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Mechanical Geniuses

April 16, 2015
I have a couple of male friends who seemingly can fix any household problem. One has installed toilets, light fixtures and a hot water tank at my house. In his "real" life, he's the CEO of a company he co-founded. But for years, he owned rental properties and he taught himself to do a lot of home repairs. Another friend, whom many of us refer to as "McGuyver," can fix ANYTHING.

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I have a couple of male friends who seemingly can fix any household problem. One has installed toilets, light fixtures and a hot water tank at my house. In his "real" life, he's the CEO of a company he co-founded. But for years, he owned rental properties and he taught himself to do a lot of home repairs. Another friend, whom many of us refer to as "McGuyver," can fix ANYTHING. He's been troubleshooting issues with my dryer this week, fixed a leak in my upstairs bathroom a few months ago and last summer, replaced fascia board behind the gutters on my house. From 9-5, he's an IT guy. (And yes, I realize I'm incredibly blessed to have such generous and competent friends.)

I’m no home-repairing CEO or mechanical genuis like McGuyver, but sometimes I surprise myself.

Like most people, I have a healthy respect for electricity and for sharp objects. I have never reached into the blender or mixer while they’re running. I would never pull grass out of a running lawnmower – though I have a friend who did and lost the tips of two fingers – a reportable workplace injury, according to OSHA. I would never reach into a running garbage disposal and I would never work on anything electrical while it is plugged in (appliance) or while there is live current (light fixtures).

I almost have too much respect for these things, perhaps because I so often write about workplace “accidents” that leave employees maimed or worse. Even when appliances are unplugged, I worry that perhaps there’s just a smidge of current remaining. (What do I know? I never claimed to be an electrician or electrical engineer!). Even when things like lawn mowers and garbage disposals are turned off or unplugged, I worry that they might start up again. (Poltergeists, perhaps?!)

As a result, I’d rather leave repairs – large and small – to professionals. But once in a while, I decide to take matters into my own hands.

Two of my greatest personal moments of pride as an adult have come from fixing things: I replaced a light fixture a couple of years ago and last night, I fixed my garbage disposal.

Those of you who have fixed a “broken” garbage disposal are laughing at me right now. I can hear you. Apparently, 90 percent of the time, garbage disposals are not broken, they are jammed. A little turn of a special key under the motor or a jiggle of the blades from above and most are fixed in seconds. I did not know this. Mine has been broken for THREE YEARS.

Last night, when I got home from work, I turned to YouTube. You can learn how to do just about EVERYTHING on YouTube. I watched three videos and felt that my training was complete. I didn’t have the special key mentioned in the videos, so I carefully unplugged the garbage disposal and using a wooden spoon, turned the flywheel counterclockwise. I ran some water through it, plugged it in, turned it on and viola! There was the wonderful grinding sound of a happy garbage disposal.

Sometimes repairs are quick fixes, sometimes they require professionals. I guess the key is knowing which ones we safety can handle ourselves and which ones we should contract out.

I don’t know much about  fixing broken appliances, but I’d be happy to fix your garbage disposal and look like a mechanical genius while doing it.

About the Author

Sandy Smith Blog | Content Director

Sandy Smith is content director of EHS Today. She has been writing about occupational safety and health and environmental issues since 1990. She has been interviewed about occupational safety and health for national business publications,documentaries and television programs, has served as a panelist on roundtables, has provided the keynote address for occupational safety and health conferences and has won national and international awards for her articles.

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