I try to be nice to all living critters. I don’t want to kill anything unnecessarily. There’s enough killing that’s considered necessary in this world.
So when I heard the banging of some little critter in my dryer tube that vents my dryer to the outside, I knew two things. One, I didn’t want to kill it. And two, I didn’t want it to die in the tubing as I suspected the smell would get pretty ripe after I ran the dryer the first time.
So I did what I always do in a panic. I called Lenny. I would have probably called Harris since he it was his turn but he was in Barrow. So Lenny had to do an extra turn as my “loaner” husband. Thank god some of my friends married men who were not only nice, but capable of helping out in a crisis like this. Then, of course, there are my friends like Elaine who married a very nice man who is not allowed near anything in anyone’s home that he could possibly break.
Anyhow, Lenny said he’d come over after work. So all day I heard periodic rattling and scrambling in the tubing. I checked the outlet and saw that the wire mesh that covered it had fallen off far enough for some furry creature to get in for a warm night’s sleep. I left it off in the hope he/she would find her way back out before someone else joined the party in the tube.
Sometime around 4 PM, my dogs finally noticed something odd going on in the laundry room. Apparently it didn’t catch their attention until at least two hours had passed without them getting a treat so they were obviously starving and suddenly sensed a meal nearby. They growled and pawed and barked at the tubing which rattled back at them. I sat in my office trying not to get hysterical.
The dogs finally gave up and took a nap. Things got quiet. Almost too quiet.
Lenny came by soon after. We positioned ourselves to fight the demon. I brought out a plastic coffee can. Lenny slowly removed the tubing and immediately clapped the coffee can lid on top of the opening. Then he shook the tubing. Nothing. So he unhooked the other end of the tubing, covered the opening and shook again. Nothing. Then he looked at me, quietly replaced everything and went home to what he clearly viewed as a more sane household. Knowing his wife, I would beg to differ on that opinion but since she loans me her husband so willingly, and he comes here to help so graciously, I’m not going to suggest she’s even crazier than I am. But you are, Kate. And you know it.
Anyhow, the whole episode gave me an opportunity to clean out behind the dryer, which has become a burial ground for Dobie sponges I keep accidentally dropping behind the dryer. I now have three more than I did yesterday this time.
I replaced the grating on the dryer outlet in the hope that it will discourage any other little critters from climbing in.
And I stick to my story that there was something in the tubing because I know that between me and the dogs, one of us had to be right.