Of Dimmer Switches and Garbage Disposals

The switch for our garbage disposal finally gave out. At the end of the day with a sink full of dirty dishes and a dishwasher to run. Fortunately it wasn't completely blocked, ie the water would drain out verrrry slowly. So I used the other side to wash and loaded the dishwasher, hoping that the disposal side wouldn't completely overflow when the dishwasher did it's thing. It didn't. Whew. But I vowed to go to the hardware store first thing in the morning to get a replacement switch.



Fortunately I'd watched my dad install it and we both knew that the switch was faulty but not enough to be a hazard, just annoying (you had to press down firmly to make the disposal come on, call it a safety feature......). While Linnea had her morning nap I located the correct circuit breaker to shut the power off and I removed the faulty switch to take to the store.

After a flurry of essential purchases (lightswitches, eggs, big can of baby formula, popsicles for bribery) in three different stores with three busy little kids, we made it home in under an hour and I got the kids occupied while I continued my electrical repair. It was easy enough to match everything up, but I had to call my dad at work with a few questions on what would happen if the problem wasn't the switch, what if I blew the house up, etc.

It was a tight fit but with some makeshift insulating material (double layer of thick plastic cut from bottom of reusable grocery bag bottom) I got it to fit back in oh so snugly and Voila! The disposal works even better than before. No more holding down the switch. It was actually kinda fun and empowering at the same time. All those years "helping" my dad out on different projects actually paid off. It did feel a little funny to be handing the kids snacks one minute and the next going back to wiring a light switch. :)



I was on a roll though. Once I got the disposal switch working, I decided to fix the hall light 3-way switch that was broken on one end AND add a 3-way dimmer to the family room. [FYI a 3-way switch is what most people think is a 2-way switch (2 switches control the same light), but there has to be a third wire connecting the switches to each other, not just to the light. in case you were wondering] If I was going to go through the electrical panel figuring out which switches went to which rooms (they weren't labeled very accurately) then I might as well do them all. The one in the hallway was tricky because it was older and the wire colors didn't match up like they did on the online DIY searches I'd done. That was a longer phone call to my ever-patient dad.

I'm actually looking forward for it getting dark tonight so I can enjoy my new ease of electrical illumination. No more walking to the other end of the hallway to turn the switch on/off (so lazy....). No more dated ivory switch coupled with newer white switch plate (does this bug anybody else or is it just me?) No more saying "I wish there was a dimmer on those lights" when Matt and I are watching a movie at night or rocking Linnea.

So that was pretty much my day. Now I really want to find the perfect "Amy Matthews" toolbelt to use around the house. (Anyone else watch her on HGTV or DIY? Makes me think I should've been a contractor!) It could come in handy for so many things from hanging pictures (high on my to do list) or installing any number of shelves or random things like that around the house. Oh, and my crazy headlamp came in handy once again. : )