Brit Reacts to 4 Ways British and American Houses Are Very Different

[@AlystraKriss]

For me, the best part of having a separate washer and dryer is that once you transfer the washed clothes to the dryer you can start another load of wash while the first loads dries. So its faster to finish the laundry.

[@mschigyrl5625]

exactly. i’m running a laundry assembly line. I almost considered a combo unit but then it would take twice as long to do laundry

[@bobbiejojackson9448]

Yup. The separate washer and dryer cycles aren't just faster. I've used combo units while on vacation in rentals and the washing cycle takes a wee bit longer, but the dryer is where you see the biggest difference. You can dry a load of laundry in half the time. The interior of the combos are also considerably smaller, so you can only fit about half of the clothing, bedding etc. in each load. Overall, I much prefer having two separate units. It's well worth having to switch out my laundry.

[@jice7074]

@@mschigyrl5625 and most houses are set up to have them side by side. I even keep a spare fridge in my laundry room since it's close to the kitchen.

[@DJVIIIMan]

I have 2 dryers and 1 washing machine because the wash always finishes before the first load has dried. I've also got 2 young kids that produce an ungodly amount of dirty clothes.

[@kageekao5524]

I feel like it's just that buying a washer and a dryer is more expensive than one thing, so it makes more money

[@kimberlywaits6189]

I was already grateful for my home but your videos about UK housing really really reinforces my thankfulness. My husband & I live in the country on 1.5 acres of land with a 4bdrm 2 bath house kitchen living room dining room and built in garage, which is average size. About 2000 sq foot. We have city water but also our own water well, 2 pecan trees, a chicken house and we're about to build a green house. The best part is that it's paid for already. We bought it about 13 years ago when the housing market had taken a downswing. We paid a whooping 81K for the house AND the land and it's beautiful!

[@amyblanton3044]

As far as outlets go, we teach babies not to touch outlets as soon as they can crawl. Some do test the rule, but the feeling of the shock deters them from doing it again. We also have covers for the outlets while we are teaching the kids.

[@TangentOmega]

UK elec is 230v US elec is 120v (only about half the kick if you get zapped)

[@misslora3896]

​​​@@TangentOmegaYes. The jolt of 120v hurts, but it's FAR less likely to kill someone.

[@jaycooper2812]

You need to take the fact that Lawrence left the U.K. over 15 years ago and a lot of the new buildings now have single taps for water there. The washer and dryer in the United States are separate machines but they do a much better job of washing and drying your clothes. The combined machines use less space but they don't remove as much water so it takes much longer to dry your clothes.

[@marydavis5234]

@@jaycooper2812we actually do have washing machine/ dyer combination unit , you can buy in the US, no one buys them as they are very small and would take too long to do laundry.

[@chriswampler1]

When I was a kid I put a paper clip into both sides.

[@annepryor9169]

If you are judging the house sizes by the movies, most people don’t live in houses like that. I grew up in a very small ranch house with very small bedrooms, a medium sized living room, and a small kitchen. No family room, one bathroom, no dining room. We weren’t poor, but we’re definitely working class.

[@kendra9688]

Same

[@momstermom2939]

Ditto

[@shinichi6235]

A ranch is actually nice asab nigga what as long as u got a huge one ur livin

[@Harley_Girl68]

All the same except we had a room that was once a screen porch so we had a den because of that.

[@lorettatayor5840]

yep same hear. my house i grew up in in Nashville, was built in 1949. three bedrooms but smallish-except the "front bedroom facing the street- that was the largest, and my sister slept in there, my mom and dad shared a hide a way bed in the living room, and me and my brother had our own room. small bathroom, living room and kitchen. probably maybe 1000 square feet maybe total. although, people were smaller{?} back then, & the closets were small too. it was fine to grow up in!!! plenty of yard front and back, on a end of the street lot. good times!!

[@gmunden1]

There are socket covers to prevent children from "poking" fingers or objects in the holes. Parents typically childproof their homes before babies are born, so the children are protected.

[@LiveFreeOrDieDH]

For most new construction, Tamper Resistant outlets are now required. They have little internal shutters that prevent a metal object from being pushed inside.

