Shower Cartridge

Ha! Well, while still on the subject of the several household repairs I've had to undertake recently, I might as well mention this shower cartridge. Kind of a long story. But the upshot of it all is that the rubber gaskets on the old cartridge had begun to deteriorate, causing the shower to leak. 

Like most household chores, what I thought was going to be a simple half-hour repair turned into an ordeal that took me two days, albeit some of that time was spent running back and forth to a nearby appliance store to purchase a special tool required to complete the job. Moen, by the way, (and I have to say this) as in the case of Kidde that I blogged about yesterday, sent me not one but three free replacements to help forestall any more leaks I might experience in my two other showers. 

Smoke Alarm

More home maintenance. Seems like I've been doing a lot of that lately. I guess it's time. All of the appliances in my house have a few years on them now. Still, I was a somewhat surprised to discover not only that I had to replace the battery in one of my smoke alarms, but that the whole unit needed to be replaced. Somewhat puzzled, I called Kidde's service personnel and was pleasantly surprised when they offered to send me a replacement (shown above) free of charge. Nice!

Tire Pressure

Happens every fall. One cold morning, I go to start the car, and the tire inflation alert on my dashboard lights up. Something to do with molecules. According to United Tire and Service News,

"Air contracts when the temperature drops—and the air inside your tires is no exception. The reason this occurs has to do with the speed at which air molecules move. The lower the temperature, the slower they become. Slow-moving molecules are smaller, take up less space, and don't push up against the walls of your tires with as much pressure.

 

So, no, your tire pressure isn't low on cold days because your tires haven't technically lost air. (In fact, your tire pressure will likely go right back to normal the minute it gets warmer.) It's dangerous to drive on even mildly deflated tires, though. It can damage your tires, as well as potentially cause an accident, so always err on the side of caution and give your tire pressure a quick check to be sure. If they genuinely need more air, go ahead and top them off to be on the safe side."

Chorus

Williamsburg Women's Chorus