Really, Laundry Detergent? Really?
Bizarre July 17th, 2013OK, so tonight I get ready to do a load of laundry. I dribble the last drops, and I mean only drops, of the last jug of liquid detergent in the washer.
Grab a new bottle I just bought and go to unscrew the cap.
It doesn’t budge.
At all.
Why? Because it appears to be sealed to the top of the bottle. I’m pretty sure this has never happened in the history of laundry-doing, but of course it happens to me.
There’s a sliver of a gap between the cap and jug, but not even scissors can unhinge its grip on the bottle.
I quickly decide not to use scissors to get the cap loose because I just don’t want to explain to an ER doctor how it happened that I’m missing a couple fingers over laundry.
So I decide one load of clothes with barely any detergent in it is good enough.
But.
Now I want to return the bottle to the store where I bought it because it’s a giant economy size that cost kind of a bundle and I really want to use it.
You know when I get it to the store, tell the clerk “This won’t open,” that they’ll grab hold of the cap, turn it, and it’ll come right off.
You know it will.
Because me.
Stumble it!
July 17th, 2013 at 5:35 pm
Just ask a five-year old to open it for you. They’ll get it open. Every. freaking. time.
July 17th, 2013 at 5:36 pm
At times like that I use Mo and she usually manages. If not she would saw the neck off the jolly thing. That’s Mo for you 🙂
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July 17th, 2013 at 7:08 pm
LOL. I laugh only because I seem to have this problem with drink bottles. Sadly this happens to me enough that I don’t bother trying to open them but hand them to one of my kids and say ” could you please just open this for me so we don’t waste the 10mins of me trying and getting frustrated?” I recommend just punching a hole in the thing and funnel it into the empty bottle if you have it. I am told these creatures called Husbands are handy at punching holes in things. I would not know this for sure though since I refuse to get another one of these creatures.
July 17th, 2013 at 7:22 pm
Without a single shadow of a doubt, if it were me, they would most certainly open the bottle without a lick of trouble.
And knowing this about me, I would end up with a bottle of detergent as a ginormous paper weight in case I ever need to write a 1000 page thesis.
I hope your fate ends up being better than mine would be, lol.
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July 17th, 2013 at 7:44 pm
Ah, inanimate objects, ya gotta love em.
Just pull out your 1911 model Colt 45 and shoot an new pouring hole in the cap (bust a cap in the cap). Duh!
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July 17th, 2013 at 7:57 pm
I would have to just get the drill out. Two big holes to dispense, one for air, stick the old cap over the perforated one and use it for measuring. I hate returning stuff.
July 17th, 2013 at 8:31 pm
Just return it and say you bought the wrong kind–that you have allergies and you can’t use this kind. They won’t even try the cap. Then march on over and get a new bottle…but try the cap before you lug it home.
Stupid soap bottles.
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July 17th, 2013 at 8:58 pm
Oh my darlings – Allow me to solve your problems – You need one of these. I’ve had one for years, the most handy dandy thing ever. (You did add a bit of water to that just-about-empty laundry bottle – probably at least one more wash in there.)
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July 18th, 2013 at 12:09 am
Do like me and roll in the dust to get clean. It’s easy and simple and doesn’t cost anything.
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July 18th, 2013 at 1:29 am
I have had this happen to me and no one got the lid off, its just a faulty lid. Try a sharp knife around the seal before you take it back, and besides if they can get into it they you can say thank you and take it home again.
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July 18th, 2013 at 3:36 am
Give it to my Mom. I remember growing up one time, the ketchup bottle lid could not be removed. Dad twisted and gyrated, hit it aglance with a knife, in an attempt to loosen it. Mom got frustrated, grabbed the bottle of ketchup, slammed it on the table, and VOILA! The cap came right off. And after dinner, Dad got out the ladder to scale in an effort to remove the ketchup on the dining room ceiling.
July 18th, 2013 at 4:11 am
Suzanne — I have no nearby five year olds. I had a husband try it and he couldn’t get it either. It’s defective (the cap, not the husband).
Babs — I’ve no doubt she would. And I wanted to get all toolbox on it, but I’m genuinely afraid of either 1) missing digits or 2) detergent everywhere.
Katherine — I did think to punch a hole in it, but I’m afraid for the reasons listed in my comment to Babs above. Also, I don’t trust that the lid is thin enough for something stabby going through it. I would miss the lid and stab myself. Again, not a fan of ERs.
Monique — If it cost a dollar, it’d be a paperweight for me too. And I hate the thought of lugging it back to the store. Also, I need detergent for the next loads. I’ll comment back after I get home from the store.
Agent 54 — I don’t even have a drill, which Kim suggests. I have screw drivers, scissors and a chain saw. Not a fan of trying any of those.
Kim — If I had a drill… And yeah, I hate hate hate returning stuff, which is why I almost never buy out of catalogs because undoubtedly I’ll get the wrong size of something and have to send it back and who the hell needs that aggravation?
