January 11, 2010 Today we got a new washing machine. Our old one broke back in November but it took us forever to get a new one.
At first we didn't know that the problem was the washing machine. All we knew was that water had started leaking into our kitchen and the water from the bath wasn't draining properly. My apartment is paid for by the city and they handle all maintenance so I had to talk to them first before calling a plumber. When they gave us the OK, we called a plumber to come and take a look at our problem. Did they come immediately? Nope. It took them about a week before they finally came. And when they did come they didn't fix the problem. They tinkered with the pipes and told us to call them if the problem continued. Well, the problem continued.
We called them again and it took them another 2 weeks to come see us again. This time they solved half the problem. They removed some gunk that was blocking the drain beneath the bathtub. Now our bathtub drained just fine. But there was still a leak in the kitchen that happened everytime we washed the clothes.
We called the plumbers again to look at the leak problem but they told us to check the washing machine for leaks. Why they wouldn't check it for us I have no idea. Anyway, turns out the problem was the washing machine and we had to get a new one. I talked with the city on the phone and they said they would pay for it, but we'd have to wait until after the New Years holidays. So now, the New Years is finally over and we have our new washing machine... 3 months after it originally broke. No more flooding in the kitchen!
By the way, when we got the bill from the plumber we couldn't believe our eyes. It was 15,000 yen, which is about US$150. $150 to make us wait 3 weeks for you to come and remove some hair from the bathtub drain? Are you kidding me? Luckily we were able to convince the city to cover that bill too.