[@lynnw7155]

Plus GFI.

[@Morna777]

​@@LiveFreeOrDieDHIf you get wiring redone they'll put those in. You have to slide the cover to the side in order to plug something in. It's enough of a problem to deter a toddler.

[@laurawing4756]

The biggest difference in housing vocabulary that i keep hearing from europeans is the word garden. We use the word yard to refer to the external portion of our property. A garden is an intentional area of plants, such as a vegetable or flower garden. We don't typically play in a garden. We have public gardens in parks and zoos sometimes. A yard is where you go out in play, send the kids out to run, or place your pets to do their business.

[@elijahperez6506]

Ranch houses are absolutely amazing! They’re spread out and you have plenty of privacy. You can have your own space and see your family at your own discretion.

[@PhxVanguard]

Yup, when I bought mine I went for a midcentury ranch. Solid construction, classic "atomic age" style and because they sprawl in the center, if you have company over for a party or whatever you have room for days. I had walls taken out so the center of mine is a 1,000 square foot flex space for entertaining with the bedrooms, a den and bathrooms on the periphery. I host about 20 or so parties/dinners/bbqs at my house a year though. So I need it.

[@elijahperez6506]

@@PhxVanguard yeah my good buddy has one and the damn spot!!!

[@selfcarewithstephanie3519]

His stats are a bit off. They include apartments and condos. A single family detached home averages over 2500 sqft. I HATE garbage disposals. They can smell, tear up things that accidentally fall in and block your pipes after a while. I can't imagine living in a home without closets. All of our bedroom closets except 1 are at least 100sqft. That is not included in the size of the house. Americans love our storage. I do have an electric kettle. I have tea at night before bed. My kids use them for ramen and hot chocolate. The teapots on the stove are usually decorative.

[@PhxVanguard]

@@selfcarewithstephanie3519 good catch! I thought 1600 sqft seemed really small. Lol

[@ronclark9724]

@@PhxVanguard While in the Midwest many low middle class ranch homes with one garage and three bedrooms with one bathroom run around 1000 to 1200 square feet built more than 50 years ago. Recently built homes are significantly larger...

[@VicEclectica]

To be clear about water faucets: Many, many homes have a faucet with two separate handles for hot and cold, but one tap. There are other, also many, homes with faucets that have one handle for hot and cold, which turns left and right to get the temperature you want. We've pretty much done away with two handles/two taps, but you will occasionally see it, particularly in restoration homes which try to stay true to the era the home was built in.

[@Blondie42]

Strange that Laurence didn't show any US style Victorian houses. They're some of the most beautiful ones out there. To child proof electric sockets parents buy plastic plugs to insert into the sockets. Little kids aren't likely to pry them off

[@nanetteharris3456]

I love the old Craftsman houses.

[@angelajohnson5728]

The beautiful "Painted Ladies" of San Francisco. All Victorian.

[@Blondie42]

@@angelajohnson5728 Yes, indeed. Though I never knew they were called that, thanks 😊

[@lynnw7155]

He also didn't show farm houses. At least in the east, Farm-style houses, built 1880s-1930s are VERY common.

[@falovepa]

About 4 years ago, I bought my mother's house that she built custom in 1985. It's a modest 2 bedroom (2600sf) with partial ocean views. We don't turn on the AC because of the ocean breezes. But what she did with the setup was super cool. In the main part of the house, all rooms are open, with vaulted ceilings with skylights; the only walls are from the plant-filled glass atrium in the middle of the house. So you can see the family room, living room, dining room and kitchen all in the same place. She hand-picked all the saltillo tiles because she was looking for tiles with cat and chicken prints on them that happened in the drying process. I love this house because I see my mom's touches and quirkiness on every corner I turn. I was in high school when she built it and was able to give input on certain things.

[@Out-Of-Service]

Here is the difference with outlets. In the US almost all of our outlets are 110 volts. You'll feel it if you stick something in there but you'll be okay. The UK outlets are around double the voltage, think it's 220 or 240 volts. That can kill you so it's safer to have a switch on the outlet. Also, my house has a built in vacuum system. There are round spots on the baseboards all over the house. You plug your vacuum hose into them and turn on the big vacuum in the garage. You can sweep all your floors without having to drag or push around a big hoover. It's Florida so it makes it easy to get rid of the sand. All tile floors in most houses here because of all the sand.

