If clicky changes to mushy
One facet of home tenancy is the “I should fix that” list. It doesn’t matter who gets to file the deed in their strongbox, if you live there, you have a list. It could be the screen on the deck door that you barged through, or a squeaky floorboard. For us, we’ve have (had) a mushy light switch.
Not exactly broken; that would move it to the top of the list. Rather, a switch that sometimes did what it was supposed to. And sometimes didn’t. Imagine getting up in the middle of the night, looking out the window and seeing a well-illuminated rectangle on the lawn, from the garage window. That despite having turned off the light earlier. The switch had its own priorities. Mushy. A perfect explanation.
We picked up a new switch, at the hardware store. They have them in stock, most days. And then I started to overthink my next effort. Changing a light switch is basic maintenance. Throw the power ,replace and test (the switch). Not black magic. However, we’ve had a number of electricians through in recent years. The labels on the breaker panels reflected a historical state. Imagine a world map, from abother century.
The solution is to throw breakers. Not randomly. With someone else letting you know that darkness had fallen. And once you were safe, you just get the right size of screw hammer and get “busy”.
Today, I handed the job over to an apprentice. Sorry, a co=worker. I no longer feel at ease with half-sighted efforts, and letting someone else learh the “ropes” is a time-honored response. We now have a new light switch. 3-way. And I may start to use the moniker “Sparky”. Interim. You don’t want sparks where home wiring is involved. Back to the list. The screen for the deck? Weather strips over the door. To be determined.