Lin — Now and forever, I will always be checking the lid to detergent. I’m serious, this has never happened before ever. Why me? p.s. I tried the lid again this morning. Still ain’t budging.
Grace — I honestly think even that contraption won’t work. I think somehow the cap got sealed on, melted maybe? I have no clue. Had the husband try it also, told him to give up before his head exploded. It’s going back.
Pricilla — How exactly does dirt rolling make you cleaner? I don’t get it. Really, how does that work in goat land?
beverly — I tried wedging scissors in the very, very thin gap between the lid and bottle, but nothing. Not a damn thing. I will be mortified if they can get the lid off when I take it in. I’m dreading taking it back.
Jesse — Ha! Loved the ending to that. But hey, at least she got the lid off, right?
July 18th, 2013 at 7:21 am
Never in the history of laundry…I’m sure it’s happened before, but it’s more fun to think that you’ve been singled out for abuse. Makes for great blog posts.
I love when you post, Kathy.
Anyone who gets that cap off with ease should be punished accordingly. 🙂
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July 18th, 2013 at 7:28 am
I’m resisting the temptation to make a sexist joke here. I just want you to know how tough this is for me. 🙂
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July 18th, 2013 at 1:29 pm
Now at least that hasn’t happened to us yet. I did have a kaboom from Walmart that wouldn’t spray–it just drizzled out and after cleaning our shower with it the best I could, I took that back. They took my word for it and didn’t try it. I say just take it back–doubt if they’ll try opening it.
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July 18th, 2013 at 5:02 pm
EVERYONE: I took the jug back to the store before work today. Told them about the unyielding cap, they checked and said to get a replacement. I tested the cap on the bottle I took and also another jug on the shelf. It, too, was stuck. Told the cashier, but I have no confidence she’ll remove it from the shelf and now some poor sap may wind up in the same boat as me. Hope not!
June — Luckily, no one got the cap off and now I can be smug about it. Thank you for saying you love when I post. That gave me a warm fuzzy.
Mulled Vine — Thank you for refraining. You get today’s gold star.
Karen — You need to know that “I did have a kaboom…” made me laugh like a hyena. Thank you for that. Just sounded so funny to me.
July 19th, 2013 at 2:40 am
A gold star! I’ve never had a gold star!!!
I’d like to thank my mum, my aunty May who forgave me for giving the dog her dentures, Jemima for you know what, and most of all my cat, Satan. Without you, none of this would have been possible.
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July 20th, 2013 at 5:17 am
I agree. I don’t think that has ever happened to anyone. Ever.
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July 21st, 2013 at 7:49 am
The older I get, the harder it is to get any caps off of anything. Best example… the meds they gave me after I had my hand surgery. Seriously? You couldn’t give me child-proof caps when I only had one hand to use?
July 21st, 2013 at 2:05 pm
Now that we live in a more compact place, we switched to those little pouches of detergent. Just throw one in the washer, no muss no fuss! (and you always know just how many servings of soap you have left)
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July 22nd, 2013 at 3:05 pm
That’s what husbands are for… you spend all the time loosening the lid and when you finally give up and hand it over to him, he pops it off effortlessly taking all of the credit.
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July 22nd, 2013 at 9:46 pm
Kind of disappointed that you returned it. Thought it could be one of those things that is just always there when friends and family come over so over the years everyone would have a go at that cap. Probably multiple times. It would be an object of silliness and joy – and would generate good memories and nostalgia someday. Sigh-h-h .. now you can’t even pass it on. Would have been a great heirloom.
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July 31st, 2013 at 6:31 pm
I had a moment like that the other night with balsamic vinegar. I’m stubborn and an asshat, so I kept going back to it, thinking I was maybe budging it a teeny tiny bit each time. Then my friend came over, held it under the hot water tap for a minute and opened it. f*ck her, I made her leave immediately.
August 3rd, 2013 at 8:08 pm
Oh my gosh that is too crazy! I was about to ask what happened but saw in the comments that they did end up taking it back, yay!
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August 4th, 2013 at 11:42 am
I would have had the same predicament. I would probably have just bought a new one and when I was desperate taken a knife or other similar sharp instrument to the offending bottle.But if I was in one of my rare assertive moods I would then have taken it back demanding a replacement. That is when they would have managed to open it making me look like a fool.
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August 4th, 2013 at 2:17 pm
This is so friggen funny!
Also – I read the follow up comments and I’m happy you have a functional bottle of laundry detergent – but I feel badly for the next poor soul that buys the other bottle on the self with a broken cap!
And – now that I’ve read this? I am NEVER leaving the store without checking to see if the caps work on my laundry detergent!
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September 22nd, 2013 at 3:41 pm
You mentioned the cost. Did you know dopeheads and crooks are stealing this stuff – laundry detergent – from grocery stores and trading it for dope or money? It’s like gold.
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