Huge Blog

Stupid me, I ran a Dansk “Fjord” polished aluminum bowl through the dishwasher. The detergent reacted with the metal and left it dark and discolored. Tried the old wives’ tale of soaking it in a paste of Cream of Tartar. Didn’t work at all. Found some tips online that “Bar Keeper’s Friend” may work, so I gave that a try. Took a few scrubs with the rough side of a kitchen sponge (didn’t scratch it up too bad), and it looks much better. Not quite good as new (not as reflective as I remember it), but still passable at a future shindig

Watch out for the Mass RMV. No matter how early you order your plate renewal sticker, they always send it to you late or never. Has happened to me twice. They never respond to their customer support emails and their support phone number has horrible wait times. I finally got through to someone after driving around illegally for a few months with expired plates and they sent me a sticker in the mail. Just a sticker, no note or receipt. Hey at least it got here.

Our clothes were getting shredded by our Maytag front-loading washing machine. There were bits of shredded rubber in tear marks of the clothing, so it was clear that the bellows (that’s the rubber ring in the door seal) was responsible. Went to a parts store, picked up a new bellows for $50, and replaced it myself. No more shredding.

There’s an exhaust vent leaving our condo building, and it’s pointed straight at our car. After a while I noticed that the paint on our car was discoloring in the spot exactly under the vent. I bought a 90-degree elbow to redirect the vent downward.

If any brave souls want to wear this around the South (to prove a point of course), be my guest. I am not responsible for your safety! LOL

So this happened right before Xmas. Gift sent for the little one from a family member. One side of box ripped off. Contents missing. Hmm, was this done by a stranger after delivery? Apparently not because there’s a note attached to the box apologizing for the damage. Why even go through the trouble of delivering an empty box? Return to sender with a huge apology!

I tried calling the local delivery supervisor. Was put on hold, no one ever picked up. I tried filing a complaint through USPS’s website. No response. Maybe I’ll try the postal inspectors. This is mail theft, correct?

Bought this washer about 5 years ago. A few years in, its water pump failed. Had to replace that myself. There’s always water sitting in the detergent cups after a load (probably a manufacturer defect). It has a bad door seal and leaks water, but that comes and goes. The worst problem is that the drum sits a bit too far away from the door and sometimes clothes get trapped and mangled/ripped/torn.

This happens once every few months. I’ve been able to avoid it recently by always overriding the spin cycle to high or medium (instead of extra-high). I also consciously fill the drum with fewer clothes. Fingers crossed that that continues to work. Of course, the downside is that I now waste more electricity drying wetter (and fewer) clothes.

What a POS.

Definitely Fluidmaster. Went through the trouble of swapping in a Korky toilet flapper. Construction seemed cheap and wobbled. Did the old “food coloring test” and water kept leaking. Swapped in a Fluidmaster flapper and my troubles disappeared.