I’m back in Honolulu for the winter holidays, visiting my parents, and I’ve been looking forward to this trip for months. Especially after spending about $41,000 renovating and furnishing her father’s neglected two-bedroom attached to their home.
The goal was simple: to check if my in-laws could live well with my wife, daughter, and son. My wife and daughter would get one room, and my son would get a sofa bed in the living room. I slept in the main house, as I would not disturb my parents. This arrangement will hopefully provide maximum sleeping comfort.
You see, our daughter does not sleep well. This past summer, my wife had to sleep with him in the big house for five weeks because it didn’t have enough bedrooms. His sleep was disturbed almost every night, and it was painful.
When I saw him go through that, I was determined to get rid of the in-laws before our next family trip. I wanted everyone to have their own place and get the rest they deserve, a rare and overlooked commodity when traveling with children, unless you can spend a lot of money on vacation rentals.
The In-law Unit Wasn’t Almost Ready To Go
The remodeling process was straightforward in theory, but the execution was a different story.
Despite ordering the furniture in July 2025, the dining set didn’t arrive until early November. The store repeatedly promised delivery, but postponed it due to “warehouse issues.” After the second tease, I left a negative review. Miraculously, the manager finally came in, found the furniture, and moved it back to another location.
Longer than the furniture delay was getting the refrigerator and washer from Best Buy. Ordered in early July, they finally arrived only on November 28th, a week after my sister and I surprised my dad for his 80th birthday. I honestly can’t imagine how the Honolulu fixers manage such a long delay.
Fortunately, when I was in San Francisco, the refrigerator fit into one of the doors of the in-laws’ unit, the plumbing was installed, and there was enough space for the door to open fully. Best Buy’s installers confirmed that the washer and dryer worked, and my parents, who were understandably hesitant to test new appliances, were satisfied that everything was. he looked good.
I was confident that as long as there were no leaks or faults, testing the electronics myself when they returned would be fine.
The House Almost Burned Down
The washer was running fine, except for a few soap particles running down the drain. I think it’s nothing. We will just wash smaller loads and use less detergent.
Then came the dryer. My wife loaded it up and gave it a quick 30 minute test run. After 17 minutes, the smell of burnt plastic filled the room. He stopped the machine and called me. Something was very wrong.
I went outside to look at the hole. It was then that I found a half-burnt, half-painted metal ball thrown in front of the hole. I could smell burnt metal, paint and plastic. My first thought was, “Well, that explains the smell.” Maybe my aunt had put a ball in there to keep geckos and bugs from getting inside.
We ran the dryer for another 13 minutes to complete the cycle while venting the laundry room. The burnt smell still persisted, but it wasn’t too bad. Problem solved, or so I thought.
The Burning Scent is coming back
Two days later, the smell returned during a quick 30-minute dry test. The hole was clear, but the burning plastic and metal smell returned!
Then I checked the dryer plug and it was there burning hot in touch. I turned off the dryer and waited 10 minutes, then took it out. One prong was burned, and the electrical receptacle itself remained hot.
I did some research online and found out what the problem was: the dryer was probably fine, but the receptacle and wiring were damaged. If the prong burns, the wire must be replaced. Reusing it is a serious fire hazard as the vulnerable prong burns quickly.
Related: View Your Tenants as Caregivers of Your Rental Property
Electrician to the Rescue
I called the electrician the morning after Christmas. He opened the container and confirmed my suspicions: the positive wire was burned, probably due to a screw that was loose over 55 years. Past leaks may have contributed.
The plug would heat up to about 300 degrees internally, which would easily burn lint, drywall paper, or wood framing during a typical 60-minute cycle. That’s how fires start. First inside, then outside.
A trip of breakers appeared excess volume, not excess heat. And because I had an old three-prong outlet without a dedicated ground cord, the dryer had no built-in protection for tripping the breaker during operation.
Repair
The electrician first brought in a three-prong cord, which fits into the existing outlet. After getting four prongs in the box, I decided to upgrade to a four-prong receptacle, which is now standard code and includes a dedicated ground wire.
He picked up a new cord and receptacle at a local hardware store and installed it in a little over an hour. I turned on the breaker, watched the dryer for 20 minutes, and the plug stayed cool. No burning smell, no overheating, nothing. Thank goodness!
