Am I just paranoid regarding appliances?

[MstngDrvnDsnyLvr]

Clothes Washer - all the time

Dryer - all the time, but when we had a traditional dryer, we cleaned the vent pipe once a month; I now have a condensing dryer and clean the condenser once a month, but the lint is never dry.

Dishwasher - all the time (because of the industry my husband works in, mine is never more than 4 yrs old)

I've even left my oven on and always leave the crock pot on - that's what it is for.

[diz_girl]

Mel - you are not paranoid. Dryer fires are a big concern.

What I do is -
Dryer - No
Washer - Yes, but I often use the timer to start close to my return, like a pp. Thankfully, the previous owner installed a drain by the washer, so a washer malfunction flooding the house is less of a concern.
Dishwasher - overnight only, never when no one is home.
Crock pot - Yes, that's it's purpose, although like a pp, I prefer to have it cook overnight and reheat in the evening.
Oven/stovetop - never. I worked with someone who cooked a turkey on Thanskgiving, left for 1/2 hour to get something from a nearby convenience store and returned to a home full of smoke and a charred turkey. The calibration was off and heated the oven at temperature much higher than the set temperature. Also, I'd never even consider leaving a gas stove on, what if the flame goes out, but the gas is still on, then it becomes potentially explosive.

I also recently installed an alarm system in my house, complete with fire alarm, which I never had where I used to live.

[GrumpySue]

Not only do I not leave the washing machine on when I am not home, I shut the valve to the machine after every use. I have a friend who was on vacation and came home to find a hose busted on his washing maching which was on the second floor of his house. Water was pouring out for a week until he got home, his house suffered serious water damage. I shut the main valve to the whole house every time I go on vacation.

Also I was at home once with my dishwasher going and all of a sudden water started pouring out of the front below the door, a utensil had come loose and was jamming the water shutoff thingy, good thing I was there to stop it or it could have been bad.

My cousin also had a dryer fire that destroyed her business, she had a day spa and was drying towels and went for a quick ride to the store and came back and the whole building was on fire.

So yeah, maybe I'm a bit paranoid......

[Ian]

Well, I wasn't paranoid before, but I am now!

LOL!! I was thinking the same thing!

[Dulcee]

. I shut the main valve to the whole house every time I go on vacation.

We do this too now! The hot water line blew on our sink one night. In the five groggy minutes it took us to figure out to shut the valve the entire kitchen was flooded. I can't imagine the mess if we had been away for a weekend or something when it happened...

[IloveDisney71]

I don't leave the house with any major appliances like the washer, dryer, dishwasher, oven, etc. on. I've had a washer flood on me and a washer motor burn up on me so I'm very careful with things like that. I will leave my crockpot on when I'm not at home but it's a new one and I put it on my stove so it won't get anything else hot. I also turn off all of our ceiling fans when we aren't home or even in the room with them.

[jmj18]

I have never done it in the past and do not ever plan to do so.

We had 2 very bad fires (days apart and houses apart) in our town recently and they were so horrible. Terrible for those families and I just get so nervous.

I so want to be able to set the crock pot and go...BUT...I would be worried all day long.

So, you are not alone....

[MNNHFLTX]

I absolutely have no problem leaving the crockpot on while I'm at work. The dryer though--no. And, I didn't use to run my clothes washer while out of the house, because my old washer occasionally over-flowed. But my new washer is no worry. For these that unplug appliances when he are not gone, fires can start in the walls of a house, whether something is plugged in or not.

Even more danger may lurk in the breaker box. There was a house fire a block from my house that week that started in the breaker box in the garage. A co-worker of my husband's had the same situation last year. I have made an appointment for someone to come and inspect our breaker box, but have felt very nervous going off to work the last couple of weeks.

[Ed]

Am I too paranoid?

Yes. Yes, you are.

I guess we're all a little paranoid, eh?

Speak for yourself, please.

I shut the main valve to the whole house every time I go on vacation.

So yeah, maybe I'm a bit paranoid......

In that case, me too. We always shut off the main valve if we're going to be gone overnight or longer.

Even more danger may lurk in the breaker box.

