Home equipment malfunctions have tried my patience lately, but in the “tell me some good news” department, it’s also presented a creative opportunity to think outside the box.
For example, our one-year-old kitchen faucet commenced spraying water wildly whenever it was turned on. It could have been infuriating! A faucet repair seemed in the DIY realm, however, so I kept trying to fix it, with mixed results.
But when our complex furnace also started acting up — powered by natural gas, with a flame, fan, and boiler — there were not enough YouTube videos on the planet to induce me to tackle that job!
The upside of owning a tricky furnace is one develops a convivial relationship not only with the company dispatcher, but with the repair technician as well.
Based on that connection, when the technician came up from the basement, I felt 80% comfortable asking for advice on fixing the faucet, too. Luckily he took my request seriously, and in about two seconds the problem was solved.
I felt sheepish about my plumbing ineptitude, but I also learned something.
Reinforced by this experience, when the painter arrived to power-wash our house the other day, I unabashedly inquired whether he might mind dislodging a broken branch that was dangling 30 feet above us.
He expansively described the array of equipment he carried on his truck, and graciously consented to execute this off-label maneuver, and seemed quite pleased to assist.
Less humorous was this week’s challenge: the demise of the microwave, which by the smell of things was threatening to catch fire.
I called the manufacturer, and after a very long time, reached an actual human employee, albeit in the wrong department. Since these sagas seem ordinary these days, we had a good laugh.
She helped me anyway.
Awash in newscasts highlighting conflict, harmony is also possible.
Need help?
It doesn’t hurt to ask. (c)
