I cannot fathom why the light in the laundry room seems to be possessed, but it certainly does seem to have a mind of its own.
Since we have moved into this house, I have had nothing but problems with that stupid light. It doesn’t matter how many times Lin tests it, takes it apart, rewires it, or what kind of light bulb we put into it, the end result is that when it feels like it, it will flicker and then turn itself off … leaving me either frantically pulling the cord over and over to get it to come back on or just trying to get the things done I need to get done in the dark.
Last night while I was doing the laundry, it started flickering, and then it went dark. Pulling the cord over and over never brought it back to life, so I stole one of the compact fluorescent bulbs from the kitchen and switch it out with the standard bulb that was up there. As soon as the new bulb was in the socket, it came right back on. The bulb that had replaced it was not burnt out. I went about my merry way finishing up the laundry with no more issues other than the usual sense that that light fixture is possessed by demons.
Jump to this morning when I realized I had gone to bed with the jeans still in the dryer. I ran to the laundry room, stepped out barefooted into a freezing cold puddle of who knows what (did it rain last night?) and pulled the cord to illuminate the pitch black room. No light was forthcoming. I pulled and pulled and pulled, and still no light came from the perfectly good bulb in the socket. I did what I had to do in the dark and cold with my poor feet in whatever liquid I was standing in slowly freezing.
I just don’t get it. Sure, Lin will look at it again, check all the wires and voltages, and then it will work for another few weeks without incident, but I know in my heart of hearts, it will just start doing the same thing again at some point. Perhaps I need to start tracking when it does this. Maybe I even need to cross track that information with the times my cell phone screws up. Either there’s some sort of mysterious power at work or it’s just me doing what I tend to do with electronic things … make them freak out and malfunction (really, this tends to happen when I am highly stressed out — very weird).
I don’t care if it’s a haunting or me electrically jinxing things, but I just wish I could count of some of the basics of life working in a regular basis, like my cell phone alarm and the light in my dark, cold, possum-infested laundry room. :angry:
Fluorescents don’t like cold, especially those cheapies without ballasts. If it’s the kind with the little twist-in starter, you need to replace it (the starter) when it starts sparking for several seconds before lighting the bulb. Also, use only brand name bulbs. And, unless you know for a fact that the installation is itself securely grounded, don’t stand barefoot in anything wet while pulling a cord; it could somehow become wet, even just damp, and become an effective conductor, with your body one big resistive load.
The last time Lin powered down the house to work on some other wiring, he took that whole damn thing apart again to check everything AGAIN, and the wiring is just fine. Grounded and everything. The fixture is fine. Nothing broken, rusted, or otherwise messed us. He tested the lines and everything is getting the juice it should. I’m telling you … it’s Satan Spawn!
Really, it’s rare when Lin throws his hands up on something electrical, but he’s at a loss. I just want the whole thing taken down. It’s spooking me out. :D
I think about being electrocuted every time I turn that light on. I have this … phobia … about electricity. The fact I was out there without my rubber garden clogs on was sheer non-awake stupidity, what with the various wildlife one can encounter and the fact that room only gets to be called a room because it has four things that could be called walls and something like a floor. One of these days, I look forward to doing laundry in a room with heat and air conditioning … and lights that STAY ON!