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Buying a couch is awful. Prices all over the place, very few reliable reviews out there, so you're basically just taking a big guess about durability and comfort. You can get SOME idea of comfort if you try in person, but that's harder in these times, and even then it's just a first impression. Anyone have strong recommendations? Considering a Pottery Barn option, or maybe just a random one from CostCo.
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Nov 28, 2020 16:35
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Honestly, I've had really good luck with estate sales and Craigslist. My favorite couch ever is a rock solid hardwood craigslist freebie. Do you have much of that around where you are?
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Nov 28, 2020 16:43
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We got a good one from Article. They make good stuff.
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Nov 28, 2020 16:54
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Pretty disappointed with the one we got from burrow. It's not really holding up super well and we've only had it for a few months
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Nov 28, 2020 16:58
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Only couch I've ever felt was genuinely worth the money and space was a pottery barn "Seabury". Their performance upholstery is actually cat claw proof, too, if that's a factor.
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Nov 28, 2020 17:15
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Current couch is a giant red leather beast that is indestructible and the most profoundly comfortable couch I’ve ever sat it. Unknown provenance, c. 1980s, extracted from the lovely college house I lived in for a while and then moved with us twice. It’s in our living room but will ultimately end up in our TV den after a restoration job (yes I love this couch so much I plan to pay tons of money to restore it). Other couch I will be getting is my grandma’s antique couch. Carved wood framing, very pretty and also comfortable. Needs reupholstering. That will eventually go in the living room. I’d honestly be terrified about buying a new couch. We were out furniture shopping for some arm chairs and stuff a while ago and all the couches sucked. Like Restoration Hardware had nice well built ones but they were so loving deep that you’d need a huge room to contain it and three layers of pillows to sit on it properly. There’s a lot of awesome-looking mid century stuff available nowadays, but I’ve seen mixed reviews on what is flimsy trash and what is actually comfortable. Overall I don’t think I’d buy a couch that I wasn’t able to sit on first. I second checking out Craigslist and estate sales. Might also be a good idea to talk to vintage/antique dealers and ask them to keep their eye out for what you’re looking for. Good strategy if you’re looking for something specific - dealers have access to lots of stuff.
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Nov 28, 2020 17:15
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We bought a couch from ikea in April last year and tossed it to the curb when we moved in September of this year. We have pets that are hard on our furniture but even I was surprised at how dingy and saggy the whole thing looked after just one year. We replaced it with something my parents gave us from their house then covered it with a stretch cover and throw blankets so it would match our new house.
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Nov 28, 2020 17:20
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Academician Nomad posted:Buying a couch is awful. Prices all over the place, very few reliable reviews out there, so you're basically just taking a big guess about durability and comfort. You can get SOME idea of comfort if you try in person, but that's harder in these times, and even then it's just a first impression. Did this twice, and the first time I ended up going pretty hard in to research. For our "good couch" we ended up buying a Hancock and Moore Chesterfield style couch. Nice red/Brown leather that we'll end up keeping forever. For our upstairs couch we just ended up with a crate and barrel sectional that was the only thing that was low enough to go up our third floor staircase. Edit: http://www.myfurnitureforum.com/ the owner of this forum is pretty active on it, answers questions, and owns a store that will ship/sell good furniture for a discount.
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Nov 28, 2020 17:21
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When we bought the house, the Ikea sofa (which was the only thing that fit through the prior apartment doorways) went into the basement tv area. After 7 years the cushions are in surprisingly good shape. The replacement was a Sactional from LoveSac. It's not the fanciest looking sofa, but it's fairly comfortable and the covers to every piece are washable, which is a solid plus with toddler and two cats. Cushions are also in good shape, but I should fluff the back cushions more often. I'm actually pleased with how both the Ikea and Sactional have held up, to be honest. We have dreams of turning the formal sitting room area into more of a parlor, so we'll probably shop for a nice sofa some day.
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Nov 28, 2020 17:55
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The previous owners left us their brown leather couch and matching recliner. For the first while sitting in their butt-groove was like sitting on a warm toilet seat but now I consider it my butt-groove. We were very worried about finding a good couch, since they're all either crap or expensive, or both. But as soon as we started telling people we needed a couch they all seemed eager to offload their current one for a small or no amount. Unfortunately this only works if you have the freedom to choose your livingroom pallet or be willing to have a mismatched couch in your decor.
