Washing Clothes in Dubai

 

 

Washing clothes in Dubai is quite interesting.  Learning how was clothes here is an entirely new skill that requires constant practice, and once you think you have mastered it, it changes.  Below are the steps to learn how to wash your clothes in Dubai.

 

1.  Stare at the washing machine.  It is easy to pick out.  It is the big white appliance in the kitchen with a round transparent door and lots of different buttons.

 

2.  Stare the washing machine again.  Walk closer to the thing and start to examine the buttons on the front panel.  Squint your eyes and examine the buttons again and try to make sense out of them.

 

 

3.  Stare at the washing machine and the buttons again, and even attempt to press some of the buttons and turn the knob.  Shake your head because none of the buttons make sense to you.

 

4.  Stare at the washing machine, examine the buttons, shake your head, walk away, and then start asking other people questions about how to use the dang thing because you can't make heads or tails out of it.

 

5.  After receiving verbal directions:  such as never use the dryer because it leaves your clothes wet and wrinkled anyway, turn the knob to off first in a counter clockwise fashion, put the fabric softener in the first compartment and the detergent in the second compartment, and press the start button.

 

6.  Stare at the washer, pull out the draw and recognize both compartments, turn the knob, and walk away.

 

7.  Attempt to use the washer for the first:  ask a friend to come and help you; put the clothes in the washer, fill up compartment 1 with fabric softener; fill up compartment 2 with detergent; close the door; turn on the switch so that the washer gets juice; turn the knob to off counter clockwise and then to the desired setting; press the start button; cross your fingers and hope that everything goes O.K.

 

8.  Immediately turn off the washer when the floor starts to flood.

 

9.  Call the 24 hr maintaince people to come and fix the washer (which entails them connecting the hose to the water hook up; really shouldn't that have been done when the washer was installed, but hey this is Dubai).

 

10.  Repeat the same procedure again keeping your fingers crossed.

 

11.  Success with minimal water on the floor.

 

12.  Continue to wash clothes in this fashion until you are given a set of printed instructions from another friend.  (Again would this not have been helpful when I arrived here, but, hey this is Dubai.)

 

13.  Learn how to wash clothes all over again by knowing what the buttons mean, and which is the proper setting to use with your clothes.

 

14.  Never use the dryer.  At this point it is too confusing to figure out. 

 

15.  Hang your clothes outside on a drying rack; hey this is Dubai, they dry almost immediately from the hot sun.

 

16.  Keep contemplating who wonderful it will be to have clothes dried in the dryer when you go home next summer.  (Ironic sense I was looking high and low for a clothes line to use in order to save on electricity and to be more green.)

 

17.  Start contemplating on attempting to try the dyer.