Gratitude For Our Law Enforcement and Fire Department
/A few weeks ago, I noticed some strange popping noises coming from our Maytag natural gas clothes dryer. At first, I didn’t think much of it but hoped it wasn’t going out as it’s only a couple years old. I don’t know if you’ve had the same bad luck we’ve had with appliances, but this is our fourth set of washer/dryer combinations. Our first and second sets lasted over ten years each. The third and fourth sets not nearly as long. Grrrr…☹ I don’t even want to talk about water heaters… ☹
I had just put a load in the dryer and went outside to sit with Ronnie on the back-covered patio. As soon as I sat down, I could smell natural gas from the gas vent nearby. In reality, natural gas does not have a smell to it, however, the gas company adds a nasty rotten egg type smell to help us know if there is a problem. I immediately ran inside and could smell gas inside the laundry room as well. I opened the door to the dryer to turn it off, and the smell was really strong inside the drum.
I went back outside and told Ron, when he mentioned he had a headache which he never has. We stayed outside and called 911, but made sure to tell them it was not any kind of medical emergency before explaining what was happening with our natural gas clothes dryer. Within about ten minutes, two wonderful Kaysville Police Officers and two Kaysville Firemen arrived. It was a bit embarrassing because they brought the great big fire truck! Thankfully they did not use their sirens. We met them in the backyard knowing it was not safe to be inside the house. The firemen started testing for a gas leak outside near the vent but couldn’t find any elevated readings. However, when they went inside and tested inside the dryer, the reading was high. They were able to rule out a gas leak at the gas connection behind the dryer, so it appeared the issue was with the dryer itself. They were also able to determine that it was only leaking when the dryer was turned on, which I was grateful to hear.
I was embarrassed to admit that most of our smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms haven’t worked in years. I’ve known we needed to replace them but haven’t been sure what to order. I immediately ordered some from Amazon, and we’ll be getting them replaced this next week… yes, we should have had them installed already, but at least we have them now. It is on Ron’s “honey-do-list”! The next day, I called “Doyle’s Appliance Repair” and they came right out. The technician was skeptical that it was actually the dryer as he said that part of the dryer rarely has issues. As soon as he turned it on and looked in the hole on the side of the dryer, he knew immediately there was indeed an issue. He didn’t have the part with him but said it was a slow day and found the part at his distributor in Salt Lake. He drove to Salt Lake and came right back to replace the entire gas exchange unit in the dryer! If you’re looking for prompt, honest, fair priced, appliance repair people, call “Doyles”! https://www.doylesapplianceutah.com/contact
I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for our emergency response professionals here in Kaysville! We love them! I always feel dumb calling to report anything or to ask for help because I don’t want to waste their time if it ends up being nothing. They were all so kind to assure me that we had done the right thing and should never hesitate to call them. They said they would rather respond to a false alarm than to an emergency situation that is much worse because people don’t call sooner. I’m just grateful our house didn’t blow up, and that we didn’t need to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning.
We wanted to do something nice for them as a thank you, so Ron and I will be dropping off a little gift basket that I ordered from my favorite Amish Basket Company. https://www.amishbaskets.com/collections/amish-gift-baskets/products/heart-shaped-jam-gift-basket Each little basket has two jars of hand-made jam made by wonderful Amish families from the fruits they grow themselves.
I also picked up a nice “Geometry” dish towel from “Swiss Days” to go with each little gift basket. https://www.geometry.house/products/kindred I will be going to “Great Harvest Bread Company” https://greatharvestutah.com/layton/menu/bread tomorrow to get four loaves of bread before we drop off the gifts of gratitude to the Kaysville Police Station and the Fire Department.
My wish for you this week is to do something nice for the law enforcement and fire fighters in your neighborhood! They risk their lives every day for us and run into dangerous situations as everyone else is running the opposite direction. The other thing is a reminder to check all your fire and carbon monoxide alarms in your home. Do what you have to do to be sure they are operating correctly whether that is to replace the batteries or get a whole new unit. We are blessed to have these systems in place to keep us safe. Let’s all say a little prayer this week for our emergency service personnel, they are a rare breed of heroes! Have a great week, and I hope all your home appliances continue to work well!
Love Ya, Les 😊