Tropical Paradise Otherwise Known As My House
We have heat. Yes, heat is important. I love heat. I will NEVER complain that it is too hot in our house during the winter EVER again. Even when my dad has the heat jacked up to 70 degrees and I'm sweating and sleeping in shorts and tank tops.
So, if you read my earlier blog, Frozen Tundra, you know that earlier today our furnace wasn't working. It was totally craptastic and reminiscent of a few winters ago when I woke up to find a seriously cold house and a flooded basement. But, this time it wasn't that drastic. Apparently you're supposed to change the filters on your furnace. Yes, I knew this. I'm not entirely stupid. But, I have no idea where the filter is and I thought someone had changed it last winter, so I thought we were okay. Personally I blame my sister. You're probably wondering why I'd blame my sister for something like this though, right? I'm about to tell you...
This weekend my oldest sister called and said that her furnace had stopped working and she needed a ride to Wal-Mart to get a filter. Apparently she had taken her furnace apart (yes, you read that right) and tried all the little secrets "someone who works on furnaces" told her and nothing worked. So, she figured since the filter was pretty clogged up she'd try that. So, after a quick trip to Wal-Mart she put it all back together and turned it on and miraculously it worked. But, the reason our recent furnace failure is her fault is because she said "When was the last time you changed your furnace filter?"... To which my reply was, "I assume it was changed last winter. I think."
Thanks Brenda... But seriously, it's a bit ironic, don't you think? A little too ironic, and yes I really do think... (Sorry, musical reference... back to the blog.)
I know nothing about home maintenance and repair. My father used to take care of all of that and make all the necessary phone calls and arrangements and such. But, because of all the developments in my father's physical and mental health over the last year or so(there may be a blog explaining this in the future), I've had to step up and take some responsibility. I've had a crash course in the last 12 months. Let's do a recap:
1. Replace toilet (Our as the plumber called it "water closet".)
2. Clean drain in basement and drain lines (Same plumbing service.)
3. Replace water heater (Again, same plumbing service).
4. Replace back interior and exterior door (This is a story for another day perhaps).
5. Furnace repair
When the furnace repair man brought the filter upstairs to show us it was totally disgusting. My father's physical therapist was here and she said "Wow. That's gross." I seriously think that was the original filter that was installed with the furnace in 2008, that's how bad it looked. Our furnace has an automatic shutoff that is triggered when it overheats because of blocked airflow (like from a seriously clogged filter). But when he tried to reset the unit it wouldn't reset. He said that the part had most likely burnt out because it was constantly tripping and shutting off the furnace. He said the part was "kind of an oddball part" and that he would most likely have to order it but that he could "temporarily set us up" until the part arrived and then left. Pops doesn't hear to well and didn't hear the dude so the physical therapist and I had to explain what he just said. Neither of us knew exactly what we were talking about but my dad just nodded his head. He was either agreeing or had given up because the two "girls" had no idea what was going on. The physical therapist then said "The repair man talked like it would be repaired soon. I think... Gosh I hope so... It's really cold out there." Yes my dear, and it's really cold in here too...
Yes, he did reappear with a temporary part to fix the furnace until the other part for the furnace comes in. So the bill for today's adventure was $95 for a diagnostic test and $3.50 for a filter. He said he'd have the office give us a call when the part came in and they'd come out and install it. Perhaps we can have my sister do it and save some money... No. I'm totally kidding... Heat is important but so is preventing home explosions.
So, it's 70 degrees in the house once more... It's a tropical paradise. All that is missing is little fruity drinks with umbrellas. Maybe I'll whip some up to serve with dinner tonight... Ha ha ha... No.
So, the moral to today's story is this: CHANGE THE F'N FILTER!
Because heat is important. Yes, heat is very important.
Peace out!
So, if you read my earlier blog, Frozen Tundra, you know that earlier today our furnace wasn't working. It was totally craptastic and reminiscent of a few winters ago when I woke up to find a seriously cold house and a flooded basement. But, this time it wasn't that drastic. Apparently you're supposed to change the filters on your furnace. Yes, I knew this. I'm not entirely stupid. But, I have no idea where the filter is and I thought someone had changed it last winter, so I thought we were okay. Personally I blame my sister. You're probably wondering why I'd blame my sister for something like this though, right? I'm about to tell you...
This weekend my oldest sister called and said that her furnace had stopped working and she needed a ride to Wal-Mart to get a filter. Apparently she had taken her furnace apart (yes, you read that right) and tried all the little secrets "someone who works on furnaces" told her and nothing worked. So, she figured since the filter was pretty clogged up she'd try that. So, after a quick trip to Wal-Mart she put it all back together and turned it on and miraculously it worked. But, the reason our recent furnace failure is her fault is because she said "When was the last time you changed your furnace filter?"... To which my reply was, "I assume it was changed last winter. I think."
Thanks Brenda... But seriously, it's a bit ironic, don't you think? A little too ironic, and yes I really do think... (Sorry, musical reference... back to the blog.)
I know nothing about home maintenance and repair. My father used to take care of all of that and make all the necessary phone calls and arrangements and such. But, because of all the developments in my father's physical and mental health over the last year or so(there may be a blog explaining this in the future), I've had to step up and take some responsibility. I've had a crash course in the last 12 months. Let's do a recap:
1. Replace toilet (Our as the plumber called it "water closet".)
2. Clean drain in basement and drain lines (Same plumbing service.)
3. Replace water heater (Again, same plumbing service).
4. Replace back interior and exterior door (This is a story for another day perhaps).
5. Furnace repair
When the furnace repair man brought the filter upstairs to show us it was totally disgusting. My father's physical therapist was here and she said "Wow. That's gross." I seriously think that was the original filter that was installed with the furnace in 2008, that's how bad it looked. Our furnace has an automatic shutoff that is triggered when it overheats because of blocked airflow (like from a seriously clogged filter). But when he tried to reset the unit it wouldn't reset. He said that the part had most likely burnt out because it was constantly tripping and shutting off the furnace. He said the part was "kind of an oddball part" and that he would most likely have to order it but that he could "temporarily set us up" until the part arrived and then left. Pops doesn't hear to well and didn't hear the dude so the physical therapist and I had to explain what he just said. Neither of us knew exactly what we were talking about but my dad just nodded his head. He was either agreeing or had given up because the two "girls" had no idea what was going on. The physical therapist then said "The repair man talked like it would be repaired soon. I think... Gosh I hope so... It's really cold out there." Yes my dear, and it's really cold in here too...
Yes, he did reappear with a temporary part to fix the furnace until the other part for the furnace comes in. So the bill for today's adventure was $95 for a diagnostic test and $3.50 for a filter. He said he'd have the office give us a call when the part came in and they'd come out and install it. Perhaps we can have my sister do it and save some money... No. I'm totally kidding... Heat is important but so is preventing home explosions.
So, it's 70 degrees in the house once more... It's a tropical paradise. All that is missing is little fruity drinks with umbrellas. Maybe I'll whip some up to serve with dinner tonight... Ha ha ha... No.
So, the moral to today's story is this: CHANGE THE F'N FILTER!
Because heat is important. Yes, heat is very important.
Peace out!
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