Always!

This doesn’t remind you of any superstores back home now, does it?

Doing Laundry in Korea

This is how I do my laundry in Korea.  Other people may have other methods if they’ve figured out a better way, but I’ve not been here very long and so far this has worked for me.

First, check out the washing machine inside my apartment:

(Yes, that is part of a mop.  It was there when I arrived, so so far I’ve just left it there.  I actually need to mop the bathroom floor now that I’ve fixed the drain, though, so I guess I’ll use it soon.)

The washing machine is tucked into a teensy little closet underneath the boiler.

Apparently it has a lot of options.

It is also a Showing Inside Washing Machine.

This is what the inside looks like:

I have been told that you have to put your loads in properly or else your washing machine will be out of balance.  I’m not sure yet if my washing machine has ever been out of balance, or if the sounds I think are normal are it going bezerk there in its closet.  (When it starts to sound like a space shuttle taking off I shut the closet doors and make it do its job alone.)

However, one thing I do know is that Korean washing machines are notorious for ripping up your clothing.  (Maybe there are huge engines in there sucking all your nice shirts in.)

Due to this, there are special bags you must use to wash your laundry:

They seemed very small to me, because at my parents’ house I’d do a ton of laundry all at once.  But after everything is washed and it comes time to dry it all…yes, then I wish I hadn’t done so much at once.

The bag on the left is the large size.  The picture on the packaging for it had a sweater and a pair of pants.  I guess it is for heavy duty things.

The one in the middle had a picture of a T-shirt on the packaging.  I guess it’s more for lighter wear.

The little bag on the far right is a special one with thicker mesh and it is only used for bras.  Sorry if that’s TMI!  You are watching me do laundry, after all.  You may later wish to close your eyes…

Since I heard about the balance issues with the washers, I try to stack mine like a little totem pole or something, like this:

Since I have no idea what any of the settings do, I usually just push the power button (and the washer cheeps a little greeting like it thinks it’s an Atari game) and the button underneath the lights with all the water levels.  A number pops up on the left, apparently the number of minutes it will spend churning and spinning and firing up its spaceship engines, and then I press the Play/Pause button to tell it it can start.

Then I fold the door shut like an accordion-style closet door.

Then I go about my happy life for approximately 56 more minutes, and it seems to go through several cycles of churning and revving and blasting off and spinning and whatever else it does to occupy itself there in its tiny little closet space.

When it is done, it proudly chirps a little melody to me, a small song akin to all those awesome tunes you heard your CPU produce back in the days of text-and-graphics games.  (If you’re too young to remember those, you can at least go play one here.)

Now it’s time to bust these out:

The last  two times that I did laundry, I tried to use the clothespins for everything.  This time I’m trying something new that I’ve seen other people do and I’m hoping it works out alright.  If it does it will save me quite a lot of time not having to clip up everything.

First I set up my drying stand.

I’m not sure what the tiny shoeprints do.  I’ve seen “cleaning shoes” in the stores (a type of indoor shoe, since everyone takes off their shoes inside), so maybe it’s a place to dry those out?

Anyway, the small rack in the middle is already set up, but I still need to spread my dryer’s wings.

(“The sun is up so up with you!  Up ear number one, up ear number two!”)

And those small flying buttresses are indeed adjustable.  I can make my glider bank right or left if I so choose…

But so far I’ve found that it’s most helpful to leave it lying flat.   

I rescue my poor clothing bags from where they’ve been squashed against the edges of the washer (reminiscent of der Taumbler, anyone?)…

…and hang them out to dry.

This little thing (with the corn-ear clips!) is actually quite handy.  I don’t know if it is meant for something else, but I’ve found it to be great for hanging up my socks.

I hang it on the drying stand and usually in a day or two everything is dry.

Et voilà!