Wednesday, June 5, 2013

The Tale of the Lip Smacker Disaster


Let me tell you about the Great Lip Smacker Disaster of 2013. It's a cautionary tale I hope you'll all take to heart.

A week ago, I started our clothes dryer and I could hear that tell-tale banging sound of something decidedly NOT fabric. I immediately opened the door and rummaged through the clothes, feeling around for something hard, but my hands came up empty. So, I shrugged and moved on with my life.

BIG MISTAKE.

It was only when my load of laundry — full of my newest clothes, most for work — finished that I found the source of the clanging. A completely melted (I'm talking an empty tube) of Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker fell on the floor and I groaned.

Have you ever had one of those moments where it feels like you're watching a movie and the camera just zoomed back and suddenly you see the full scene and it's so much worse than you originally noticed? That was me looking at this load of laundry. At first, I noticed a couple grease stains and thought some Oxyclean spray could take care of business. But then I started noticing the red spots. Everywhere. On all the clothes. It was a sad day; after spot treating and rewashing the load, I still had to throw away about 5 items of clothing, including a favorite dress.

I can laugh about it now (I mean, how many 28-year-olds ruin their laundry with a Dr. Pepper Lip Smacker?), but lesson learned: TRIPLE check your pockets before you start your laundry. I'm usually pretty good about it, but I forgot one pocket in one dress and paid the price.

How about you? What's your absolute worst laundry disaster? This isn't my first; I shrunk a merino wool sweater of Sean's down to American Girl size. Oops!

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