I’m convinced the washing machine in our apartment was designed by a someone who has never done laundry.
The machine makes more noise during the spin cycle than the jet planes taking off from O’Hare airport. I can’t hold a conversation, watch TV, or think when the machine is in the spin cycle. The inner basket swirls and bangs so loudly I worry it will launch through the ceiling, spewing laundry on its way. The maintenance man has been here twice to rebalance the machine and he’s declared its as good as its going to get. And our machine is the 'Quiet Pack.' I wonder what the 'Noisy Pack' machine sounds like.
The noise doesn’t end when the spin cycle is over. The cycle-end buzzer emits a never-ending high-pitched beep that must drive the neighborhood dogs nuts. At least it harmonizes with my tinnitus, but that’s a problem, too, because sometimes I don’t notice it, but my husband does.
The manufacturers must have thought that buzzer was one of their better features because they take every opportunity to sound it off. When I open the lid on the machine the buzzer hums continually. I know the lid is open, folks. I opened it! I’m standing right here. I’m moving the laundry from the washer to the dryer. I could understand if it would start beeping 10 minutes after I opened the lid and left it open, but beeping the second I open the lid seems excessive.
Pressing cancel doesn’t end the misery. I followed our manufacturer’s instructions on how to turn the buzzer off. It says to hold the Wash Temp button until the light flashes. The Wash Temp button? Why not the cancel button? The instructions are so counter-intuitive I can never remember which button to press. The only way that works for me is to start a new cycle then quickly hit the cancel button.
The buzzer warnings must have designed by someone who never does laundry and who is never in the house when the laundry is being done. If the designer had to listen to those annoying beeps and hums, they might have dashed to their design board to invent a better way.
Surely washing machine manufacturers know how annoying those buzzers are. I’m not the only one annoyed by the buzzers. Just google it. You get page after page on how to turn the buzzer off on various washing machine brands. To show how annoying these buzzers are to some internet remedies even include dismantling the control section of the machine using a ¼” hex screwdriver – in other words, partially rebuilding the machine.
It's not that it’s impossible to design a more humane washer cycle-end sound. Without blatant advertising, a certain two-letter multinational conglomerate based in South Korea got it right. They play a cheery little 10-note ditty when the cycle ends. It’s not annoying. Even if you are standing at the machine. And it DOES turn off if you press the cancel button. No complicated machinations of pressing and holding a counter-intuitive button and counting to 10 while standing on your head and reciting the pledge of allegiance.
Would the designers rethink the washing machine if they realized how annoying it to people? Do they just not care? Or do they think they have to be annoying to get attention?
Designers out there – take heed. Please invent a kinder, gentler cycle-end noise. Perhaps a chime-tone version of “I Will Survive.”
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