Wednesday, April 29, 2009

It's All The Rave

My dryer decided to die on me over the weekend. It won't heat the air. Now, while this makes me incredibly sad, it doesn't bother me nearly as much as the dishwasher dying did. I'm trying to be frugal and make do. (Although what I really want to do is run to Sears and buy these pretties.
I'll take Kelly Rippa too, I'm sure Jarom wouldn't mind.)

At first I tried to just air fluff everything. But when the air outside is only in the 30's and 40's, air fluffing was taking 2 days per load. (And if you know the amount of laundry this house produces, that just won't do.) I wouldn't mind a laundry line in the backyard.
In fact I think it might even be fun to carry my laundry basket outside, while wearing a lovely apron and my high heels, pretending to live in 1950. But again, snow and rain makes that a bit of an impossibility. So I did the next best thing.

Isn't that beautiful? I'm thinking its going to be all the new rave in only a matter of weeks. Neighbors are going to envy me and want this new decor in their own entryways. And it never leaves you bored; everyday you get a new color. Today, we will have pinks and reds.

In the mean time, Jarom has taken apart the old dryer and googled all he can about electricity and dryer problems. We think we have the problem figured out and a new part is on its way. I'm crossing my fingers! I'm very proud of Jarom, this isn't his normal route. He would rather pay big bucks and have somebody do the fixing for him. Doing it himself puts him in the mood of all moods. (Everyone just steer clear.) But this time around, I think I've only heard him swear once and all of a sudden he has this new found interest in electricity. Who knew?

I clean my lint traps regularly, and even vacuum out the little tunnel where it disappears. I thought I was doing an okay job of staying fairly lint free. Well, upon inspection of the inside of the dryer, not only did Jarom pull out a full grocery bag's worth of lint, but we found this lovely little charred bit on the back by the heating element.

YIKES! I guess we're just lucky the dryer quit and didn't burn the whole house down. So while you're all in the mood to spring clean, open up your dryer and clean it out before you burn your own house down! Just trying to save your lives here.

18 comments:

Lee Ann said...

I am proud of you for not running to Sears....and starting your own fad :-) (BTW, I'm so not impressed with my new set). I always think I do a good job cleaning lint - with every load - but they all clog. It really is amazing more houses don't burn down from this. So glad yours quit when it did!

Nichole said...

this fix it up stuff is for the birds. i wish my hubby had a little jarom in him and would just run to the store for a new one. am i totally a product of the throw away generation. yes. here's to hoping he can't fix it and your drying is TOTALLY blown and you get a new fancy schmancy pants set =D

Wendy said...

Yikes! I'm a little bit of a nazi when it comes to cleaning my lint trap -- but maybe I've got the same thing going on you did! Just scheduled a "dryer grand opening" with Mr. H this weekend to check things out.

Thanks, Elena! Glad you guys are safe.

Dawnyel said...

Eh, the pretties are still something I HOPE to have someday.
LOL about moody Jarom....I'm sure he's not the only one who gets that way! ;)
I think I may just clean out the linty parts of my dryer today...just in case...

CB said...

I about went into SHOCK when I opened your blog this morning.
My dryer stopped heating yesterday! What is up with this - did the dryers get together and have a pow wow? "Hey dude today is let's not give off any heat day!!" Seriously SO annoying!
I am waiting for Sears to arrive as I type this!

Good luck with yours!

Anonymous said...

Sounds like you might need a new heating element. We have had that problem. Northgate appliance can get you a new one or even come to your house to repair. Tell Jarom to be careful with the electricity. I shocked myself fixing a dryer. Not enjoyable!

Kayce

The Manwarings said...

Wow, look at Jarom, Mr. Fixit! Impressive. I'm glad you've figured out the problem, and hey, I hang laundry all over my house even when my dryer is working. I'm glad it's now a trend!

Miki said...

My kitchen faucet broke yesterday.


hrmph

Gina said...

I wonder if they look as good without Kelly Rippa? Because I don't think we could find a place for her to sleep- it's a little crowded here already.

Jennifer P. said...

seriously...that's why I NEVER run my dryer at night. Afraid it will catch fire even though I'm a good lint cleaner-outer too. Now where can I find me a man to pull out my dryer so I can clean the vent?....

becky ward said...

i was actually just thinking about vaccuming out my lint vent the other day. guess i better do it! that is pretty freaky. AND GO JAROM! hope you get it fixed.

Tonya said...

I looks your hose was kinked and not getting good air flow to your dryer and you burnt out you heating element. We had a new house that the builder had our hose going on forever before it wet outside and we were constantly having lint build up and burning out elements. So unfortunately I am ohhh to familiar with this problem.

I do think the clothes on the stairs are a lovely touch.

Good Luck with the repairs and/or better yet may a new set including Kelley Ripa be in your future.

But do check your hose and if you have good air flow and the correct kind of hose, it really makes all the difference. When we finally moved I couldn't believe how much better my dryer worked.... Good luck and may you be doing more than air drying soon.

Brenda said...

Sometimes these homes just make it a little hard to keep up with them. Last year I had a broken dishwasher, dryer, and vacuum cleaner in the sam e week. I was trying hard not to swear! I am inpressed with you lovely attitude! Good Luck to the hubbo, I hope it is running soon:)

Mama Williams said...

Yea for Mr. Fix it! I wonder if the lint was part of the problem or just a blessing, it didn't catch fire. I better go clean mine out! Yikes is right!

LouandAngela said...

Wow! Thanks for the reminder. I better check mine out tomorrow.

Good job Jarom! I'm proud of him for attempting to repair it when it's not something he usually wants to do. And only 1 swear word! :)

Lou has had to fix our washer before. Not a fun thing to do. My dryer has been a mess for years. I often have to run it 2 and 3 times before the clothes actually dry. I wonder how much more my electricy bills have been because of that?

Hey, I'm coming to Idaho again. It'll be short again. In fact, I'll probably only be in IF Monday through Wednesday and then I'll spend a day or two with Camille. I'd love to see you if we can make it work somehow.

Unknown said...

I have to say, my findings in my own dryer vent take the cake...ready for this??? A PETRIFIED BIRD...yes, maam! I found a dead, hard as a rock, not to mention very large bird in my dryer vent once...hmmmm!! Good luck with the repairs!

Trish said...

What happens when you let your Reader get too full (it said +1000 posts for over a week)? You miss Elena's laundry post. And her brownie post. And the cute little cheerleader pictures. *sigh* It was just so overwhelming. *sigh, again*

I'm glad your dryer is no longer a near-death experience waiting to happen. Whew! What we don't know!!

Torman said...

I love this whole post! I too would love to go buy the Kelly washer and dryer so I can be even more amazing. I think that you are even more amazing for being strong and toughing it out while hanging your laundry out. I would love to be your visiting teacher right now :) and yes you must come see my baby before I can just send him to your house on his bike to say hi.