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Nov 28, 2020 18:23
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StormDrain posted:We got a good one from Article. They make good stuff. Seconding this... we bought one from Article two years ago and it’s held up nicely. Plus it looks fabulous, I love the 60s puke green midcentury look 
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Nov 29, 2020 07:45
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My wife cannot wait to pull the trigger on a love sac sectional because of that whole washable covers. I haven’t actually checked them out much to see if their styling will give me a heart attack but I also know that being a kids and dogs house means really nice statement pieces are a thing of the past.
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Nov 29, 2020 13:29
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Orr like you could buy 2-3 couches. When I looked into them I decided that it was just too much $
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Nov 29, 2020 14:09
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Pretty sure we waited for a sale, my wife watches timing on that like a hawk. Styling wise, it's a little plain and boxy, but it's not actively ugly, so that's a solid plus. She also bought one of the pillowsac cushions, which she sometimes gets to use, mostly it's the world's biggest, comfiest, priciest cat bed. Talk about a pampered cat! That cover gets washed reasonably frequently.
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Nov 29, 2020 15:34
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I know air filters get talked about every so often in here, but I'm in Sweden and can't always find the same stuff. Does this seem decent? https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Purifier-Activated-Allergy-Sufferers-Bacteria/dp/B0823KY9XZ The main goal is removing pet allergens and dust.
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Nov 30, 2020 02:17
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I also like my Article furniture but I haven't had it long enough to comment on durability. I have a Sven sofa and a Mod chair. I went to the local furniture warehouse store that advertises constantly on the OTA and sports channels for the first time now that I'm in "can afford something that didn't come from Ikea or Craigslist" territory and I was shocked by how much they sucked. It must be exclusively boomers keeping these people in business. More expensive than most internet retailers and it takes literally months to get your order in; the sole benefit is that you get to sit on the couch before you order it. You'd have to be an idiot to buy something like a bedroom set from them.
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Nov 30, 2020 02:32
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Darkrenown posted:I know air filters get talked about every so often in here, but I'm in Sweden and can't always find the same stuff. Does this seem decent? Hepa is the key word there, assuming in Europe you can actually trust product listings. Make sure you figure out how many dbm it puts out and how often / how many € filters are going to run you.
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Nov 30, 2020 03:17
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BRAKE FOR MOOSE posted:I also like my Article furniture but I haven't had it long enough to comment on durability. I have a Sven sofa and a Mod chair. Hey I'm posting from a Sven as well. I did like in the instructions it says something like, fluff the pillows from time to time, but they will get a slouchy lived in appearance, embrace it. Which I do. It's very comfortable and we have done more than the average couch sitting this year. Honestly I basically lived in it for a couple months. Work from couch, unemployed from couch. I got a similar impression from American furniture Warehouse. They had a ton of stuff and we liked about 5-10 items total. If you eliminate whole swaths of furniture that's apparently popular the choices get easier. No leather for us, no recliners. Nothing rustic. No gimmick furniture. No beige. No floral. We did get a nice green velvet couch with tufting that is intermittently used because of where it is. It looks and feels great though. We still, after being here nearly two years, need a pair of chairs for that room to complete the set but we've been very apathetic about it. It's more of a place to hang at parties or with guests but... You get it.
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Nov 30, 2020 06:30
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I had leather my whole life until my current setup of all fabric furniture I can't wait to go back to leather
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Nov 30, 2020 06:34
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GoGoGadgetChris posted:I had leather my whole life until my current setup of all fabric furniture You must not sit on your couch naked very often.
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Nov 30, 2020 17:16
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Update on my new roof. We've have some heavy rains lately and so far so good! Now if they would just come back out and reinstall my gutters!
