I did a little research yesterday about dryer fires. (Ok, I have to admit, I totally laughed at the name, dryer fire...really? It sounds so funnay and makes me smile each time I say it.)
Here are things to look out for:
- be sure to empty the lint trap before or after each load
- keep the hose clean
- check to see if you have a white plastic vent hose- if you do, REMOVE IT, and replace it with a metal one (I picked mine up at Walmart for under $5!)
- don't have more than two 90 degree angles with your hose
- make sure the vent is clear of lint, small animals and animals nests
- check the outside vent to see if, while the dryer is running, there is a steady flow of air
I KNEW being a freak about my lint trap would one day pay off! I also picked up one of those loooooong wire brushes for my dryer, to give it a good, deep clean. Apparently lint, that stupid gray stuff, is one of the most COMBUSTIBLE materials...and often found in homemade explosives!!
Here, educate yourself more:
- one informative post
- You tube video (VERY interesting!!)
Its kinda scary- who knew something with such a cute name, could cause so much harm?!
We've lived in our house for 3+ years and during those years, my laundry room has always been INCREDIBLY dusty. I always maintained it, but never gave much thought to it.
That's just the way laundry rooms are, right?
It seems that when our washer and dryer were delivered, the guy never thought to put a DRYER HOSE in the back of said appliance to vent all the dust OUTSIDE (you know, where it belongs!)
I realize this and, being the Home Depot savvy person I am, bought a new hose. In order to attach the hose, one must be BEHIND the appliance. Well, for those of you who have never moved a washer before, they are like, 9,000 pounds (approx.!) so I wiggled it as far away as I could so I could fit behind both appliances.
I grabbed my tools and duct tape, and sat behind the dryer, in a contorted manor until my feet got pins and needles, and did what any woman who doesn't want dust in her laundry room would do. I duct taped the vent hose to the dryer...to the vent in the wall...I used like half my roll of duct tape.
After I did my first load of laundry, it worked perfectly! I was so excited.
Yesterday, I sent out an email to my family with before and after pictures...along with the duct tape story.
Last night, I get a call from my dad.
"Hey sweety, the laundry room looks great, wonderful color. However, you need to take the duct tape off!" (you could imagine my surprise because, DUH, it was working) "It can cause a house fire...you need to get metal tape if you want to tape it, but you should have gotten a metal ring to put on the back of the dryer...its got clamps, go to Home Depot and pick it up, but don't use the dryer until you get the tape off...love you!"
And so now, my laundry room is on hold again until I pick up the metal ring. I couldn't be more thankful to dad for filling me in on the duct tape = house fires thing...that would have been TERRIBLE!
My name is Erin and I'm an interior designer. Not a decorator, a designer. Big difference...one has more training and a degree, while the other has a really good eye, but was probably an accountant in a previous life. Got it?I have another blog, www.pugglywuggly.blogspot.com and its all about our dog, Jack. But, while I write in his blog sometimes I wanna write about ME (a little selfish, probably...does it bother me? Oh hellz no!)
So, my hubby and I bought a house 3+ years ago that was built in, er, 2003? When we first moved in I couldn't wait to paint, decorate and really sink my teeth into things.In fact, the night we closed on the house, I started painting the kitchen, 'Dutch Cocoa' (by Sherwin Williams). I was so proud of myself, but somewhere along the way, I've started to put things around the house.No real purpose, no real reason, I would just put things where I thought they should go. (You know, until 5 minutes later I changed my mind, uh-gain...)
This basically boils down to one thing, I'm a designer who is having trouble designing her own space. The more designers (or architects) I tell that too, the more comforting I feel because they agree, designing your own house is much more difficult then designing someone elses.
This upsets me because I can walk into someones home and redesign it in less than 10 minutes in my head. However with my own house, I'm constantly drawing blanks.
I know that sounds bad, and if any of my clients (or boss, eek!) read this, they might wonder about my abilities.
To help jump start my house redesign, I've taken photos of the way it is, send them to my bestie (best friend) Derona, in London and we've been talking over colours (as she'd say). (D and I met in college, both studying interior design...she grew up in Nassau and now lives in L-town...)
My first project in my new mindset was our laundry room.
It has been an obnoxious shade of baby boy blue for 3+ years now. While I can appreciate blue, I cannot tolerate the baby-blue anymore.So here are the before photos: (yes, I have a 'thing' for cows...don't judge!)
Here is a common misconception in design:
"If I have a small space, I need to paint it a light color so it looks/feels bigger"
Lemme put it to you like this, my laundry room is about 6' x 6' and now its painted 'French Baret' (#1610 Benjamin Moore- I refer to Ben. Moore just as Benny, yes we're on a first name basis...) 
French Baret is almost black! Check it out for yourself, does it look bigger? Smaller?
Painting has always been a theraputic exercise for me. Maybe its the fumes? Maybe its the concentration it takes...whatever reason, I love painting.
The next rooms in my whole house makeover marathon are the kitchen and then the family room. The lighter color (forgive me, I don't know what the name is off the top of my head) will be replacing the Dutch Cocoa in the kitchen...and the darker one will replace the green. Its taken several weeks for me to find a paint color that the hubby likes to replace the green. "I don't want beige" "I don't like that color, it doesn't have enough color in it"...yes, its been a merri-go-round of fun, but alas, we've found a great color! (Thank GOD!)
