Hand Wash Only

One reason Ezekiel and I are such good friends is because we can appreciate each other’s strengths and use them to supplement our own weaknesses and have a really good time in the process. This morning Ezekiel’s dad had asked him to do a little laundry, so I decided to add a few of my things and participate in the process. Now, I did my own wash by hand for the entire year that I lived here in Nigeria, so I am not a stranger to this process. However, I learned that my method of washing doesn’t even come close to reaching the level of quality control that is expected from Ezekiel. I figure my way gets out big dirt stains and the odor of sweat, therefore success has been achieved. Success has been achieved in his eyes when the clothes are cleaner than they were when they were initially purchased. I was relegated to rinsing and hanging the laundered clothes up to dry, (a job I had reserved for the 4-year old boy who lived in my compound and wanted to help) and even still I had to be retrained to ensure two “rinse cycles” and only hung to dry inside out. I am fully convinced that clothes washed by Ezekiel get cleaner than the highest quality of washing machine that can be purchased in the US. Unfortunately, I explained to him that I would have a hard time convincing people of this and since everyone has a washing machine there wouldn’t be much of a market for that service.