You’ll be relieved to read I am done with writing about my sex life, I don’t really have any further tales to share, and I guess readers are either bored with my WordPress or couldn’t give a monkeys about my love life, why would they? (Btw that’s not the reason for writing them).
Either way there’ll be no more stories of boobs and wet kitties.
You promised NO more posts Andrew!
Oh yes firepits!
Do you recall the saga that was converting my old washing machine drum into a firepit? That particular ‘How to post’ is here on my blog, anyways tonight I filmed the first fire burn and uploaded a 2 minute video onto YouTube. 😁
Ok not quite ON FIRE!! More trying the homemade firepit ignited.
Yes I filled my converted washing machine drum with pieces of wood and newspaper, waited until our Sun disappeared into a gloomy dusk because I am a responsible nextdoor neighbour, after all who wants their evening spoilt with smoke drifting across the resident’s gardens?
Alas as you can hear by the audio, I am unable to 🙄 narrate whilst holding a camera hence I tend to sound very strange, and as you all know men are incapable of multitasking? Incidentally I’m whispering so as my neighbours don’t think I’ve finally lost the plot!!
Amazing how the absence of a camera lens (above) distorts photos taken by a tablet, I think I’ll stick with my £8 Fuji eBay purchase in future.
For those readers unfamiliar with my unforeseen washing machine saga series, I began by intending to show you how to replace a rubber seal on my 19 year old Bosch, I changed the part but the appliance never worked again? And the reason why wasn’t even my fault………. read here if you need to but lol I wouldn’t bother 😀 .
So I’ve given up any dreams of becoming an electrical appliance maintenance engineer, and instead decided to upcycle/convert the old washing machine drum into a fire pit/garden incinerator or better still BBQ, and please do read that post here. (Helps for later)
However before I write a ‘How To’ guide for making a drum firepit (remember upcycling means taking a defunct product and converting it into something usable) I thought I’d share a brief review of my new machine pictured above ABSENT OF AN ACCOMPANING YOUTUBE VIDEO!
(As an aside, WordPress is a haven for expressing yourself through the written word, so perhaps I shouldn’t post tooo many of my own YouTube videos here? Not to worry my ‘Blog’ features less than 1% video media.)
Now to my first product review, by that I mean a buyers first thoughts.
Where was I? Oh yes my review of something purchased, one day I’ll learn the art of keeping my thought processes on track!
As I’ve written before my previous Bosch washing machine lasted 19years, my Hotpoint Refrigerator finally died 18years ago and I’m writing not a jot about my Hotpoint Freezer for fear of tempting fate!!! Have I been lucky? I guess so yes, but don’t get me started with regurgitating my kitchen oven rant or I’ll be still here 1000 words later still spitting feathers.
I’d guess the maxim ‘you get what you pay for’ applies to everything in life, a Bosch appliance isn’t the cheapest to purchase however as we’re informed they’re built in Germany a Country that builds quality engineered products, alas unlike mine own which appears to manufacture very little these days but that’s a WHOLE different BREXIT story.
Early days! I’ve only used my new Bosch Vario Perfect Serie 4 for a handful of washes, but all’s well and good and machine operates as instructed, not forgetting of course a Bosch comes with a 2 year manufacturers warranty as standard 🙂
Finger’s crossed, I very much doubt it’ll last another 19years but who knows?
Two very pleasant gentlemen from ‘John Lewis’ (upmarket UK store) both delivered and fitted it two weeks ago, and I hadn’t realised washing machines no longer require hot water feeds, no the only two pipes that need connection are the cold water inlet feed and a drain pipe taking the ‘dirty water’ away. They installed the appliance giving me brief operating instructions before leaving and advising I begin with a 4hour 90 degrees wash cycle, that sounds frigging expensive!
90 degrees Celsius for heavens sake! (Does anyone wash at 90 degrees? Discuss)
The accompanying guide manual is a little daunting reading to begin with, phrases like Speed Eco Water, Heavy soiling, Plus/Rinse Plus/Wash and the like, but then again don’t they say Washing machines are designed by men? Select a cycle by turning the control dial and there are ten cycles to choose from cottons delicates etc, each option displays the spin cycle speed, beginning to end time also temperature as a pre-set and I guess you choose your favourite then stick with it for many years to come? Btw I didn’t know this, but the faster the spin the more creases that are put into the garments err wow? I’ll get the hang of it, oh and there are additional settings for short eco washes pre soaks etc but a couple of hours at 40 degrees has suited me fine for this past 20years.
A major improvement compared to my old Bosch machine is the spin cycle is a whole lot quieter than before, and of course if you never overload the drum in weight then you’ll never experience vibration problems applies, yes my Bosch quietly spins itself into a 1400 purring cycle and as I’ve hinted at finger’s crossed no problems yet.