[@andimproud]

My nephew stuck a bobby pin in there and screamed to high heaven. Decent shock but he was ok. Scared the shit out of auntie, though.

[@KarenCatMom2]

At the time Laurence made this video I don't think he'd ever spent much time in the south. There are plenty of all brick houses in the South because the material needed to make bricks was available here. Birmingham Alabama was a big Center of brick-making for many decades and it was shipped all over the southeast. In the past few decades it's become more popular on middle-class housing to have a combination of brick and some kind of wood siding because brick is so expensive, but the majority of the nicer homes in my city, Nashville Tennessee, are all brick with maybe some slate or other stine added as decoration There's lots of limestone here, which makes it easier to get the material and less expensive because it doesn't have to be transported here from a distance. My mom always said she wanted to brick house because they were more safe during storms. I'm not sure if that holds up if you're talkin about a major tornado but it made her feel better. The downside of having so much limestone very close to the topsoil is that in order to build a basement you have to blow with dynamite all that limestone out from under your building site and that's very expensive so the only people that have basements in my area are those whose houses are built on a hill. My house sits on a very level lot, so no basement. But it is made completely of bricks. In New England or parts of the Midwest or areas that are highly forested you might see more houses made from wood products.

[@jonadabtheunsightly]

@@andimproud Yeah. With sufficient levels of creative idiocy, there are numerous ways to kill yourself with 110V; but they all involve somehow bypassing or compromising the electrical resistance that the skin normally provides. Whereas, 220V is enough to just overpower the resistance and burn right through the skin. 110V will give you an alarmingly unpleasant tingle right through the skin, mind you. It does not feel nice. But it is considerably less dangerous than 220V. (Of course the amount of current also very much matters, but the important difference between the systems on each side of the pond, in this context, is the voltage. The frequency is also different, but that difference is less important to the human body, though older electronics that didn't have switchmode power supplies used to care very deeply about it.)

[@daricetaylor737]

My daughter, when she was about 3 years old, took a bobby pin, opened it up and stuck one of each of the ends in both of the sockets......needless to say she got zapped, and other than being stunned, she was totally fine! That kid of mine, I swear, I still to this day have no idea how she thought of doing that!

[@GrammaNay]

​@daricetaylor737 sounds like my daughter...and granddaughter! (My sons daughter)

[@5Gburn]

Separate washers and dryers are good for a couple of reasons: one is the size; ours are huge. The other is, you can put one load in the dryer and start a new load while the dryer's going. Easy, peasy.

[@conniehom6798]

We do use electric tea kettles. I use it to make tea, hand drip coffee, and for cooking if I need to add hot filtered water in my pot or pan.

[@RogCBrand]

Yes, I'm a tea drinker, not coffee, and I've had an electric kettles for decades. They seem to not realize most Americans are NOT tea drinkers, so THAT is why electric kettles aren't common. But, what's really so hard about using a stove top kettle? My grandma had one and you just turn on the stove and heat up the water... which is what an electric kettle does. Or, I've seen them freak out about using a microwave to heat a cup of water- I can't remember who it was, but they thought that was not sanitary!!! So, the device that is made to heat food, is not sanitary when heating a cup of water??? I really can't understand some of these things, and wonder if Lawrence is just trying to be funny, or if he really believes this stuff, like our "wood houses" having gaps that allow the wind and insects to freely come in...

[@user-mg5mv2tn8q]

When I want tea, I put cold water in a cup and put the cup in the microwave.

[@beckymcdonald8040]

We have separate washers and dryers for 1 main reason... You wash a load, and put it in the dryer, then start the next load washing, while the first is drying, and so on, until all your laundry is done. It takes you twice as long to do your laundry. The single units are available here now, but not popular.

[@ESUSAMEX]

If an American ever were to say he was moving house, he would mean that he is actually picking up the house and moving it to another spot. Companies here can pick up you house and move to almost anywhere for the right amount of money.

