The Nice People Thread, No.16: A Universe of Niceness.

Pyxis

michaels wrote: »

I suspect the stats would say you are much likely to get injured driving to work in a hurry than from leaving a running washing machine unattended

I agree.
The stats show that the roads are deffo the most dangerous place to be, especially if you are in a vehicle.

An elderly relative of mine used to be paranoid about unplugging everything at night, especially TVs etc. I could understand why, as I had been brought up in the days of valve TVs, and it was very important to unplug them when not in use. However, he now had a modern TV, but no video recorder.

I once stayed with him for a while and brought my video recorder to use. Then I spent a night away and set the recorder to record something I really, really wanted to watch.

When I returned, I found he had pulled the plugs on both the TV and the recorder, so of course, I didn't get my recording. I was livid! I kept explaining that modern recording machines don't have valves that can overheat like in the olden days, and that they are built with the intention of being left on, but it fell on deaf ears until I asked him why he didn't unplug his fridge or freezer every night too.

At last the penny dropped.

LydiaJ

GDB2222 wrote: »

In 2010-2014, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 166,100 home1 structure fires that involved cooking equipment per year. Almost half (46%) of reported home structure fires were caused by cooking.

Unattended cooking was by far the leading contributing factor in these fires and fire deaths.

In 2010-2014, U.S. fire departments responded to an estimated average of 15,970 home structure fires involving clothes dryers or washing machines each year.

The vast majority of fires (92%) involved clothes dryers.

Refrigerators, separate freezers, and separate ice makers together were involved in 1,710 home structure fires reported to U.S. fire departments per year in 2006-2010. These fires resulted in two civilian deaths, 56 civilian injuries, and $50 million in direct property damage per year.

So, my interpretation is that washing machines caused around 1300 fires, which is only marginally less than the 1700 caused by fridges and freezers. Over 14,000 caused by driers. Over 166,000 caused by cookers.

http://www.nfpa.org/news-and-research/fire-statistics-and-reports/fire-statistics/fire-causes/appliances-and-equipment/cooking-equipment

http://www.nfpa.org/news-and-research/fire-statistics-and-reports/fire-statistics/fire-causes/appliances-and-equipment/home-fires-involving-clothes-dryers-and-washing-machines

http://www.nfpa.org/news-and-research/fire-statistics-and-reports/fire-statistics/fire-causes/appliances-and-equipment/home-structure-fires-involving-kitchen-equipment

Do you have equivalent stats for the UK? You can't make direct comparisons between electrical appliances here and in the US. Since their mains voltage is less than half of ours, their appliances have to run with more than double the current in order to get the same power output. I can't say for sure what effect this has on fire risk, but I'm sure there is an effect of some kind. (If you google for this you will find discussions of why UK 240V poses a greater risk of electrocution than US 110V. Clearly for that kind of risk, higher voltage is more dangerous. But for fire risk? Electrical fires are caused by the current being too high. Lower voltage appliances need a higher normal operating current to produce the same power, so I would imagine that US appliances with a higher normal operating current would be at increased risk of overheating if the current gets a bit too big. But I am guessing...)

PasturesNew

Painting is very slow going.... managed to paint the top 6 horizontals of one side of the shed .... which is nearly half way.

Just painting "bits I fancy" at the moment. There's no rhyme/reason or structure to the bits that get painted... just "what I fancy".

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

Painting is very slow going.... managed to paint the top 6 horizontals of one side of the shed .... which is nearly half way.

Just painting "bits I fancy" at the moment. There's no rhyme/reason or structure to the bits that get painted... just "what I fancy".

You're missing a trick there, Pastures; you could apply to Ronseal to be their new adbreak ad.............


https://youtu.be/8yJLiocXGFE

PasturesNew

Pyxis wrote: »

You're missing a trick there, Pastures; you could apply to Ronseal to be their new adbreak ad.............


https://youtu.be/8yJLiocXGFE

He's doing it at my speed. But then I get bored after a few strips and stop.

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

He's doing it at my speed. But then I get bored after a few strips and stop.

I have now....reached the end....of the first bit. All the "publicly viewable" parts are now one-coated.

I had to speed up as it looks really shabby when you've started but not completed....

Next stop - Mastermind. Specialist subject - The Applications of Chromatology

GDB2222

LydiaJ wrote: »

Do you have equivalent stats for the UK? You can't make direct comparisons between electrical appliances here and in the US. Since their mains voltage is less than half of ours, their appliances have to run with more than double the current in order to get the same power output. I can't say for sure what effect this has on fire risk, but I'm sure there is an effect of some kind. (If you google for this you will find discussions of why UK 240V poses a greater risk of electrocution than US 110V. Clearly for that kind of risk, higher voltage is more dangerous. But for fire risk? Electrical fires are caused by the current being too high. Lower voltage appliances need a higher normal operating current to produce the same power, so I would imagine that US appliances with a higher normal operating current would be at increased risk of overheating if the current gets a bit too big. But I am guessing...)

Very good point that I don't have an answer to! The highest power devices are driers, which appear to be 12 times more likely to cause a fire than washing machines in the US. Yet PN's stats paint a different picture. That's odd, because I expected the most likely cause of fire in a drier is a failed thermostat or timer. Whilst these are under more stress in the US because of the larger current, it would not be hard to make switches than can handle that reliably. We clearly don't have enough data on the modes of failure.

michaels

I thought the big problem with dryers was a build up of lint in filters not being cleaned regularly and in some models this leading to the fans overheating and said highly combustible lint catching fire.

Jazee

Pastures, that's lovely.

Unfortunately Poppet the puppy found a dead hedgehog on our walk yesterday. Such a shame when they're so much under threat.

Poppet has woken up full of energy this morning. I've spent nearly an hour playing fetch and she's still full of it.

Pyxis

PasturesNew wrote: »

Just wandered outside and I saw a "strange shadow showing under the front gate", so I went for a quick look, although it looked like innocent shadows of some weed/the bush .... opened the gate and there was a hedgehog. Bless. He was making a little grunting noise, so I shut the gate quietly and listened.... I could then hear him rootling about in the tiny stones alongside my house brickwork - I hope he finds something nice to eat.

Aw! How lovely! Lucky you!

Jazee wrote: »

Pastures, that's lovely.

Unfortunately Poppet the puppy found a dead hedgehog on our walk yesterday. Such a shame when they're so much under threat.
.

Maybe it was old and it's time was up? It might have had a natural lifespan.





Re. Drier maintenance....... well, I guess a lot of people don't read the manuals that come with these things. Or else they do, and then forget.
I've had wired-in smoke detectors for so long that I'd forgotten that I also have a battery-operated extra one that the fire brigade fitted, near my washing machine, when I had one of their free inspections.
It was only when I posted about it yesterday that I remembered and went to check it.

My aircon machine also has a filter at the back that can be removed for cleaning. I usually see to it at the end of the hot season, when I also empty the condensate. It has never looked particularly dirty, though. No lint, just dust build-up, I suppose.

That's making me wonder if the washing machine needs anything done other than a good clean every so often? I don't remember needing to check anything filtery, as it's not a drier as well.

At least the dishwasher filter is visible every time you open it! I occasionally find a wayward teabag there, that didn't get emptied out of a mug oroperly.