saltillo tile and used to look cheap and cartoonish. The bathroom are now neutral, but far from boring. My theme for the new bathrooms was modern moroccan. I love color and have a red sofa, orange chairs, teal headboard, lots of color in upholstery and drapes, etc, but having the permanent items in the house be such strong/bossy colors is just too much.

Consider switching to this arrangement with a 3-seater sofa and 4 swivel chairs. Instead of the coffee table use either an upholstered hassock or a coffee table that stores stools underneath. Smaller scale pieces will be the key to squeezing in more people. Remember people on a sofa will tend to leave an empty seat between them so they can turn to each other for conversation. You may have space for a sofa table and stools behind the sofa, or you could find wall space for a bench that you could pull into the conversational grouping when needed.