Excellent point. Our former home was rewired in the early 70's with a Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) breaker box that almost burned down the house in the 90's. Fortunately we followed our noses to the source of the smell and shut if off in time. Most of the individual breakers in the box were melted. Seems these boxes were total junk and caused many, many fires. If that's what you've got, get it replaced YESTERDAY.

[Mickey'sGirl]

Even more danger may lurk in the breaker box. There was a house fire a block from my house that week that started in the breaker box in the garage. A co-worker of my husband's had the same situation last year. I have made an appointment for someone to come and inspect our breaker box, but have felt very nervous going off to work the last couple of weeks.

Excellent point. Our former home was rewired in the early 70's with a Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) breaker box that almost burned down the house in the 90's. Fortunately we followed our noses to the source of the smell and shut if off in time. Most of the individual breakers in the box were melted. Seems these boxes were total junk and caused many, many fires. If that's what you've got, get it replaced YESTERDAY.

Great.
Now I'm going to worry about this too!!

[Melanie]

Wow, lots of interesting stories and perspectives here. I've read them all intently, and my initial "paranoia" hasn't changed. Thank goodness for insurance and the sort of peace of mind it brings!

[kakn7294]

The only "appliance" that I'll leave on when I leave the house is the crock pot and that strongly depends on where I'm going, how long I'll be gone, and what's in the crock pot.

[PopPhan]

Washer, dishwasher, anything that has a water pump that is operational in cycle MUST be turned off before leaving the house -- DO NOT need to come home to a flood!!

Dryer also a definite OFF before leaving. Clean lint trap/exhaust piping or not, all that needs happen is a spark or it not shutting off to burn down the house.

Crock pots are OK...They are 'supposedly' built with all kinds of safeguards...BUT that depends on the amount of time I will be away - not more than 3 - 5 hours.

Surprisingly, I don't think twice about all the 'normal' electronics - TV, Computer, Stereo Equipment, Coffee Maker, etc. - although these are probably the bigger culprits in home fires. Main reason for that is overloading circuits and power spikes.

[laprana]

You're not paranoid, Mel! Or at least a lot of us are paranoid with you! I'm the same way, don't leave anything major running if I leave the house. Dryer, washer, dishwasher, space heater, crock pot...it all gets turned off if I leave or not turned on till I get back home. I was a reporter for my local newspaper for 5 years and I covered a LOT of house fires, many of them fatal. Almost all of them were caused from a dryer or a space heater. I'd rather have wet clothes than a burned down house!

[DizneyRox]

Excellent point. Our former home was rewired in the early 70's with a Federal Pacific Electric (FPE) breaker box that almost burned down the house in the 90's. Fortunately we followed our noses to the source of the smell and shut if off in time. Most of the individual breakers in the box were melted. Seems these boxes were total junk and caused many, many fires. If that's what you've got, get it replaced YESTERDAY.

Yesterday or sooner. As a matter of fact, I'd rent a hotel room until it's replaced, they are that dangerous. I'm surprised you were able to turn them off...

[buzznwoodysmom]

I absolutely have no problem leaving the crockpot on while I'm at work. The dryer though--no. And, I didn't use to run my clothes washer while out of the house, because my old washer occasionally over-flowed. But my new washer is no worry. For these that unplug appliances when he are not gone, fires can start in the walls of a house, whether something is plugged in or not.

Even more danger may lurk in the breaker box. There was a house fire a block from my house that week that started in the breaker box in the garage. A co-worker of my husband's had the same situation last year. I have made an appointment for someone to come and inspect our breaker box, but have felt very nervous going off to work the last couple of weeks.

Those are all excellent points. It's impossible to eliminate all risk factors that can cause a fire. Doing what a lot of posters here do is one way to at least decrease those risks. I for one, can't believe the number of people who leave their home with the dryer running. To me that's a huge risk!

[Ian]

Am I the only one who can't read the title of this thread without hearing, "Do you have the time to listen to me whine about nothing and everything all at once" in his head?

[MNNHFLTX]

Am I the only one who can't read the title of this thread without hearing, "Do you have the time to listen to me whine about nothing and everything all at once" in his head?

??

[Melanie]

??

I had to look it up Beth. Apparently it's a Green Day song, so no surprise I had no idea what Ian was talking about. I'm definitely not hip. I thought he was saying I was whiny.

[BrerGnat]

Ian, I am pretty sure Mel is JUST paranoid.