[@Aboz]

My parents did this in the late 60s. Sold the old farm house, and it was moved to the buyer's property, and our new ranch house was built at a lumber yard and moved to our place. Both houses had to travel about 50 miles.

[@NannerBrams]

Also with the prevalence of mobile and manufactured homes here, it's very common that people would think you were moving one of those if you used that terminology

[@PhxVanguard]

​@JenBramAR I think mobiles are equally prevalent in the UK. They just call them "caravans" and they've become very popular on the continent too.

[@NannerBrams]

@@PhxVanguardReally? All the numbers I've seen shows it less than 0.4% there. In my county, we have like a 35% mobile home rate

[@PhxVanguard]

@@NannerBrams a single county isn't representative of the country. If I used Newport County in Rhode Island as an example of the average American lifestyle it would give the impression that everyone lived in beach mansions. Less than 18 million Americans out of 340 million live in mobile homes.

[@duphasdan]

While wood houses are common in America, brick houses are fairly common in the state of Georgia. Georgia is well known and famous for the brilliant red bricks made there due to the plentiful clay deposits. Those red bricks have been used for a long time to make factories around the country as well, and were exceptionally paramount in helping the Industrial Revolution fair well in America. The bricks are not only a nice red color that never fades, they are also very strong and very easy to make. Just plop some clay in a mold and bake. As for boiling water, some could do it on the stove. Though most just use a microwave to heat up water. Some people have espresso machines that do that as well, but most still just use a microwave.

[@daniel_sc1024]

Beginning in the 20th century, the majority of "brick" houses in America are actually wood-framed houses with brick veneer on the outside.

[@bettyir4302]

There's also log homes (yeah, wood but not wood planks), stucco, adobe, metal and cinderblock. Some use recycled materials like old tires, glass bottles or haybales. There's all sorts of material.

[@jacobcotton6614]

I think electric kettles are an American invention

[@kenziedayne4234]

Houses here can be wood, brick, stone, or even adobe (mud brick) if you're in the Southwest. Yes, washers and dryers are separate here. No idea why, just the way it is. But I think it comes in handy. I usually do a couple loads of laundry every day so clothes can be drying while I wash a second load. We do have electric kettles and have had them for decades. Maybe they aren't used as much as a kettle on the stove, guess it depends on the person. We have a lot of choices here in the US for how to do things.

[@seattleredhead8811]

I was born and raised in Arizona, and, for whatever reason, stucco exteriors are extremely popular on houses. And when writing this, I realized that I actually don't really know what stucco is, so I looked it up: "Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water." Leave it to us Americans to make up new building materials to put on top of the actual building materials. LOL!

[@GothicDragonX]

Depends on where you live in the US? In NY (Up State), I have a Washer & Dryer combo (One unit. Maybe having two units for older homes? Then again, having separate units is nice for maintenance and less complex regarding repairs.

[@seattleredhead8811]

@@GothicDragonX When he says "one unit" in the U.K., what he means is, the washer and dryer are combined into one unit. You put your clothes in, and then it washes and dries your clothes. They have these in their kitchens. I have never seen or used an all-in-one washer/dryer, but I've had it described to me as "a jack of all trades, and a master of none". Meaning, in that person's opinion, it gets the job done, but separate washer and dryer, whether stacked on top of each other or side by side, do a better job because the machine only has to wash and only has to dry, and not both combined.

[@tomhalla426]

My aunt had a combined washer/dryer, the only one I have ever seen. It did not work all that well. Stacked separate washers and dryers are now more the norm for cramped applications.

[@marydavis5234]

I have seen a washing machine/ dyer unit when I was visiting family in North Carolina.

[@kae-li]

I love how positive you are! Thank you for making wonderful, clean content ~

[@crystallynnesmilezz7682]

I have one washer dryer combo on my lower floor and we have the normal 2 separate units. What I’ve learned is you can wash and dry so much more laundry in the separate units! We have 6 kids, we are getting rid of the one unit and putting our extra set down stairs 😂

[@howtomaketoast8]

We live on 3 acres but we have a veggie garden, fruit trees, chickens, and pigs. We are called homesteaders, and our land size is quite small for what we're doing, but it works. I watch your channel because I love learning cultural differences, your slang included.