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Nov 30, 2020 18:03
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I got a letter from my HOA (addressed to the previous owner) saying that they didn't pay the 2020 HOA dues. They were due in March. We moved in early-August, part of the purchase agreement is that the sellers are supposed to pay everything so the new owners are free and clear until the following year. Based on that, we didn't escrow a partial payment for the rest of the year. I was going to reach out to my HOA but I didn't want to draw attention to it if I didn't have to. The fact the HOA is still addressing things to the PO tells me that the HOA doesn't even know I moved in. What's my course of action here? It's not an oppressive HOA or anything based on what I've gathered and the neighborhood is old.
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Nov 30, 2020 22:16
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I'm not a big fan of taking advantage of liberal return policies, but Ikea is a massive multinational corp so We've been buying Ikea "KIVIK" leather couches, primarily the 89" 'sofa' with the chase addition, and another time we made a L shaped couch with two of the 74" 'love seat' and a corner piece Ikea leather is nice and thick, we don't have a dog, but two cats, never had a puncture etc. Stitching never ripped out, the cushions never sagged etc. The one or two minor scratches we had from the cats, the leather underneath was the same color etc etc so it was dyed all the way through We ended up returning our old couch each time we moved within the 365 day limit, then buying a new one, and they were all equally good. If the couch brand was not "Ikea" my wife probably would have let me buy another one for our new place One thing to remember with couches and mattresses is that they take between 2-7 days to begin to break in
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Nov 30, 2020 22:18
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I had my heart set on a Kivik with chaise a couple years prior to moving and needing to buy an actual couch, then when I moved and visited an Ikea again they all just looked so sloppy. The fabric covered Kiviks, anyway. Though maybe it's unfair to judge the look of a piece in their showroom that is getting bounced on by every Tom, Dick, and Harry Jr. walking by it? They are certainly comfortable...
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Nov 30, 2020 22:57
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Sirotan posted:I had my heart set on a Kivik with chaise a couple years prior to moving and needing to buy an actual couch, then when I moved and visited an Ikea again they all just looked so sloppy. The fabric covered Kiviks, anyway. Though maybe it's unfair to judge the look of a piece in their showroom that is getting bounced on by every Tom, Dick, and Harry Jr. walking by it? I dunno, I kinda want to see the high mileage poo poo. Every rear end in a top hat and their kid has belly flopped onto it? Great. Because that's what mine is going to look like in a few years of me flopping my goony rear end into it after work. I get not wanting furniture to look shabby and sloppy, but I also can't be hosed to baby crap I use on a daily basis. If something needs to be treated like a fabrige egg in order to keep looking at least acceptable I need to know so I can avoid it. It's a big part of why I like used furniture. If something's already got some miles on it you can judge how it's going to wear. You'll see the high points where finishes get scuffed or dull, you'll see how the fabric or leather handles someone's rear end being on it a few hours a day, you'll see if the stitching wants to give up the ghost after a while. Note that "used" doesn't mean "crappy" either. I've got some nice, solid as gently caress, good looking furniture that I've accumulated over the years that way. Of course this also requires some flexibility about having everything match. All my poo poo looks good together (at least I think it does) but it's not some showroom matched set of furniture either.
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Nov 30, 2020 23:03
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How is it every clothes washer review just shits on that washer? I think I know the answer (the people who are going to leave a review are usually upset), but it’s making purchasing one stressful as hell. I even broke down and got a consumer reports subscription and still feel paralyzed.
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Nov 30, 2020 23:51
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Buy this Maytag (I own this model and I love it) or buy a Speedqueen that is not a 2018 model and you should be set (if you want an old school top loader, that is).
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Nov 30, 2020 23:59
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TheWevel posted:I got a letter from my HOA (addressed to the previous owner) saying that they didn't pay the 2020 HOA dues. They were due in March. We moved in early-August, part of the purchase agreement is that the sellers are supposed to pay everything so the new owners are free and clear until the following year. Based on that, we didn't escrow a partial payment for the rest of the year. I was going to reach out to my HOA but I didn't want to draw attention to it if I didn't have to. In my experience, there was a line item in the closing break down that showed that the previous owner paid until the end of the year, and then we paid them back for that portion. HOAs are also poorly managed so it's quite possible that they 1) do have your info and/or 2) the previous owner did actually pay, but their automated system doesn't know. I think you should talk to them to sort it out, and reminder that title insurance may protect you here if the PO didn't actually pay.
