Black Sun, Closet Plus
Can anybody decipher the drawings on my Swedish dryer? It looks like a random assortment of ESP test card symbols. Perhaps I’m being thick, but the arrows, flowers, waves, and black suns must be inscrutable to those uninitiated in the art of laundry. The only setting that makes sense to me is the underpants + wifebeater setting. Because of the high stakes when putting your favorite clothes in the dryer, it seems like text would be a better choice than an attempt at universal icons — provided that you understand the language.
Here are the controls for my washing machine. I haven’t bothered to translate any of it because I wash everything on the ‘business’ setting for obvious reasons.
Oh, how I miss Lin’s Laundromat in Chinatown! Ten bucks and you’d get a bag of freshly laundered and folded clothes. Given the relentless cycle of washing, drying, ironing, folding, and hanging, it’s a wonder that anything else gets done in the world.
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Larry Heard aka Mr. Fingers – Washing Machine
from Washing Machine. Trax, 1986
A proto-acid drop-dead classic from ‘86. I’ll spare you the extended metaphors about how this thing churns, tumbles, and rinses. Kick it up to ten, close your eyes, and it’s one of those timeless tracks that gets you excited about techno as physical music — while wondering if the 23 years that followed were even necessary. Listen to Mr. Heard talk about radio, drum machines, and his work here.
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Despite having been blessed with the same combination of washer and dryer with the Danish labels by my landlord for close to a year, I’m yet to venture past the 20/40 minute settings. I hit the button with the feather above it when I don’t feel like taking any chances. I’d guess that if you’re the sort of person to iron your clothes before folding them in the closet, you’d use the lowest setting on the right, the black scorching sun being on the opposite side of the dryness-scale.
Is this just a common trick known among the Helsinki landlords to discourage the use of their precious appliances with which they entice new tenants to move in? Who knows!
Thanks! Knowing that the scorching sun equals heavy heat helps quite a bit.
Given that we own the same laundry equipment, I must ask: does your washer ever sound like it’s about to launch into orbit? There are several settings where it sounds like a jet engine about midway through the cycle and it’s absolutely terrifying.
Yup, the sound it makes is pretty much like you describe. The 1400 RPM default setting can be toggled downwards even during the cycle, I think…
Always enjoy the topical music that accompanies your little stories. Another great washing machine piece is Daphne Oram’s ‘Tumblewash’ – this is all I coudl find:
http://www.last.fm/music/Daphne+Oram/_/Tumblewash
In Danish, theres an expression called “skabstørt” which means dry enough to put in your closet, and another expression calles “strygetørt” which means that the clothes is still a little moist which makes it easier to iron. this should explain the closet and the iron. Thank you for the pictures