[@jacqueline1099]

I’ll take a ranch style house any day… older people do not do tons of stairs!!

[@lindiharris-axon8167]

I have come to the conclusion that it might be better for this old person if I did have steps.

[@TT-rk7pw]

I’m in my 20s, but I’m for ranch just because a 65° basement in August is unbeatable & 2nd stories are insufferable even with AC blasting.

[@Hengebobs]

Kitchen/bathroom outlets for post mid 80s construction usually have GFCIs (ground fault circuit interuptors) and while they CAN be used as a "switch" it's a mini circuit breaker intended to stop a short if water gets in it. Usually there is a "light switch" by the door in a room that is wired to ONE outlet in a room.

[@PhxVanguard]

So the difference between American and British laundry machines (washer/dryers) is the American version is larger and usually in their own room. We have the machines separated for convenience. Back in the 50s and 60s housewives would find it easier to do the laundry on one day of the week for efficiency. So the "drums" were made larger and with the advent of the dryer you could do two loads of wash in the time the first would be done drying and separate out hang dry, machine dry, etc. It turned a task that took several hours over multiple days for an average household of four to a two or three hour task at once, with space in between to load your dishwasher and vacuum the floors or polish the wood block.

[@markmayfield2228]

Down south, a lot of us make sun tea. Gallon size glass container with a spigot. Fill with water, and tea bags. Put on the lid and place outside in the sun. In less than an hour in the heat, you have the smoothest tea. Luzianne is smoother than Lipton.

[@DaInfamous0ne]

Agreed.

[@AlystraKriss]

I know a ton of people, myself included, that prefer the electric kettle. First thing to remember in America is we have choices and tons of options here, so don’t think one choice is the only option 😜

[@enigma___]

Yeah...I have an electric kettle. I like it. It's quick, and and time saving. And it's just cute with that skinny spout.

[@captaincooool]

was introduced to them when my wife moved in with me, I just like the fact I dont have to worry about leaving a burner on. Sound petty but it's been known to happen.

[@TranslunarJezebel]

I have 2 electric kettles. The first electric kettle I had, my sister came over and melted it on the stove, because she'd never had one. I actually cried. But now I have 2, 1 modern one and mid century vintage one.

[@susanmurray7654]

I nuke the water. Brew the coffee.

[@JJfromPhilly67]

Just finally got the electric kettle (gift from my niece) and I love it. As an American, I like ice tea (Earl Grey or English Breakfast) and it makes so much easier.

[@toddm149]

We have an all in one washer dryer and it takes a lot longer to wash and dry a load than having them seperate. It may be the unit we have and certain fabrics like fleece take forever in the all in one it may be because it's not vented. With that said the downside of larger houses is that it's easy to collect stuff or never get rid of stuff because you have the room. It really becomes a huge job for the kids to clean out the parent's house when either they pass or have to go into assisted living.

[@dangray]

I, an ugly American, bought a condo in Poland and immediately added AC. They thought I was crazy.

[@MegaMagicdog]

Never! There's always at least one or two days a year in which the temperatures just soar above normal and people are wishing they had it! SF has that issue too sometimes.

[@ronclark9724]

You can't survive the summer without air conditioning in Texas. In fact many cities have laws forcing landlords to fix their air conditioning within a day or two with many rental properties... Far too many suffer heat stroke during the summer months without the air conditioning...

[@Musicchick60]

1) My house is a brick Cape Cod. My favorite is Craftsman style (lots of wood, lots of built-in custom cabinetry). It was built in 1938. I love old houses, 100 years old or more. My only complaint is that the kitchens are minuscule. 2) Our max temperature this summer where I live in Kentucky 3) Brown recluse spiders prefer cool, dark places. 4) I’ve had both a whistling kettle and an electric kettle. The advantage to the one you put on the stove is that you’re not giving up counter space to your electric kettle.

[@gaslighthotel]

Not sure if Laurence is aware of another particular style, but it is one that was VERY VERY prominent around the turn of the 20th century and that was the Craftsman/Arts and Crafts style. You will see a lot of that style element incorporated into newer houses these days

[@lorrainemiller688]

A personal favorite!

