Was It the Earthquake This Morning that Did My Clothesline In?
@marsha32 (6631)
United States
September 3, 2016 12:04pm CST
The clothesline pole has been loose for a few weeks now. We assumed the moles in the yard had loosened up the dirt around it.
Well, we had an earthquake this morning that was 5.6 on the Richter scale. It was about 7 am. Hubby came in to see if it has woke me up because the whole house shook. Nope, I hadn't noticed it.
I was going out to put clothes on the line to find the one pole all the way on the ground....including the bedding I washed yesterday on the ground too.
We soon discovered that the reason the pole was moving was because the metal had rusted and it was broke.
The guys are out back now trying to fix it. They put a fence post in the ground and placed the pole over that. They are working to find a way to stabilize it.
An animal has chewed through wiring under our house, including the wiring to the plug in for the dryer. Hubby thinks he wants to go buy wiring and re-do it himself. Yeah, I would prefer he not mess with wiring since he has no idea what he is doing. (makes me just want to scream!!) The other wire that we know of that is chewed through goes to the dishwasher, which we've not used since mom moved in because she prefers to wash the dishes by hand.
I need a windfall so that I can pay to have a real electrician out to fix the wiring!!
Wish me luck is what I will ask right now.
The picture is one I took on another day with clothes out on the line.
33 people like this
27 responses
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
4 Sep 16
wiring isnt a good one to do yourself unless you know what you are doing, can cause a fire
3 people like this
@Jessicalynnt (50525)
• Centralia, Missouri
4 Sep 16
@marsha32 pretty much, and that sort of thing takes forever and is miserable, not worth it
3 people like this
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
4 Sep 16
@Jessicalynnt After I wrote that, it hit me that the insurance might not cover if it was known that he was doing wiring himself....in fact, it probably would be null and void.
2 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
3 Sep 16
i'm glad that'cha didn't get any damage from that earthquake, hon. i hear ya'n rodents chewin' through wires...the hubs knows electricity, jest doesn't always wish to go under the house to resolve the troubles (hence the entire livin' room 'avin' 'xtension cords, albeit heavy duty - big fire hazard...). i hope that'cher able to get 't all resolved soon. big 
3 people like this
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
4 Sep 16
We could sure use another plug in in our living room.....or 2. I have 2 powerstrips that are full by my desk and plugged into one of those is another power cord, which has a longer cord on it so hubby can plug in his technology when he sits down on the other side of the couch.
2 people like this
@crazyhorseladycx (39515)
• United States
5 Sep 16
@marsha32 oh dear, sounds like ya've got a fire hazard 's well. i keep hopin' the hubs here'll fix the power'n the livin' room here. he's fully capable...kinda like the work needed to complete the front 'f the house 'n puttin' those danged windows 'p that've been sittin' out'n the garage goin' 4 years now. sigh.
1 person likes this
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
4 Sep 16
He's "worked" on, which included spending $70 at the hardware store for an olm tester...which upsets me even more as he has one somewhere that he just can't find in his mess and he just went off as usual spending money without paying the bills.
3 people like this
@GardenGerty (157769)
• United States
3 Sep 16
Was the pole not set in concrete? I guess a fence post is a decent solution.
3 people like this
@Hate2Iron (15730)
• Canada
3 Sep 16
Good luck lol! Hopefully hubby will listen to you about the wiring... but if he is anything like mine, he will have to learn the hard way!!
3 people like this
@CinnamonGrl (7083)
• Santa Fe, New Mexico
3 Sep 16
Oh nooooooooooooooooooo, animals can do such a number on wiring. We get squirrels chewing on stuff around here. Not very handy!
That's a bummer finding your clothes on the ground. Exasperating!
Good luck on your windfall. I want one of those too!
3 people like this
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
3 Sep 16
You know, I have 3 traffic exchanges and 1 mailer that are way long over due on paying me for my cashouts. I guess I will never see it though as 2 of them are from January 31st. I have sent numerous support mails asking where is my money with no reply.
Not that those 4 would be enough to pay an electrician though.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118691)
• Gainesville, Florida
4 Sep 16
We have squirrels in our area that love chewing threw the cable tv wires in people's houses. The cable guy said they like the taste in the rubber/vinyl coating protecting the wire. He said they are starting to make the cable wires with a foul tasting chemical added in to try and keep the squirrels from chewing the wires. Personally, I think they chew it because it's soft and they can bite down on it easily when they are teething. Similar to how we give babies teething rings when they are teething.