So does anyone actually concern themselves worrying about garment crease levels? Or do you throw in 2 detergent tablets, close the door and wash at 40 degrees for a couple of hours every single time?
I’m hoping this Googled image (above) gives you an idea of what a washing machine DRUM fire pit looks like, yes they can be used as BBQ’s 🙂 (garden incinerators?)
Below you see my very recent homemade video uploaded to my YouTube Channel…………. don’t get tooo excited I receive very few views on the site AND make no money) but hey making videos is much the same as WordPress……….. fun……… why not have a go?
(My apologies for whispering, Sunday morning and I didn’t want my neighbours to think I was going loopy talking to myself!!)
Upcycling – Upcycling, also known as creative reuse, is the process of transforming by-products, waste materials, useless, or unwanted products into new materials or products of better quality or for better environmental value.
So you are maybe aware of my ongoing washing machine saga no? Well to cut a short story even shorter, several weeks ago I had planned to share write a post with accompanying video on how to fix a broken washing machine blah blah blah lol, well it didn’t happen, I fixed the new part but the machine err never worked again!
Who knows what went wrong? Not to worry, my Bosch appliance was 19years old so I wasn’t about to pay £90 call out plus parts, and then it may never work again anyway?
So I decided instead to extract the stainless steel drum from within my washing machine and upcycle/transform into a wood burning fire pit, never heard of them? Well you’ll find tens of videos on YouTube, also they cost £25 on eBay so if you have a broken down machine why not make your very own for zero pounds/dollars……….. anyways my firepit project was a success…….. jeez extracting the drum was hardly rocket science and very easy to do!
Why not have a go yourselves, now you may be wondering how hard can this be? Well I’d guess the skill level is a medium, anyways why not read my following post where I’ll explain ‘how to’ and judge for yourselves, err when I’ve written it that is.
So to wrap up todays upcycling money saving post, my very own How to, Do it yourself, Step by step explanation will appear here sooon…….…..
This post isn’t blogging advice per say but its dawned on me over this past 10 months, those people Reading my thoughts March 2018 won’t be the same as today, so if you haven’t already noticed Andrew’s WP is an eclectic jumble of personal anecdotes which I guess is the theme, jeeze I’d get so bored writing about just one topic hence the tag-line ‘Blogging Thoughts Photos and Life’……….. (another way of warning you I’ve written a true tale sharing the first occasion a ‘knicker-less’ lady sat on my face 😛 , though I should add I’ve enjoyed more pleasurable experiences in my lifetime!)
A post I’ll save for another day.
This evening I have a household tip for you which I’d guess many male/lady Readers will already be aware of but hey the magical cleaning effects of Distilled Vinegar still astounds me……. ‘no s*** Sherlock’ these are seriously impressive results!
Several posts previous you may have watched my instructive YouTube Video where I show you How To change bathroom basin taps blah blah blah………… well just be aware I live in an area of the UK plagued by hard water, Oxfordshire, seriously Limescale is deposited into every appliance that heats water as a process of its purpose in life, kettles, washing machines, dishwashers, plumbing joints, Limescale f***s them one and all.
Basin drain pipe BEFORE being dipped in Vinegar 😦Basin drain pipe AFTER being dipped in Vinegar 🙂 ……… I know it’s a frigging miracle!!
The very first time I tried this ‘Life Hack’ (isn’t that the term cool kids say on YouTube sharing easy tips for solving technology problems?) I was amazed, in fact so amazed I’ll show the ‘before and after pics’ side by side!
Hmm I wonder why ‘Johnson and Johnson’ doesn’t share this £0.34 household cleaning tip with customers?
Without wishing to labour my incredulity tooo far, I’m absolutely amazed how a God awful looking Limescale’d component can look spectacular sparkling shiny and brand new after immersion, and better still I didn’t have to spend a fortune buying fancy plastic bottles (future landfill) full of corrosive chemicals that DON’T work ANYWAY? Furthermore Vinegar is completely safe to humans and metals though apparently being a mild acid it can redden human skin, so wear gloves (I didn’t he says wincing when a little entered a cut on my hand) but hey I’ve lived to tell the tale.
Wear rubber gloves!!
I should add my Grandmother pickled many a garden food stuff in Distilled Vinegar so I doubt a little on the hands will kill me, and better still this life hack requires zero elbow grease which if you are lazy like me is fabulous, so what’s not to like about cleaning components using a 34p bottle of Vinegar? What’s more the magical liquid is guaranteed to work (because chipping away with chisels doesn’t!) Btw if you are worried about plastic destroying aquatic environments you can still purchase Distilled Vinegar sold in glass bottles!
Immerse in Vinegar, wait 10+ minutes then watch the Limescale just fall away, btw please comment if the information I’ve imparted is wrong suspect or hazardous, thank you.
A post I’ll save for another day.
Blogging Thoughts Photos & Life 