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Dec 1, 2020 00:03
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1. Speed queens are worth the money, they were running a 10 year warranty deal when we bought ours last year 2. Yes, unless they are run by a professional management company, all HOAs are utterly incompetent. source: me, someone who is trying to make his HOA as incompetent and as useless as possible intentionally
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Dec 1, 2020 00:18
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The house I just bought came with a brand new Speed Queen set and they own
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Dec 1, 2020 00:22
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Hawkeye posted:How is it every clothes washer review just shits on that washer? How many positive/neutral reviews have you left for something as boring and mundane as a washing machine?
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Dec 1, 2020 00:46
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TheWevel posted:I got a letter from my HOA (addressed to the previous owner) saying that they didn't pay the 2020 HOA dues. They were due in March. We moved in early-August, part of the purchase agreement is that the sellers are supposed to pay everything so the new owners are free and clear until the following year. Based on that, we didn't escrow a partial payment for the rest of the year. Check your closing disclosure, there should have been a line on there for pro-rated dues (similar to pro-rated property taxes). On ours it was just listed as "assessment <closing date to end of year>." If it's on there, and they didn't pay it, then they owe you. Contact your closing attorney and ask their advice. If you didn't use an attorney, then call a few real estate attorneys and ask them for a free consult. Unless it's a lot of money, or there are other issues (late fees, liens, loss of privileges for common area/amenities, etc.), they'll probably just tell you to eat it. Not worth going after them for a few hundred bucks. TheWevel posted:I was going to reach out to my HOA but I didn't want to draw attention to it if I didn't have to. Don't ignore it. Even if they're not "oppressive" they do want their dues. If they've sent a letter out, they're keeping track, so don't count on them to ignore it. My HOA has rules that say the seller needs to get the HOA involved in the transaction. Your seller may have violated those rules. Whether they care or will go after them who knows, but you want to make sure you're not on the wrong side of the HOA. They can tack on late fees, attorney fees, and place a lien on your house, and even foreclose. It probably won't get that far, but they have way more power than they should. Reach out to them and let them know that you're the new owner and that the PO was supposed to have paid them. Worst case you'll have to front the money and try to recover it from the PO. Side note: don't open mail addressed to the PO. That's a federal offense. Even if it's from the HOA, if it's not addressed to you then you can't open it. Mark it as "return to sender: does not live here" and pop it back in the mail box.
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Dec 1, 2020 02:00
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Hawkeye posted:How is it every clothes washer review just shits on that washer? Try reading through what the wirecutter has to say, I thought they had some really good points and tests: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/the-best-washer-and-dryer/ They also have a really interesting article about speed queen and the 2018 efficiency changes and how newer models get around it: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/speed-queen-review/ Apparently they’re not as big of a fan of speed queen. Several of the front loaders they tested were gentler on the test strips and cleaned better, and speed queens need a lot of water to wash well. Here their excerpt about Speed Queen durability, which they point out several big caveats: “Yale Appliance says that it sold 243 of these machines in 2018 and performed 65 service calls—a service rate of about 27 percent, which makes Speed Queen the most repair-prone brand that Yale Appliance has sold in any significant volume. This figure could reflect a large handful of faulty units that needed multiple service calls, rather than dozens of machines that each needed one visit, but it’s not an especially encouraging sign when the average service rate is closer to 13 percent for top-loaders and just 10 percent for front-loaders. However, Speed Queen is offering a whopping 10-year warranty on any washers sold through the end of 2019, much longer than any other brand—if you do need service, you won’t have to pay for it for a long, long time.” This is the washer I finally caved and bought: https://www.homedepot.com/p/LG-Elec...00HWA/312439700 No reviews as it has yet to be delivered though
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Dec 1, 2020 02:42
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Pretty sure we bought that same washer and dryer earlier this year and we love it
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Dec 1, 2020 06:59
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So yall are the assholes preventing me from washing my clothes for 2 weeks  Just moved in to our new house expecting to be able to just go buy a washer and dryer... turns out front loaders are gone everywhere and many have lead times out to March! We got lucky one store had a few coming in unaccounted for but ugh. We have so much crap to wash after moving (towels as cushions etc.) we now have like a 4 foot pile in the laundry room.
