The plug for our “new” dryer. We found a Frigidaire washer and dryer set at an estate sale for $200—a great deal when you consider that you can easily pay $400 for each piece if you buy new. When we bought them I didn't pay much attention to whether the dryer was gas or electric, but was happy to later discover that it was electric and that our house was wired for an electric dryer. So far so good. But when we got the dryer moved in and I tried to plug it in, I discovered a small problem—our basement was wired for a 220-volt dryer with a four-prong plug (pictured at right), but our dryer was a 110-volt dryer with a three-prong plug. What to do?

A quick trip to Ace Hardware and about an hour later, the problem was solved. I simply pulled the wires out of the 220-outlet and wired 3 of them (positive, negative, and ground) up to a new 110-outlet. The extra wire from the 220 line I just cut and capped with a wire nut so it's not being used. Everything seems to work fine now and if we ever do get a 220-volt dryer it won't be a big deal to wire up the 220 outlet again.

Homeownership. Isn't it fun?