PRACTICAL PARSIMONY: Blow Dryer and Electric Fan Save

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Blow Dryer and Electric Fan Save

Once upon a time, my handheld, hair blowdryer quit. I was very sad because I could not afford another. Remembering how overheating might make it cut off and waiting for it to cool down might make it return to life, I was hopeful. I waited.

Then, I examined the fan, waiting for it to cool and restart. As I held the fan, put it down, picked it up, I saw something amiss. Looking at the opposite end of where the air blows out, the air intake, I noticed the mesh screen over the intake was matted with dust. Aha!

Armed with tweezers, toothpicks, a toothbrush, several Q-tips, and a vacuum cleaner, I set to work. CAREFULLY. I cleaned the screen of lint. You might say I detailed the fan and all that is attached.

I revived a box fan in the same manner, removing the large grills over the back and front. The fan blade and all was nasty with dust, hair, and just plain gunk. Since it did not work, I figured I had nothing to lose. I cleaned and cleaned and pulled hair. (My hair is long.) I had little fear of ruining it since it did not work, anyway. But, it survived to run for many more years before I gave it away.

For several years I rescued fans on the curb, cleaned them of lint and dust, washed the grill, and put them back together. Anytime I heard anyone say their fan gave out and another one was not in the budget, I gave away a Rescue Fan. I know what it is like not to be able to afford a fan under $20 or a hair dryer that is under $10. I just hate to buy anything I can repair. Have I said that?

Because I don't believe in throwing away anything that can be repaired, It's been great to have this knowledge for many years of happy hairdryer and fan repair.

After the initial cleaning of my hair dryer, I regularly clean the lint screen. The hair dryer never overheats since then, and I have saved the expense of a new hair dryer. My hairdryer is probably 20-years-old. How old is yours?

Your turn
Do you perform preventive maintenance on your hairdryer to lengthen its life?

4 comments:

LindaDecember 16, 2012 at 1:53 AM
Well, this is weird. I was just "fixing" an old post. I did not mean to republish. Oh well....
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Thrifty Mom In BoiseDecember 16, 2012 at 9:03 AM
Funny, good post though. I don't use a hairdryer but I do perform routine maintenance on my fans. Have a great day. :)
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lotta joyDecember 16, 2012 at 1:13 PM
I did, once. Does that count?
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Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.

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The Cast

Fancy is my favorite hen. She is one of the three youngest hens I adopted. Because she is so gentle and friendly, she may be the one I rescued when she was being pecked to death after she could no longer stand. She got to live in the house in a box. Sometimes, I let her sit in my lap while she was convalescing. Now, she comes to sit in the swing with me, cuddling up to my body like a cat or dog. She died in February 2012.

Fancy follows me begging, complaining, needing me to do for her. She talks to me in various voices. She allows me to pick her up and carry her. When she became an adult, her head was a darker red and her body was light brown. Around her neck were tips of black feathers. It appeared she had a necklace of jet around her neck. When I showed this characteristic to a friend, he said, "Oh, you have fancy chickens and plain chickens."

Chessie has a broken toe. I broke it! She had a habit of jumping really high and almost sticking. A raccoon ate her in October 2009.

Thelma is the blonde. She is also the largest hen and the alpha hen. I suspect the gigantic eggs are from her. She often squats and presents herself to me. She is top hen, but I suspect she knows she had better be deferent to top feeder of the flock--me.

Louise is the auburn-feathered hen. She looks like the true Rhode Island Reds in pictures. She is almost as large as Thelma. Some days I suspect she is trying to be top chicken. When I got Pepper, I found out Louise is the Alpha hen.

Pepper came here from the same home as the first four. We were discussing putting red pepper on their food, wondering if it really would increase egg production. Pepper is the only name we agreed on. She is terrorized each day by Louise. Even after the worst was over, she was and is still filled with terror and very wary.

Linda is owned by four hens. They allow her to fetch for them. She loves them dearly, so she allows them to boss her around. Linda comes out in the rain to perform chores for them and make sure they have food and water. She begs scraps from all sorts of places to make sure they have fresh fruits and vegetables.

Parsimony is not a vegetable

Parsimony is extreme care in spending money. Stick around and learn about my random thoughts on accomplishing goals economically--dumpster diving aka safari, gleaning, do-it-yourself, sewing tips, recipes, and whatever is happening in my life.

Okay so maybe "parsimony" is not your thing. How about thrift, frugality or just plain saving money? I try not to go the tightwad route as that seems to imply others will suffer from my habits.

Some of my not-spending habits have very much been a part of my lifelong habits. Other habits are newly acquired and are an extension of my lifelong not-spending habits.

I am very imaginative when it comes to substituting or making instead of buying. I will tell you about making a heater for the chickens' water. Not one dime was spent since I had everything I needed right in my basement.

Practicality must rear its head alongside parsimony. For example, I will use the dryer in bad weather or because of allergies in the spring. But, I will not wash clothes in a tub as long as I have a washing machine or can find one.

You may hear more about my four Rhode Island Red hens than you care to hear. They lay delicious brown eggs.

Contact Me

Sunday, December 16, 2012

Blow Dryer and Electric Fan Save

4 comments: