In the area of home improvements, I would give my husband and I a solid B-. We know the basics of what we want done & for the most part we are able to do it. Neither of us are really "detail" people, so when we complete a job there is an air of "I did this myself" about it. It is never perfect, and we would both admit that a professional would have done a better job, but in the end we saved money & we always learn something from the experience.
Case in point, the garbage disposal incident....
When we bought our home 4 years ago, the garbage disposal was not working properly, so as part of the negotiation during the sale of the home, we were able to get the current owners to replace it. Ever since then our new disposal has been chugging along just fine... until a few weeks ago, when it just stopped working completely. It had been making some funny noises right before it stopped working, so neither of us were too surprised when it just plain gave out on us.
Before I go on, I should let you know about the different garbage disposal "philosophies" that my husband I have. Since I am writing this blog, I'll state mine first. The garbage disposal is in the sink to help me as I rinse dishes & put them into the dishwasher. So, anything (except for of course silverware & napkins) is fair game to go down the disposal. I get a satisfied feeling everytime those grinders flip on & all that waste is chopped into tiny particles & sent down the magic drainpipe away from my home.
In my husband's view, the disposal is a last measure, an emergency devise to be used only if something accidentally falls into the drain. He cleans each plate with a napkin over the trash can before moving that plate to the sink to be rinsed. In his view, overuse of the garbage disposal will wear it down & eventually break it.
So, I must say I was quite proud of my husband when he didn't glare at me & accuse me of breaking the disposal right after it stopped working. Instead he went out the store & got us a brand new one. Since the job seemed pretty straightforward, he began installing our new disposal as soon as he returned home (did I mention that moss never grows under this man's feet? He is what you call a "doer). I was walking into the kitchen just as he was putting the finishing touches on the installation of our new 3/4 HP in-sink disposal system. I wandered over to the old device which was sitting alone on a garbage bag in the middle of the floor. I commented, "It's such a shame this thing stopped working, it looks like it's still brand new." I bent down to give it a closer look just as my dear sweet husband switched on the roar of our brand new disposal and, I noticed something. Something small and red on the side of our old disposal. It said "Reset button".
OK, now we know. We know that garbage disposals have a fail safe -a reset button that may just bring it back from the clutches of death. Why don't more appliances have this feature? How about cars? The potential for the reset button thing is endless... I tell you, I'm going to be looking for it now on every appliance we have. Perhaps they are all hidden (like the one on our garbage disposal) just waiting to be discovered.
On the bright side, we now have a "back up" garbage disposal just in case the reset button stops working on our new one.
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