The Waterfall

Americans get tagged as being lazy, but at least we have enough common sense to know that if something continuously breaks down that we either put an out of order sign on it or fix it. I can not put my finger on what Indians are as mostly they are just entertaining. Yesterday, 1 pm I climbed up to the 3rd floor to do a load of wash. I started the machine and returned to the apartment to set my timer for one hour. 35 minutes later I heard "The Waterfall" which is becoming more and more of a common sound around here. It tends to happen about every three washes. I step into the hallway to see water raining down the three flights of stairs. The cleaning boys are running and I catch the main houseboy to mention that this happens quite frequently and maybe we need to fix it. He says, yes mam, no problem mam, we will fix it. He calls 5 minutes later and asks me to restart my load. I climb the 3 flights of stairs, put new soap in and restart the 48 minute cycle. I pass the cleaning boy on the stairs as he mops all three flights of stairs. The first time this happened I felt really guilty that he had to clean up after me, but now if they can't fix it I have a difficult time feeling sorry for him. I return to the apartment and set my timer for one hour to remember to fetch my laundry. 35 minutes later I hear "The Waterfall" and open the apartment door to find the exact same scene as one hour earlier. Unbelievable!
Now I ask..."Are these guys stupid or do they just lack common sense?" As a lazy American I would not put up with mopping three flights of stairs twice in a two hour period. However, these boys are either out to please or just don't know any better. I have to laugh at these situations to stay sane here in India, but I just really struggle with how three grown men can not come up with a solution to securing the wash machine so the hose does not come undone during the spin cycle. As a renter I don't believe it is my responsibility to find four bricks and secure the machine. I'm not a plumber or engineer so I'm not sure what it takes, but I just know I would do something before I mopped three flights of stairs. Incredible India!