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Dec 1, 2020 07:33
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We had a pretty big rain storm, and now the outlets that have the Christmas decorations plugged in outside (that my wife demanded to put out early ) aren't working. I've tried to reset the breaker without any luck, and one of the indoor outlets on a different circuit has a light with a GFI that won't go out/let me reset it. Anything else I should try before a I call an electrician?
Residency Evil fucked around with this message at 13:45 on Dec 1, 2020 |
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Dec 1, 2020 13:32
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Residency Evil posted:We had a pretty big rain storm, and now the outlets that have the Christmas decorations plugged in outside (that my wife demanded to put out early You've def got a short somewhere due to that rain and it's tripping the GFI. I have like 6 outside outlets and they tie back into a GFI inside my garage. For a while the breaker for the outside outlets keep tripping and what was causing it was the plastic cover box on one of the outside lights had fallen off and everytime my sprinkle system ran it was now hitting that outlet tripping the GFI in the garage and then the breaker. I'm not sure if any of that helps, but, there may be another GFI somewhere inside that is tripped possibly.
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Dec 1, 2020 13:54
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Residency Evil posted:We had a pretty big rain storm, and now the outlets that have the Christmas decorations plugged in outside (that my wife demanded to put out early So are you sure that the indoor GFCI is not related? Outdoor outlets will have a GFCI somewhere, and if it's not built in to the breaker then it's an outlet somewhere. It's typically in the garage, but depending on the age of the home it could be elsewhere. When you say resetting the breaker does nothing: does this mean that the breaker itself is tripped? Or that you flip it off and back on and nothing changes? Do you have "in use" covers on your outdoor outlets? And are the covers closed completely? Or are they the old flap-style covers that only seal when nothing is plugged in? If it's an in use cover and it's closed, then might be that the seal against the siding is no good and water is getting in that way. If it's an old flap-style cover, then they're not designed for things to stay plugged in, so this is going to happen every time it rains. Otherwise, I'd start by unplugging all the decorations (and anything else outside) and then try to reset the GFCI you know is tripped. If it works, then the problem is in the decorations somewhere (e.g. a plug sitting in a puddle or something). If the indoor GFCI won't reset still, that might be a separate issue and you'll need to hunt down the GFCI that protects the outdoor outlets. If you're certain that the indoor GFCI is protecting the outdoor outlets, then without decorations it would mean that an outlet got water in it somewhere down the line. Electrical thread is here: https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3090739 Actual electricians hang out there, I'm sure they could come up with a quick answer if none of the above helps. (edit: changed some things for clarity, haven't had coffee yet  )
DaveSauce fucked around with this message at 14:21 on Dec 1, 2020 |
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Dec 1, 2020 13:56
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mattfl posted:You've def got a short somewhere due to that rain and it's tripping the GFI. I have like 6 outside outlets and they tie back into a GFI inside my garage. For a while the breaker for the outside outlets keep tripping and what was causing it was the plastic cover box on one of the outside lights had fallen off and everytime my sprinkle system ran it was now hitting that outlet tripping the GFI in the garage and then the breaker. Yeah I'll have to explore this when I get home. I have a few outdoor outlets, and they all work except for the one that these lights are plugged in to. DaveSauce posted:So are you sure that the indoor GFCI is not related? Outdoor outlets will have a GFCI somewhere, and if it's not built in to the breaker then it's an outlet somewhere. It's typically in the garage, but depending on the age of the home it could be elsewhere. I have no idea if the indoor GFCI is related or not, but it's on a separate breaker. The decorations that weren't working aren't plugged in, but I'll try more stuff when I get home. I don't think the indoor GFCI is protecting the outdoor outlets, since there's a separate GFCI outlet outside, but I'll try a few more things I guess. I spent this morning just resetting all of the circuit breakers downstairs and I'm still stuck.
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Dec 1, 2020 14:51
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| # ? May 9, 2024 13:49 |
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OSU_Matthew posted:
Crazy this is the exact same washer I pulled the trigger on today for my new house. It had good reviews at Best Buy at least.
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Dec 1, 2020 21:29
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