Trials of the lavadora

The time has finally come for some laundry to be done. I didn't expect it to be anything interesting, but I had some concerns from what I have heard of others and their experiences with European washing machines.

Challenge 1: There is no information or directions regarding wash cycles, just a whole pile of numbers. I just picked one, which did absolutely nothing, the towels just spinned around with no water or soap seemed kind of useless to me. After about 20 min of that (I couldn't figure out how to stop it), I went to the next setting.

Challenge 2: I was delighted to see water fill up the machine and the soap get used, the machine spun around and I thought I had mastered things. But the lavadora had other plans for me still... when the machine stopped (another 30 min or so) I opened the door, and water comes rushing out all over the floor, and the towels are very, very wet. At this point I am frustrated, I didn't pay that close attention to what settings I had used and didn't know what I hadn't tried yet. I went for a walk, searched the internet for tips, came up with nothing.

Challenge 3: Back at it (I wasn't giving into this thing), next cycle... goes for about 1+ hours, my laundry at home never takes this long. Ends with success, the clothes are clean and not soaking. I hang them on the rack outside. I am so proud of myself I go for a beach walk to enjoy what is left of the day. Only to find that the wash will not let me forget who is in charge.

Oh well, I will continue on... crazy that this is what occupies my day with now.