2 people like this
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
4 Sep 16
The board that is to cover the crawl space on the side of the house just lays there so hard telling what kind of animal got down there....the cats can get in there though and come in through the closet in the basement....which is a little scary but there has been a few times that the smell of skunk was very strong inside the house!
2 people like this
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
6 Sep 16
@GardenGerty That's funny....there is a hole on the front porch that has a steel wool stuffed into it. I wonder if that's why they put it there.
1 person likes this
@Macarrosel (7498)
• Philippines
4 Sep 16
You know if we're neighbors, my husband could help you for he knows and he's an expert about electricity. He can fix them for free.
3 people like this
@andriaperry (116860)
• Anniston, Alabama
4 Sep 16
I am with you on the wiring, if its not right it could burn down the house.
3 people like this
@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
4 Sep 16
Is that the earthquake that they say is man-made? Electricity can kill. Better not to mess with it if we don't know what we are doing.
2 people like this
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
5 Sep 16
@1hopefulman ah ha....sounds like it could be the cause for sure as I heard this one started in Oklahoma.
2 people like this
@1hopefulman (45123)
• Canada
5 Sep 16
@marsha32 See here:
Oklahoma earthquake: Government scientists warned in March that oil and natural gas drilling had made a wide swath of the country more susceptible to earthquakes.
2 people like this
@LeaPea2417 (36552)
• Toccoa, Georgia
4 Sep 16
That is scary about the Earthquake. One time many years ago, when I was out West, there was an Earthquake tremor that I was a part of.
2 people like this
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
4 Sep 16
We had one one evening that shook the house too and apparently I was so into what I was doing on the computer that I even missed that one.
@GardenGerty (157769)
• United States
5 Sep 16
@simone10 Us too as far as cars go, but hubby has pretty good car ability.
2 people like this
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
4 Sep 16
I need to get with it and get more of my stuff listed in my etsy shop and more of my books listed for sale on half.com and see if I can get some of the money in that is needed.
However, it's not the only thing we need extra money for. My car has sat in the driveway for 2 years in November with something wrong with it and no money to have a mechanic check it out. I really want to drive it again!!
2 people like this
@Tampa_girl7 (49217)
• United States
4 Sep 16
Glad you weren't harmed by the earthquake.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
5 Sep 16
While wiring is not necessarily difficult to do, I prefer to hire an Electrician when something goes wrong with the wiring here. One little mistake made with wiring could cause a short which could damage expensive equipment. It is also possible that a small mistake could cause an electrical fire which could cost you not only your home but your lives as well.
I would hazard a guess that the clothesline pole was about ready to topple anyway, but the earthquake could easily have finished sending it to the ground.
You might suggest to your husband that stabilizing the pole in a bucket of Quikrete (commercial concrete which comes in a bag ready to be mixed. you just add water and let it stand.) buried in the ground would probably be the quickest and most stable way I can remember. (One of my brothers owns a construction company. I worked for him for a couple of years when I graduated from High School.)
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (157769)
• United States
5 Sep 16
@marsha32 Under ten dollars and it is something you and Liz can do.
2 people like this
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
5 Sep 16
I hear that the Quikrete isn't very expensive either. I will have to put him on that next week or so. Or my daughter and I will do it ourselves.
He's more interested now in getting that 220 outlet working again for the dryer, but he knows me and my frugal ways that I enjoy hanging the clothes out.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (137142)
• United States
5 Sep 16
@marsha32 As long as you LIKE doing that, I don't see the harm in waiting until you can actually afford an Electrician, then. The only real drawback I know about is that you need to shut off the electricity and tightly cover those wires so nothing can accidentally electrocute itself on them and start a fire under the house.
I just looked it up online, Marsha... here is a link to it:
Shop Quikrete? Concrete Mix (1101-10) - 6 Pack
1 person likes this
@marsha32 (6631)
• United States
5 Sep 16
@miniam You would never convince him of that.
He changed the thermostat in my car and now it's been almost 2 years since I've driven it. I'm told he probably put the thermostat in upside down by what it's doing, but a huge argument ensues every time I bring it up.
1 person likes this
