Lint for Lent

Remember the slogan: Lint for Lent, and you'll prevent a house fire by cleaning your dryer vent every year!

You might only have a short pigtail between your dryer and the outside wall. If that is the case? Throw away the pigtail and replace it with a new one. Most high capacity dryers want metail pigtails, not plastic or rubber.

My dryer vent is over 20 feet long of solid duct and passes through my basement. Cleaning this requires a shop vac, a drill, and a vent cleaning kit that includes a brush and extenders. The extenders connect to the drill, and the drill spins the brush.

When I installed the duct, I left myself access for cleaning, so, the first thing so needed to do was tear off that tape to get access.

You can see: it has only been a year and I have collected a lot of lint!

The brush goes into the duct along with a cap that will help create a vaccuum.

The cap fits over the duct.

The shop vac hose goes into the cap.

Then we are off to the races! The drill causes the brush to turn.

I attach extensions as I fish the brush down the duct.

When done, I tape the duct access. There are different kinds of metal tape to use: cold use and hot use. I didn't realize it and last year I used cold metal tape. The hot dryer exhaust caused the tape to come apart and spew lint in the basement. I learned my lesson! 

The dryer vent is cleaned for another year!

New Tires

Car ownership can be more expensive than home ownership. Car loans, maintenance, repairs, gas, and more - it really adds up. Cars are especially expensive if you don't know how to do your own work on them. However, as the slogan says "It's not just your car, it is your freedom.", so I guess the cost is worth it.

Car ownership requires a correct mind set. A car isn't status, it isn't luxury, and it isn't fun. It is an engine that turns the tires to get you where you have to go: work, the store, etc. If it is your wife's car or something that will be transporting the kids? It has to be safe and reliable too. Otherwise, get something cheap that will last a while and won't cost much to maintain. Always try to pay cash instead of taking a loan (although loan rates are very cheap these days).

After decades of driving clunkers, I splurged on my last car. I bought a four year old car with only 18,000 miles on it. I have been fortunate that in the four years I have owned the car, I have only driven it 28,000 miles.

Since Spring, my mechanic has been warning me about cracks in my tires and low tread. If this problem was on the family car? I would have fixed it right away. But since it was my car? I have been delaying doing anything.

I have now gone through several flat tire scenarios because the tires are having difficulty holding air. I have decided it is time to break down and get the tires before my car breaks down.

I am off to Dunn Tire to get the cheapest 16" tires I can find. Tax and total? Will be around $350.

I am not happy about buying these tires but I realize that these flats are going to leave me stranded one of these times, and I am risking a blow out.

Houses are expensive. And cars are expensive.

Roof Update 2

The Insurance Adjuster arrived today to look at our roof. He explained to me that insurance is typically used to cover something that is sudden and unexpected. For example, a water pipe bursts or a tree falls on your house. He looked at our roof and says it looks like the roof has just warn out early. He said the shingles looked like they baked and became brittle. He said a 12 year old roof shouldn't look this bad, but it doesn't look like the problem is the result of a single instance.

He is going to send his results to the insurance company and the insurance company will contact us and let us know their decision.

I told him that we had purchased a 20 year roof and expected to get more than 12 years out of it. He agreed. Although, he warned, in Western New York State, a 20 year roof usually only lasts 15-18 years. He explained how New York gets the really cold and snowy winters combined with the really hot and humid summers. Getting 20 years on a 20 year roof is only under ideal situations.

He also explained that the pitch on the damaged roof is extreme. That means the roofer will need extra gear to work on the roof, and that is going to cost extra.

I showed him moss growing on the north side of the roofs. He explained that we don't need to worry about it. The moss won't cause any damage. We'll damage the roof if we try to remove the moss.  He thinks the mild summer or some weather condition might have encouraged the moss growth

So... great. I'm not very optimistic that this is going to be covered by home owners insurance.