So, we all know what went down with my washing machine Tuesday night. Since then, we’ve done a few loads (I’m still feeling kind of cocky as I turn it on, because, well…you know…I’m kind of badass for repairing it).  Anyway, today I throw in another load. I sort of strut away after, still riding the high from Tuesday night’s success with the socket driver. A bit later, I walk into the living room and stop, dead in my tracks. I take a breath to yell at Eric because “someone” (and he and his friends are the only ones home) spilled what looks like at least a few 2 liter bottles of something soda-ish and foamy, all over the floor. The foam had literally splashed up the walls on each side of the hallway. It’s the hallway near the bathroom that houses the washing machine, which really, is a weird place for that much soda to be spilled. OK, let’s get real here… I think at this point in the story, we all know that it’s not soda. The washing machine leaked what seemed to be every gallon it had of soapy water all over the bathroom, into the hallway…and it was slowly seeping toward the living room. My heart went in my throat. Damn. I didn’t fix it after all. I’m not badass. I swore out loud a little bit (just 3 or 4 F bombs) and hung my head in shame as I grabbed an armful of towels. As I spread them over the small pond in my hallway, I wondered if I should call Sears or an independent appliance guy. I called my husband to ask his opinion on who to call. He didn’t answer. This was way more in-depth than that noise it was making the other day, and obviously not something I’m going to be able to fix. It seemed to me that this was most likely a result of my “fixing” it the other night. What were you thinking, Jami? Of course it was easy to fix…you didn’t fix it. You broke the damn thing. As I sopped it up in despair, and was calculating how much it might cost me…I was surprised by a little voice inside me, who whispered, “Just try it”.  So, I reset the machine to see if I could tell where it was leaking from. Water POURED out of the soap dispenser area! I’m talking Hoover Dam water release type of pouring. Yikes! A picture popped in my head of my children finding me electrocuted in the bathroom, so I unplugged it before heading to my trusted resource…Google. Sure enough, there were plenty of answers to “water leaking out of soap dispenser Kenmore front load washing machine.” Go figure. It said to check for a blockage in the pipe leading from the soap to the drum. Apparently, small articles of clothing can get wedged in that pipe if you over stuff the machine. I usually have to close the door with my body weight to get all the clothes in there. Oops. I read on to find that all you have to do to check it is feel around for the hole to the pipe on the top left hand corner of the drum. Sounds easy enough.  I put my upper body INSIDE the drum with a flashlight, trying to find the hole where the water enters. Nothing. I kept rubbing my hand all over the inside. There’s nothing there, no hole…just the little holes in the drum. I’m thinking that’s where the water comes in, through those little holes. They must make it that way so you HAVE to hire a repair man. Google just scammed me. Just as I’m about to give up, I get this idea, maybe from that little voice who told me to try this in the first place,  to stick my fingers behind the little flap of the rubber part that lines the door opening. It’s kind of a tight seal, so I wedge my fingers in there, feeling around. My fingers were pinched and red, and I was fearful I was going to break that rubber seal thing.  I focus on the area that’s near the soap dispenser and…BULLSEYE!!!! I found the culprit….a lone sock, wedged in where it didn’t belong, shoved there by yours truly when I used my body weight to over stuff this damn thing. I shared this appliance repair adventure with my friends, because you know…not much happening on Cape Cod in November. One of them congratulated me on finally solving the mystery of where missing socks go, so that’s a pretty good thing in its own right. I don’t think anyone’s ever figured out what happens to those missing socks before.  Anyway, it’s working now…and I’m back to being badass. Carry on.