Joys of Home Ownership

Please allow me to preface this blog by saying that the contents herein are not intended to come across as a complaint, simply stating the facts as I have experienced them. When Bill and I purchased our home in March 2007, we were aware that several of the appliances were dated. In fact, following the home inspection prior to purchase, we requested a new hot water heater be installed and the sellers obliged. That left us with middle-aged appliances in the kitchen, a newer washer (less than 6 years old at the time), a nearly antique clothes dryer, an old furnace and air conditioning unit and a pretty well used water softener.

A few weeks ago, the water softener began to have some issues and the verdict is still out on that one. Then, a few days ago the faucet over the wash tub in the laundry area began to leak. Yesterday, the washer decided that is was done and stopped working. Now we fully understood that we were getting by on borrowed time with dryer, the furnace and air conditioner, and maybe the kitchen appliances. We thought we were good with the washer because it was the newest appliance in the house. Wrong!

Today we decided that we were going to replace both the washer and dryer so we would have a matched set. We also thought that if we waited with the dryer, it would surely be the next thing to conk out and we would go through this all over again. Neither of us knew the difficulties of shopping for a washer and a "gas" dryer to match. Being proactive, I had already disconnected both the washer and dryer prior to shopping so when I heard that it would take up to ten (10) days to order in certain "gas" dryers, I was less than overjoyed. I didn't have ten days to wait for a new dryer. Therefore, I had to make a tough choice. Should I purchase the in stock "gas" dryer and a non-matching washer which offered the features we were looking for?

After looking at various models of washers and dryers and then looking at them all again, it was time to make a decision. Choosing practicality and availability over aesthetics, I went with the models which could be delivered our home the next day. After returning home and cleaning to make ready for the new laundry machines, I noticed that the faucet over the laundry tub would not stop dripping. So I made the decision to take the faucet handles apart and replace the washers in an attempt to repair the drippage. Let's keep our fingers crossed that this actually worked.

Earlier I said that the verdict is still out on the water softener. I foresee replacing or repairing that in the near future. Yes indeed, the joys of home ownership. A month ago, we discussed moving out of the house into an apartment. We looked a number of apartments along the way before we decided to ride the wave and stay in the house. We do not know what the future will hold but you can be sure, there will be more joyous experiences as long as we continue to live in a home of our own.

~ DB Turnmire