Gecko's Plans Goes Awash

Found an unpleasant little surprise while I was taking clothes out of the washing machine yesterday evening ... a dead critter. What kind of critter, you ask? Well, let me put it this way: I don't think the Geico gecko will want to visit our house anymore.

I put the clothes in the machine yesterday morning before I left to go to work. I don't know whether or not he was alive when I turned the machine on. Maybe he wanted to go surfing. Maybe he thought it was a giant hot tub. Maybe he just wanted to go for a spin. In any case, he wasn't looking too good when I found him ... very little green and a lot of dark grey.

Now, I think geckos are cute, and I'm not afraid of them. They don't freak me out at all. However, I don't know what it is about dead critters that make me suddenly not want to be around them, much less touch them. I was truly grossing out over the situation, wondering, "EWWWW! How am I going to get him OUT?!"

Luckily, my late dad was a genius in getting those extended grabber thingys to help him pick things up around the house. With a look on my face that would make someone think I was handling toxic waste (I think I would have rather handled the toxic waste), I managed to pick up the dead carcass and put it in the trash can.

There was a trouser sock remaining in the washing machine. I noticed the critter's tail had broken off and was stuck to it. I almost threw the sock away. However, I picked it up with the grabber and managed to pull the tail off ... with my bare hand. Ick, gag me! I hate that he died the way he did, but did it have to be in MY washing machine? EEEEWWWWW!!!

I rewashed the clothes using hot water, soap, and white vinegar. I wasn't about to take a chance on them developing dead animal funk. I think I'll wash them one more time before I put them in the dryer.