Household fun

It's been a kind of expensive year, as far as upkeep on Casa de Dragon. We seem to have hit the 20-year wall, where everything starts to sputter out in concert.

First it was the microwave that spontaneously quit, although without combusting or shooting sparks across the room. That led to replacing the dishwasher and stove along with the microwave. The stove had two iffy burners, and it was all 20-year-old original equipment, so we just had everything replaced at once. Now we've got matching appliances, a slightly quieter dishwasher, and a stove that still has a funny smell when we use it. But at least all the burners work.

Today we had the second HVAC check-up of the year. We pay a subscription fee, and the company sends a guy out twice a year - once to check the AC, once for the furnace. They clean the filter, which is a metal jobbie way way back in the guts of the furnace, and make sure everything's looking right. Back in May, the AC was a touch low on Freon, for the second year in a row. Today, joy of joys, it looks like the furnace is leaking a tiny bit of carbon monoxide. Very low, not enough to have to shut down ASAP and get a hotel room until it's fixed, but (as the furnace guy said) it's not going to fix itself. The furnace was built in 1985, according to the date stamped inside it. The AC was likely installed at the same time, since they're interconnected. Furnace Guy says 10-15 years is a good lifespan for a unit, so we've gotten an extra 10 years out of ours, and I'm pretty sure it wasn't a top-of-the-line model to begin with (judging from other little shortcuts taken when these units were built).

So, it seems that we've got some more fun to look forward to. DH's opinion is to go ahead and replace the geriatric water heater while we're at it. They're all shoehorned into the same utility closet, and we may as well take care of everything while we've got the gas shut off and the washer & dryer pulled out of the closet.

Luckily, we've got money in the bank, so it won't be a big financial burden. (Reading the IRA statements from Vanguard is depressing, though.) And, with a 20-year upgrade in efficiency, our utility bills may go down a bit. Not enough to recoup the cost right away, of course, but it'll be interesting to see what happens with the gas & electric bills. We won't (hopefully) be around long enough to see the difference in the AC's electric use, but we're getting into heating season now.