A friend of mine told a story about herself that, while she was embarrassed about telling me, she also thought could be a helpful reminder for
others.
Jeanne sat down to order some new filters for her vacuum cleaner. To her surprise, most filter packages had two different kinds in them. Two? Uh-oh.
Digging out her use and care book, she found instructions for removing and washing both filters. Oh, dear. She pulled out her vacuum cleaner and found a very dirty filter she had not changed or
cleaned...ever! Perhaps it was because it was much less obvious than the the other filter.
Lesson learned. She ordered new filters, vowing to be more diligent in the
future.
After that, she went through her file folder that contained use and care booklets for other appliances. Fortunately, she did not find any oversights as egregious as the vacuum cleaner one.
However, she did learn (or relearn) a couple of things. Like how to change the speed of the electric toothbrush that she has been using for years...and never knew. She also discovered that she really should be using distilled water in her steam mop.
Rereading can save trips to the repair shop or even prevent the need to replace appliances and gadgets...which could be very expensive.
Elaine's pre-lit Christmas tree only lit up in one section when she plugged it in over the holidays. She could not find any burned-out lights, and it was not supposed to fail if a single bulb or two burned out.
She and her husband were considering buying some new strings of lights to put on the tree when she decided to look at the instructions.
She found that, likely, her problem came from blown fuses in the plugs where the lights on the tree connected. There were even some extra fuses in the bag with the use and care instructions.
After watching a YouTube video on how to change the fuses, Ellen and her husband were able to fix the tree.
There are lots of things that can be fixed or adjusted that you might not have paid attention to when you first read the manual. (You did read it once or at least skimmed through it, right?)
Hints like how to adjust the volume of the signals on the washer or dryer when the cycle is complete can come in very handy. Or how your dishwasher really ought to be loaded. Or all the ways to adjust the picture on your television. Or those mysterious error messages that show up on everything from instant pots to sewing machines.
And, of course, there are the manuals that come with cars...that are about the size of War and Peace. You can learn or relearn a lot by reviewing those reference books. Many vehicles have enough screens and buttons that it can be a challenge to even change the clock when daylight saving time comes or goes.
So consider giving your instruction manuals a quick reread one day soon. Avoid those surprises that some of my friends had...and maybe even learn something neat that you didn't realize was even possible!