I couldn’t believe it. I almost burned down my parents’ house twice. Luckily, we were home both times and stopped the dryer as soon as we noticed the smell.
The total cost was $266, which was good as I was guessing $400 to $500 in my head. I paid him via Venmo for my poker winnings.
Lessons Learned About Fire Prevention in Home Appliances
- Check the wiring before installing a new appliance. Make sure the receptacle and the total amount of the home can handle the load. Dryers, space heaters, hot tubs, and ovens draw a lot of electricity, while microwaves and hair dryers only use high power for a short time. If you’re buying a house, open all of these things at once to see if there are any burglars on the move.
- Upgrade old stores. Replace three-prong outlets with four-prong outlets where possible. A dedicated ground wire provides a low resistance path during faults and helps the breaker trip faster. Make sure your outdoor areas are weather resistant (WR) as well.
- Check the internal wiring. Even if the appliance is new, a burnt wire inside the receptacle or a loose connection can turn it into a serious fire hazard.
- Check the electronics carefully. If you are hiring installers, tell them what kind of space you have. Ideally, proceed to the four-prong outlet first and inspect the appliance while standing nearby.
- Do not leave washers or dryers unattended. Washers can overflow if filters are not installed properly. Lint can clog the drain and cause dirty water to back up. Dryers can get very hot if cords or cords are compromised. One small oversight can ruin hours of work or thousands of dollars in repairs.
- Consider replacing old wiring. If your home still has knob-and-tube wiring, upgrading to modern Romex wiring dramatically improves safety. Home insurance companies probably need this upgrade as well.
- Unpack everything before you leave for the trip. Although you should have proper circuit breakers in place, if you plan to leave your house unattended, you may as well unplug all electrical appliances. The same goes for shutting off the main water line. With a lease, see your tenants as caretakers of your property, and ask them to do the same.
I’m so thankful that we didn’t leave the dryer unattended. If we had, the $41,000 rebuild would have gone up in smoke, and I would have had to start over and spend more money. Apart from the financial loss, I would have felt completely defeated and ashamed if the fire had started.
All I wanted was to make the in-law unit a place for my parents or family to live. Causing a fire despite my best intentions would have been disastrous, especially if it resulted in injury or worse. Please know the details of your home insurance before a fire occurs.
Great Pictures to Take
This experience reminded me of something I think about investing: preparation matters, small mistakes compounded, and vigilance save you from catastrophic losses that can take years to recover from. Just like looking at your portfolio or reviewing your financial allocations, checking your home’s wiring and electrical appliances can prevent disaster.
Electronics are like an investment. You can have the best intentions and tools to improve your quality of life, but if the infrastructure behind you is flawed, your risk is much higher than you realize. Stay on top of your home maintenance as you make your investments.
I use it Empower tracking my overall worth. If you have an account and link more than $100,000 in investments, you can get a free update and Epower experts. I’ve used their free offering over ten years ago and this year, and both times I learned something new that helped me build more wealth.
Empower is a long-term partner of Financial Samurai. I have used their free tools since 2012 to help track my finances. Click here to learn more.
Student Questions
- Have you ever experienced missing household items or cables? How did you answer?
- If you have an older home, have you upgraded to three-prong or knob-and-tube wiring?
- What are some things we should look for and do to prevent fire at home?
Invest In Real Estate Passively Instead
After nearly losing $41,000 in remodeling and imagining a fire destroying everything, I am reminded of how much stress and work comes with managing property. Regular maintenance, upkeep, and supervision can quickly take control of your health.
That’s why I turned to real estate investing Fundrise. You get the benefits of real estate, including income, appreciation, and diversification, without the worry of leaky faucets, broken dryers, or tenant problems. Fundrise has it all for you.
If you want to build wealth through real estate without the headache, Fundrise allows you to invest smartly and passively. Start small with as little as $10, track your progress online, and let the experts manage the details while you focus on what’s most important, your health and peace of mind.
Fundrise is a long-time sponsor of Financial Samurai and I have invested over $500,000 through Fundrise to date. The older I get, the less I want to deal with physical possessions.