[@AbbieLewisCorrea]

I love craftsman

[@lynnw7155]

And the slightly earlier farmhouse style. They are everywhere in rural areas.

[@Morna777]

The older part of my hometown is almost entirely craftsman architecture. I didn't know what it was called until recently but it makes sense that it would be its own distinct style.

[@ChristaFree]

Y'all run 220 and we run 110 electric in our houses. We have separate washers and dryers so we can wash another load while the first one is drying. When you have kids you'll understand. Lol We have little plastic inserts for the sockets and we teach the babies not to touch them. I have a little house in the middle of 50 acres. It's only 1200 square feet. I have a couple other little 3 room cabins on the land too for family and friends when they visit if they don't want to stay in the house. A getaway. I'll take land over house size every single day.

[@ellenaparicio6416]

The first house my husband and I bought had the master bedroom on the first floor. The first couple of nights, I had the windows open, they had screens. Our bed was pretty close to the window and in the middle of the night, I heard a lion roar. I turned over to see a bobcat looking through the window.

[@Wyomingchief]

Bobcats don't Roar😂

[@lisamarieva3514]

@@Wyomingchief lol, RIGHT?

[@mschigyrl5625]

@@Wyomingchief its usually more of a loud meowish hiss than a roar lol

[@cspat1]

Holey sheets !

[@thatonegirlelaine]

If you have a septic system you can't have a garbage disposal. That's the one thing I miss now that I'm living in the country.

[@tzarinaruths.2610]

Oh each State has its own style in housing due to the weather you experience. That's what determines the type of house you get. Then you get the design our own homes. Not alot of brick homes in Cali but a butt load in the South-withstands the tornados better than a stick house, but those are all over also with mobile homes etc...tornado shelters are your best friend in the South...always know where the public shelters are in case you're out & about.

[@lovemyscotsman]

I live in the country and own 10 acres. Our house is 2000 sq. ft. I would hate not having a separate washer and dryer. It'd take all day to do laundry. Plus we have large laundry rooms for that purpose. Plus we have 2 large refrigerator/freezers.

[@yayakelley7771]

As a hairstylist I learned really fast to use the word “fringe” as opposed to “bangs” when I had a British client in my chair!😂

[@bradparker9147]

We have a thing called instant hot water. This is basically is a built tea pot which is ready to go on demand. It has a separate faucet for your sink and heats the water to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

[@rebeccahull2480]

You mean hot water? Lol. I must be misunderstanding something? Do they have an actual tea spigot hook up or something? That's cool. 😊

[@LaurenD-ew3lt]

Yeah- I have one! It’s a separate small faucet that just dispenses extra hot water from a tank under your sink. Love it! Dispense into a mug and drop a tea bag in it!

[@rebeccahull2480]

@@LaurenD-ew3lt wow I want one. We are renovating gonna look into it. That's awesome.

[@GentleRain21]

There is a house in North Carolina called Biltmore (Estate). The house has four acres of floor space and 250 rooms , including 35 bedrooms, 43 bathrooms, 65 fireplaces, and three kitchens. Definitely one of a kind for this country. I have the idea from watching British dramas that there are a lot of country houses in England that might compete with the opulence of Biltmore. Today Biltmore is a tourist attraction but still runs a winery. Are there estates like that dotting the countryside of England?

[@Dusk1962]

Members of the family still live at Biltmore.

[@karenwhaley8635]

One of the finest homes in the country I ever toured was Hearst Castle. Private outdoor zoo where animals roam free. Zebras, Giraffe among many, indoor Roman pool with 22k gold in every tile think that's pool used in Lady Gagas GUY video?!?, indoor theater, 6 ceilings from the Renaissance, private air landing field, complete view of San Simeon Bay and Pacific Ocean, 43 bedrooms, 61 bathrooms, Gothic study, Library, 127 acres of gardens Egyptian sculpture from 1500 bce. Olympic size outdoor pool with huge marble statues and fountains. There was even an elephant house. There's three guests houses and one was almost 5900 sq. ft. Think it's 250,000 acres land. Gorgeous!! All the big celebrities from 40s and 50s stayed there.

