So, after having the dryer vent cleaned out for the first time ever, we tried using the dryer, and it was still giving us grief, not drying fully, etc. So, the husband decided to bite the bullet, take advantage of Independence Day sales, and bought a new washer/dryer set. Got it all installed, ran the first load through both, and it wasn't dry after one cycle. Started a second cycle and it gave us an error code indicating that the vent was 95% blocked. Yay!

Called the dryer vent guy, made an appointment to have him come back out. This time we attacked it from the outside (made all the more fun because it vents at the top of the third story, but was reachable by standing on a roof overhang from where the kitchen pops out slightly). He ended up ripping off a too-small outside dryer vent cover that was not letting the vent flap open fully, pointing out that none of our neighbors had a similar vent; they all had the fairly standard looking large covers that allow the flap to open fully. Yay weird design choices. But after doing that, running a large air pump blowing from where the dryer hooks in, and going at it with his little bendy vent brushes, finally a large explosion of lint showered him, the neighbor's tree, and our backyard and kitchen roof overhang. Huzzah! He cleaned out all the newly unblocked lint, hooked the dryer back up, and confirmed it was indeed blowing air out by watching the vent flap open when we turned the dryer on, and we were good to go. No extra charge, though I did tip him again.

The husband is running the fancy new washer now, so he can run a load through the dryer before we go out to the movies this afternoon. Fingers crossed that everything is now hunky dory, and it'll dry like it's supposed to.

On the one hand, annoying that we replaced the old washer/dryer set earlier than we might have needed to. On the other hand, we wouldn't have known the vent was still blocked without the error code from the new dryer. And the husband has a fancy new w/d set that alerts him when it's done through an app, so he doesn't have to remember to set a timer (and I'm happier because it's a much more energy/water efficient set of appliances, and because he's happy).

Contacted the contractor we used on the apartment last year to see about having him come replace the outside covers with standard ones that won't block the flaps.

Late update added: He's run three loads of laundry today, and they've all come out perfectly. And, since it's a modern front loader, the clothes don't have a lot of water left in them for the dryer to work on, so both machines are working less than the previous ones. Huzzah!

Tonight will likely be the first freeze of the season here at the new townhouse, which makes me glad I shut off the outside water this past weekend (all three - garage, rear, and roof deck). Thankfully the water company put on, and the previous owners left on, instructions on what to do in the fall and the spring to prepare the things for the winter and the summer, which made the process pretty easy. Ah, home ownership.

The husband had to go to the office today for work reasons, so I drove him to and fro, mostly because I don't really want him on public transit with the numbers going up in our area, if I can avoid it (and I could). Rush hour getting out of DC on NY Avenue stinks on ice - the timing of the lights is not conducive to moving the volume of traffic through smoothly, and of course everyone misbehaves with blocking intersections, which further screws up the traffic. One of many reasons I am happy not to drive to work on a regular basis.

Work is work, home is home, life is the same almost every day under the pandemic. Whee. Gearing up for the insanity of Xmas decorating, as the husband has already said he's going to go nuts this year. There are already two trees (one rainbow!), possibly more coming. As long as he can find room to store them, sure. But if he starts making noises about a storage unit that's when I put my foot down. We don't need that much stuff. It made sense to have one when we were in a 1BR apartment, not in a four story townhouse. That's just too much.

It's only 8pm, but it feels like it's so much later with the sun going down so early. Kill standard time and put us on daylight savings (or, as the Brits call it, 'summer time') year round. 'Kthnxbye.