March 6, 2012 - Our washing machine can dance

Our washing machine is right inside the door of the laundry room.  The noise from the laundry room can sometimes be quite loud, but I'm hesitant to close the door to the room.  Sometimes washing machines move a little, and I was concerned the washing machine could move enough to block the door, which opens into the laundry room.  Well, today it happened.

I had closed the door partway, but left it open by several inches.  Clearly, that was not enough.  I heard a loud bang and walked into the kitchen.  There I saw a closed laundry room door.  This can not be good.  Sure enough, the washing machine had scooted forward, banging shut the door and blocking it from being opened.  I could open the door only about a centimeter or two.  I thought if I had something long, thin, and strong, maybe I could push the washing machine back.  No luck.  I spent some more time thinking but came up with nothing.  (Before you suggest taking the hinges off, the hinges are on the laundry room side of the door.)  I decided to wait until Drew got home and see if two heads might be better than one at solving this problem - they weren't.  While he was able to think up more long skinny things, they weren't enough to get the job done. 

Next morning promptly at 9:00 am, we called the property management company and made it their problem to solve.  We clearly explained the situation.  However, although the property management company hires English speakers to deal with their foreign tenants, she seemed to have difficulty comprehending the situation.  And when the technician showed up at 4:00, he seemed quite surprised.  It was as if he had not been told anything before he arrived.  He stood looking at the door for awhile and tried pushing it.  Eventually, he took a bunch of pictures and left.  Drew shared what had happened at work, and the two (Japanese) administrative assistants kept asking, "The washing machine moved?"  We have an American washing machine and dryer in our apartment.  Japanese washing machines are much smaller and so must not get out of balance as easily.  Clearly, the idea that a washing machine could move on its own was foreign to all of the Japanese people.

The property management company sent somebody back on Thursday.  I was not here as I was attending a seminar called "Tokyo Here and Now" for newcomers to Tokyo.  However, they did solve the problem before I returned home.  They cut a small rectangle out of the bottom of the door.  Through that they must have been able to push the washing machine back into place.  They informed us that the washing machine was broken and they would try to replace it soon.  In the meantime, they would have a laundry service come and pick up any laundry we needed done.

Drew and I are not convinced the washing machine was actually broken.  Judging by the reaction of the various Japanese people involved, we think that they assumed that for the washing machine to move like that, it must have been broken.  The end result is that we now have a new washing machine.  Though it is small, it is still an American machine.  However, I guess it is all right for me to close the laundry room door since I still have a small rectangle in the bottom of the door should our washing machine again lock us out of the laundry room.  We're still waiting on the new door (and hinge relocation) ...