Uh oh...

What does it mean when your washing machine suddenly belches some foul black/brown sludge into the tub and then stops and goes deathly still?

And, how many hours should I allow my husband to tinker with it and try to fix it before the dirty laundry overtakes our entire house and we are forced to go buy a new washer?

I give it 24 hours. Max.

But, I can't complain. We bought our used washer 7 years ago for $75 and it's never given us any trouble before. That's a cost per year of less than $11. I just checked online at Lowe's and their cheapest washer is $350. To be as good of a deal as our current washer, it would have to last for 32.7 years. Somehow I don't think that will happen.

Oh, I hope Eric can fix my old, rusty, dented, no fancy knobs/buttons/cycles/temperature settings washer! We'll never find a deal that good again!

Updated: It's fixed! Alleluia! Just a clogged hose. Cost: $0!