Helpful Hints

In a moment of procrastination, I started cleaning my emails.

Let me back up. I'm still unemployed. A couple weeks ago I had an interview for a job with the city. I ranked #2 on the test, but after the interview, I got a nice letter telling me that somebody else better suited for the job was hired. I've been running into that quite a bit, because I'm overqualified (mainframe computer programmer, Bachelor's degree in Psychology) and underqualified (no experience as an admin, receptionist, in fast food, or working with a cash drawer) for most of the jobs in my area.

On one of my visits to the local office of the state career center, they told me about some ROP classes (state-funded vocational training) in the medical field. I went to Orientation and got special dispensation to skip the required Medical Essentials class, due to my having already aced Anatomy & Physiology and Medical Terminology. So now I'm in a 3-month class that will give me a certificate of proficiency as a "Medical Assistant (Front Office)." With that certificate, I should be able to say I'm perfectly qualified for the jobs I'm looking for (provided I look in medical clinics).

Anyway, I'm supposed to be reading the exciting chapter about how to answer the phone and take messages. It's so thrilling, I decided to clean up my email inbox, where I ran across an email my mom forwarded to me called, "DID YOU KNOW?"

There were a couple hints that referred to dryer sheets. One said to keep one in your pocket to repel mosquitoes. Next time I'm somewhere near stagnant fresh water, I might try it.

The last helpful hint had this to say about dryer sheets:

The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the fil- ter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material ... I'm sure you know what your dryer's lint filter looks like. Well .... the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn't go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that's what burns out the heating unit. You can't SEE the film, but it's there. It's what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free ... that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box ... well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months. He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long! How about that!?! Learn something new everyday! I certainly didn't know dryer sheets would do that. So, I thought I'd share!

Note: I went to my dryer and tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water and a nylon brush and I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it ... the water ran right thru the screen! There wasn't any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

Love those exclamation marks on almost every sentence!

But an even better piece of advice is to save the dryer sheets for the mosquitoes. At least, don't use them on your towels. That lovely residue that builds up on your lint screen also coats your towels and makes them less absorbent.

So there you go. Helpful dryer sheet advice. If you want to know the other hints (how to deal with squirrels, fruit flies, and ants, and much more!), send me an email and I'll forward my mom's email to you.

Now back to learning how to schedule appointments...