Singapore Day 6: Laundry day and temperature regulation

Clips that fit over 1" dowels

The maid will come Friday instead of her regular Wednesday routine (yesterday). She's had to postpone twice.

I've seen the huge loads typically crammed into the front-load washing machines of Singapore (and England). My German mother (the Queen of Laundry) would freak at what goes in together. And, I admit, I'm a bit put off by it as well. I like my clothing and bedding clean, not just jumbled in a bit of water and dried off.

W tossed in a load of shirts the other day; we get soaked with perspiration in the humid 85-95oF climate. Temps indoors:

• At school, the classroom and office air-con is turned down to a brutal 68oF (20oC) and we shiver when we arrive. Students bring sweaters and shawls, just in case the lecturer likes it cold.
• We're always turning up the thermostat to 75oF (24oC). Much more comfy!
• In our bedroom and in the flat where we study and eat, we keep the dials at 80oF (about 27oC). Very pleasant. We need only a light thermal blanket for the night.

This morning I toss in our bedding and do a load of clothing. The washer are labeled "Fuzzy, Economy, Jean, Wool." I think that means: Fuzzy - choose options for speed of spin, size of wash, etc.; Economy - basic wash and med. spin; Jean - hard wash and spin; Wool - who knows! It can't mean cold - there is only cold. I choose options with the Fuzzy setting. An extra rinse for sure.

When I look it up, Fuzzy refers to technology that measures the amount of dirt and kind of load to auto-adjust the water level and cycle. The washer and dryer typically sit on a porch, with closable windows against storms. Long poles (1" dowels) stretch overhead for sheets and indoor-outdoor drying. It takes a while for me to find the u-hook pole to lift the dowels down for loading and up again into the brackets.

Drying laundry hangs outside

It's common to see laundry hanging outside flat windows: 8-10' dowels slip into metal brackets spaced 12" apart, outside the laundry room. Clothes are secured with big clips before being suspended outside the flat. I hang our dainties in the laundry room but many people's stuff is on display

The water here is soft and safe to drink. There's only cold water in the kitchen - AND in the bath, unless we click on the point-of-use water heater by the bathroom. The electric kettle stays busy for tea and coffee. We save water by having short showers and use as little as possible to wash dishes, brush teeth, etc. Water is reclaimed for irrigation and toilets, but the country also works at sustainability through desalinization (water from the oceans).

There will be plenty to do when Auntie L arrives in the morning. All three bedrooms left vacant by the Taylors need cleaning. The 15" ceramic floor tiles of the flat are white. That means mopping, maybe shaking out and vacuuming rugs ... there's enough work without tossing our bedding and towels in with everyone else's.

I'm happy to sleep on fresh bedding and dry with clean towels. A good start to another day.