Dangers Of The Electric Shower Heaters

I don't know if there were any warnings about this danger explained in the instructions that came with the heater, but we are certainly aware of the danger now. Yes, for those unaware, it's very common not to have hot water heaters for the whole house. Many have an electric water heater in the shower head. Sounds crazy to mix electricity and water, but somehow it works.

Sister took a shower the other night but failed to turn the water off completely and since she can't reach the switch for the shower settings, she couldn't turn the water to NO HEAT as we usually do after a shower and were told to do by the electrician who hooked it up. There are three settings for the shower head. HOT/NO HEAT/WARM. Sister likes to take HOT showers. With the water just barely coming out it caused the heating element to overheat. Thankfully Sister was out of the shower when this happened. I was at work but could still smell the results when I got home. There was a lot of snap crackle popping and a flame then the lights in the house flickered. Papa was close by and got the breaker turned off in a hurry. It was over fast but here are the remains of our hot water shower heater:





The showers have been terrible cold the last few mornings. Brrrrr.....

Chair Project

The top photo is of the table and chairs the first week the kids and I first got to Honduras in June. Bright, sparkling new they look - eh? I knew immediately upon seeing the chair seats they wouldn't last. I probably had the chair turned upside down within two hours to see how the seats were connected so that I could be sure I would be able to reupholster. There were three screws holding the seats in place. Easy.

I mentioned to my mother that I needed some upholstery that could wash easily but also needed to be cheap. Looking out for her daughter, my mom brought a bunch of this beige colored upholstery vinyl from the states last month when my parents came to visit.

You can see how desperately it was needed. It took a matter of days until the original seat coverings were wrecked and disgusting looking. The new upholstery has been on for a few weeks now and things are holding up great and cleaning beautifully. At least until my two year old may take a tool or permanent marker to it. But so far so good.