Thursday, December 31, 2009

being a grownup

We've been doing a lot of grownup things these past few days, like cleaning out all the lint from the dryer ducts. I'm almost 30 and no one ever told me that you are supposed to clean out the ducts or it could cause a fire. We had a pile of lint the size of our 3 year old. For the last couple of weeks we were having to dry our clothes at least 4-5 cycles to get it dry. It's times like these that I realize that I've lived a fairy tale sort of life, believing that the lint fairy somehow took care of all the lint. I assumed HF believed in this same fairy, along with the fairy that does our dishes and does all the cooking. Along with dryer maintenance, I have also discovered that underneath our water heater is a gas flame! Just like one on a gas stove! My immediate thoughts were this:


I had no idea this is how we got our hot water. HF said I was probably the only person in the world that didn't know this. He has also reassured me that our house will not blow up, but it's still a possibility in the back of my mind. Anyone else have any shocking realizations like this? Now I'm wondering what else I might've overlooked. . .

16 comments:

MrsMonicaLB said...

omg!you are too funny!I knew that about the dryer,and yes you are probably the only one who didnt know where hot water came from,lol.Thanks for starting my day with a good laugh.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Deputy's Wife said...

Nope, you aren't the only one who didn't know about the hot water heater! I had no clue until I just read your post! I thought it was an electric thing just like everything else. When I tell my husband, he's probably going to laugh at me for this one! HAHAHA

Happy New Year!

Anonymous said...

I had NO idea either about the water heater! That would make me nervous, too! Hahaha

Dori said...

Just don't watch Myth Busters...they managed to get a hot water heater to explode. Very big bang. Only gas hot water heaters have a flame...ours is heated with two elements--top and bottom--just like our electric oven. Very large waste of electricity.

And if the dryer duct just hangs down into the crawl space it empties itself...or, um, so I've been told. And heats the kitchen floor. Bonus.

Anonymous said...

Just so you know, the light in your refrigerator? It does go off when you close the door. And it's not a little elf that turns it off, but a switch. :)

Makenzie Kelly said...

Hey Happy New Year! That is so funny! I did know that, but I've been a homeowner for a little while now (I almost said long time, I'm not really that old), and have seen a lot of crazy things go wrong with houses. Not sure how I found this blog, but congrats on becoming a police wife. It's a hard road sister, but interesting and sometimes fun. I've been one for almost 14 years (I swear I'm not that old.. I was married when we were 12!) Cheers!

Makenzie
www.adventurousmom.com

Tara said...

bahahaha... i rememeber discovering the water heater flame too and being a bit worried... another discovery was when i called out the dishwasher guy after having our new dishwashe a few weeks as it wasnt working only to have him point out you have to clean the filter in the bottom out... oops! oh and i coud have made a blanket out of the lint i found the first time i got curious enough to figure out wht the tiny flap on the front of the dryer was for...

Anonymous said...

You are way to funny!!! Clean that dryer vent after everyload. and I have seen dryers catch on fire and burn a house down...so don't run appliances when ur not home.

Also, No flammable items near that gas water heater... And you will be fine.. Did you know ur supposed to drain ur water heater once a month? Yep, there is a lever at the bottom of the heater that you put a bucket under ahd turn on.. Drain about a gallon. It flushes out all the rust and metals that settle on the bottom of the heater which will save years on ur heater..
-Dispatcher

CM said...

You, girl, are so funny! Hope you get your house "issues" figured out :-)

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I'm following now too.

mrs. fuzz said...

L n P- Happy New Year to you!

Ashleigh- I'm glad I'm not the only one who didn't know!

Mar- Another one that didn't know either! Yes!

Dori- NO! I wish you never said that! It's always the Mythbusters! :)

warriorpoets- haha. I remember when I was younger standing with my eyes pressed up to the door of the fridge as I slowly opened and shut it seeing if I could see how it turned on and off. Amazing. My brothers always told me there was a little man in there.

Makenzie- Thanks for your comment! And I hope you mean 21 and not 12. :)

Tara- yes we could've made a blanket as well! :)

Dispatcher- we religiously clean the vent. But the ducts? Had no idea! :) And wha??? I had no idea about draining the heater every month. I'm on top of that now!

Cop Mama- thanks for stopping by! I love your blog.

Nicole said...

Hmmm, maybe I should go check my dryer ducts. All of my clothes are coming out damp after almost an hour of running. I'm scared to see what I find............

Rebecca said...

That's ok I'm 31 and learning a lot of similar items. I thought the 20s were the awkward stages of life ha ha. Well I always feel safer knowing my Cop has things under control both on the streets and in the house. Especially when it comes to manly duct tape kind of things. I really enjoy your blog.
Here's mine,
http://theblessingsofmoderndomestication.blogspot.com/

Amy said...

I came here after doing a google search on "being a cops wife" after my husband informed me that he had decided to join the brotherhood. His father retired from the force and his sister followed in the family tradition in the military. He will be applying for work in a city known for its violent crimes. How do you do it? How did you react at first? I want to be supportive and loving, but to be absolutely honest with me, I am so scared right now that I don't know if I can! Kudos to the both of you for making it work!

ambryla at g mail dot com

mrs. fuzz said...

Amy- thanks for your comment. I will email you soon. I hope some other wives/girlfriends will too if they read this.

Erin said...

Now there's a kind of math I can understand.

I was clueless about vacuum maintenance for years. Did you know that you shouldn't get a new vacuum without checking the belt, the filter and the HEPA filter?

mrs. fuzz said...

Erin- HF was just saying yesterday that he thinks we should throw away our 1 year old vacuum and get a new one. I said maybe we should take it to a vacuum repair shop. i have no idea how to do those things myself. HF always wants to throw everything away instead of learning a new skill that might help us save money. . .