17 January 2022
There must be some sort of metaphor illuminating the dual ongoing issues of Joyce's medical supplies and the rattling dryer vent. I just can't see the connection. But they're clearly orbiting the sun on the same path.
Last Wednesday Salwa the LVN brought a box of supplies, including plenty of 6x6 bandages. I had just started using only two 6x6s to cover the wound. They barely stretch across but they allow the skin to recover from the irritation of the adhesives.
In the middle of Salwa's visit, Jennifer the Physician's Assistant called in response to an email I sent Dr. Tong Tuesday about all this. She had just talked to Byram and confirmed an order of 100 a month for us with a partial delivery the next day.
And the next day FedEx did indeed drop off a case of Mediplex, about 40 bandages.
But when I inspected the delivery later, I saw it was only for the small ones, which are useless. They're smaller than the 6x6 pads. I'd have to use four to cover the wound and because they are shaped like butterflies, it would be hard to align them.
So I send Dr. Tong another email about the issue and email Byram that they're the wrong size and we want to return them so we aren't charged.
On Friday, since we haven't heard from Byram, we call them to refuse the small Mediplex order. The clerk had to talk to a supervisor who clarified the situation. One hundred large ones are coming on Jan. 17 so these were just meant as an emergency order. Keep them or toss them. But we don’t have to pay for them.
Later in the day I return Catherine the Physician's Assistant's call about the Byram mess. She says Jennifer ordered the emergency supplies. I tell her they’re too small. But we should be getting 100 each month of the large ones by subscription, she confirms.
Just before dinner, Mike from Byram calls in response to the Web form request to return the Mediplex. He says the emergency order was a mistake and never should have been sent. He also says the 100 large one will be delivered on Saturday, the next day.
I ask him what kind of lead time he needs since we ordered these on Dec. 29 and we're only now getting them. He says it doesn't work that way. You can only order once a month. Feb. 12 would be the next time. I ask him again about the lead time. "We have it in stock," he says. So why'd you send the wrong ones?
Even with 100 bandages a month, which is more than they've been supplying, that’s only a 25-day supply, leaving us a week short before we can reorder (and wait two weeks) for more. Right.
And no, he says, contradicting both physician's assistants, there is no subscription to deliver us 100 a month. He's a supervisor, he says.
The full order of 100 large Mediplex did arrive the next day. But I'm still using the two 6x6s because I won't get more Mediplex until the end of February most likely.
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YEAH, SO HOW'S that dryer doing?
Every week it's the same thing. It starts out quietly, just as if a repairman were here, and by the end of the hour run, the vent is rattling.
There are two kinds of noises. There's the clipping sound when the internal vent backs into the fan. That's gone.
And there's simply a rattle. The internal vent knocks against the cabinet.
So every week I've come up with a different strategy to solve the problem. And every Sunday when I do the laundry I find out how that worked.
The first thing I did was replace the stiff vent hose with the lightweight flexible one. I discovered in the installation instructions that the hose should be pushed into the brown plastic housing surrounding the internal vent. So I did that even though it was hard to get it in there.
I also used spring clamps instead of screw clamps because they seemed more secure.
Didn't work.
So I resolved to go back to the elbow coming out of the dryer, pushing that all the way in and securing it with a screw clamp. Then I attached the vent hose to that with a spring clamp.
I also managed to get the dryer down on the floor in the back with no blocks using just two blocks on the front to level it.
Didn't work. But I could quiet the rattle by cranking up the right front foot as it ran. So we were getting somewhere.
To prevent the clipping sound I cut some corks down and used them as spacers between the flange on the elbow and the plastic housing. One wasn't enough but three did work.
To get around the rattle, I tried to reposition the new vent hose so it didn't flop down. I just took the slack out. And that was better this week. The rattle was reduced to a slight knocking that raising the front foot above level eliminated.
I've thought about putting some plastic spacers between the plastic vent and the elbow, maybe three of them in a triangle configuration, to keep the metal vent from rattling. But I'm close to eliminating it, which would be preferable.
There was one other puzzle I noticed. A small puddle behind the dryer. The vent has leaked before (when the elbow fell off) and there was nowhere near that amount of water. Just a small puddle.
So I investigated, snaking my lithe torso under the sink and behind the dryer to feel the vent. Perfectly dry. So where was the water coming from?
I felt the cold water hose the dryer uses to create steam and it was damp. Ah ha! Condensation from the hot vent to the cold water line. So I moved the water line away from the vent.
So every week I try some small change, test it for 15 minutes and, when it falls short on Sunday, come up with another approach for the next week.
There's nothing obviously wrong with the unit. It dries. Maybe somebody left off a hanger on the internal vent. But I'm not keen to pay someone to take the entire dryer apart to find out. You can't just take the bottom or the back off, you have to dissemble the entire unit.
Can't wait until next Sunday to see about the condensation and whether I need spacers back there.
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WHAT ABOUT the metaphor?
If there's a lesson is these aggravations it's that you are your own best resource. Unfortunately.
If we can get 6x6s from in-home nursing, we won't need Byram. In fact, Salwa and Kevin the RN have been happily supplying everything else we need from Kerlix to ADP pads to solutions, ointments and other things.
And as for the dryer, you can believe it will stop rattling completely one of these days soon. It has met its match.
Or so I tell it every time I clean the lint screen.