Monday, April 28, 2008

Modern Inconveniences

Modern conveniences aren't really all that convenient. In some ways they are downright inconvenient. Like the garbage disposal that we have replaced TWICE in the past 2 years. The first time was when we bought the house and the existing garbage disposal sounded as if it were trying to cough up a hairball with a giant chainsaw inside of it. It literally shook the counters and the dishes in the cabinets. Then a few months ago the replacement died due to what we believe was an issue with the electrical wiring in the kitchen. My husband could probably explain it if you were dying to know.

There is also the light switch in the kitchen which no longer can be used because of something to do with the wiring, again. Oh and when the transmission went out on the dryer. Did you know that dryers have transmissions? And that they cost almost as much to repair as replacing the cheap piece of crap dryer? Let not even begin discussing car repairs or the A/C that we spent $375.00 on this past fall.

Perhaps they should call them Modern Expenses or Modern Give Your First Born Child to the Repairmans. Why am I so upset with all the conveniences of modern life you ask? Could it have something to do with copious amounts of leaking water and no hot water? Why yes, my hot water heater has officially died. We have done 2 separate and unrelated repairs to it in the previous few months but alas it has given up the ghost. So now the hunt for the new improved hot water heater has begun. And my husband is at work. So I have spent my morning searching for the right price, size, in stock, appropriate gallonage, energy efficient hot water heater. Yeah, that isn't working out so well. I called one well know department store that rhymes with Tears after finally finding a water heater that meets all of our criteria only to find they won't be able to get that particular water heater in until May 6th. Now I don't know about y'all but I am rather fond of hot showers, clean dishes, and clean clothes. And waiting over a week is not acceptable. Oh and BTW it will be $200.00 to deliver and install a $400.00 water heater.

So my husband is on his way home so he can double check my measurements and head over to some other local hardware stores to see what they have in stock and he will be working on replacing the water heater by himself. My husband is an exceedingly handy guy with all the appropriate tools for any repair job. However, there is still always something that doesn't fit right or line up in any repair job. Not to mention maneuvering a 150 lb hot water heater onto a 24 inch platform in the garage sounds like a lovely time. And he gets to take off work to do it. This has all the makings of a long day. Oh and Bear has a pediatrician appointment at 3:45.

8 comments:

KG said...

Can your husband get me an AC that works? *sigh*

Stephanie said...

Ok, so I don't know if you guys plan to stay in your current house awhile or if you'd be financially able to get it on the spur of the moment like that (I know we couldn't) but my hubby has been looking into getting a tankless hot water heater. For electric, they run about a $1000 but they save you so much in electricity every month. Hubby said it would take 5-7 years for it to pay for itself (maybe longer), but we're waiting until we get into our retirement home for something like that. Just a thought if you want to save money and not have the hassle of a tank (and you have to spend $600!)

Stacey said...

such a bummer!

did i not see your name as a winner for a blog redo?!! yea, if i read right!

Ashley said...

i hear ya this. I finally stopped using my garbage disposal because i broke it so many times. ugh

Anonymous said...

Good luck with that. We had to replace the fittings on our water heater in our first house when we moved in. It took about a week of trial and error to get them to stop dripping - because the seal stuff wasn't coating it right or something. And then I spent the next 3 years praying that the 14 (and subsequently 15, 16 and 17) year old water heater would last, even though a water heater life is supposedly like 9-10 years. (it did.)

One thing about the tankless...they're great if you have new construction, but in older existing houses it would require new plumbing lines in most cases, because the size of the lines are different than a standard water heater.

CP said...

this is so true! The more modern conveniences we have, the more they rule our lives and take up our time and money! I kinda want to start hanging my laundry on a line... kinda. not enough to actually do it though :) I'm too trained to push buttons.

Indy said...

Bummer to have a pediatrician appt to top it all off. Hang in there!

Marmarbug said...

Oh heavens!!!! That sucks. I would have been pissed to not have hot water as well.
Thankfully I have a handy hubby too. Which is awesome in times like yours.