[@thecontentiousasshole]

I’ve been there years ago, it’s beautiful.

[@KJones-qs7ju]

Yes who do you think they were emulating when they built that place? The country estates of the nobility in Britain.

[@Hello_I_am_Jeff]

For what it's worth, garbage disposals are really only meant to catch bits of waste. You should still be scraping the food into the trash. All the disposal does is to prevent the pipes to become clogged over time with large scraps of food build up.

[@jlpack62]

Not true. I have had garbage disposals in my houses since I was a kid and my family has put most food items down them for decades. Some things that don't go down the disposal are chicken bones, pasta, thick rinds, corn cobs and fibrous things likes stalks of celery. It's also not recommended to put coffee grounds down them. That said, my family and I have put large quantities of food down them on a regular basis.

[@Hello_I_am_Jeff]

@@jlpack62 that’sthat’s kinda fucking disgusting dawg.

[@Brirend]

To be honest, the garbage disposal was not designed for use on a municipal sewer system. They were designed for septic systems because the bacteria in septic systems would decompose the food and most houses with garbage disposals had a separate septic tank (known as a grease trap) that was just for the kitchen sink. As long as it was properly sized, it would take the food waste and basically compost it and disperse it into the ground. The companies that manufactured the disposals pushed hard to have cities remove laws that forbade food scraps from being put down the drain so they could start selling disposals to city dwellers. (it took them until 1997 to get New York City to allow it)

[@tammierandall864]

Had a plumber tell me that garbage disposals cause a lot of problems to the sewer system because people dump their food down them. He said they are only for the little bit of food that might go down after you scrape your dishes. He hated garbage disposals. I don't like them either.

[@Brirend]

@@tammierandall864 For city sewer systems that is true because the water has to travel to the water treatment facility and there are lots of places for the food to pile up and clog plumbing. In a septic system with a grease trap on the kitchen sink, the food particles go directly into a septic tank where it gets broken down and eventually distributed into the ground via the drain field. Basically, it gets composted into fertilizer.

[@loganmaximus2160]

What I really love about your videos is that you are so genuine and humble. Great characteristics for a person. When you have enough information about a topic, you have great insights and I love your honesty. It is really refreshing in a world full of ego and competition.

[@faithinjesus7817]

We have all kettles even the electric.

[@LadyChaos1992]

we do have switches on our outlets, but usually only near the kitchen sink, and the switch(es) are usually only for the garbage disposal, or the light above the kitchen sink.

[@lindasmith1370]

I live in Texas. Today the heat index is 114F so, yes, I have central air conditioning and heat. My house is one story brick, 2,100 sq Ft, 2 car garage. I have an electric kettle because different teas require water at different temperatures. I have separate washer and dryer. It allows me to get more washing done. I don’t have to wait for one load to finish drying before starting to wash another load. I lived in England several years ago. I loved it there so don’t miss it’s fine points.

[@Milewskige]

17:10 Also so you could be drying the 1st load while washing the 2nd. Saves time.

[@Loki_Trickster]

Washer-Dryer combos, like most things America is optional. They are more common in appartment living. but for homeownership Its just common to get them separate as they have larger capacity (2-3x larger), repair cost are cheaper for individual units, and replacement is cheaper if you need to replace just one unit rather then a Combo Unit.

[@pegatheetoo1437]

A combo washer/dryer is fine if you usually only have 1 load, or do your laundry quite frequently. But if you have several loads, you can start a second load while your first one is drying in separate machines.

[@nrrork]

The brick houses are _here_ are really cute. But they're nestled under tall trees and have nice little yards around them. I don't think it's the brick houses that look ugly, it's just they're not surrounded by anything pretty. Hell, look up the brick row houses in places like New York, Boston, Philadelphia. The neighborhoods have been cleaned up and those old houses look really nice now.

[@patriciaard4870]

Electric sockets: when my brother was around 4, he put a car key in a socket. There was a big blast explosion that threw him across the room. On/off switches make a lot of sense.

[@vstraylight]

On the electrical sockets, the reason y'all have a switch and are so nervous about the outlet is because you put 240v to every outlet. That can seriously hurt you. A English friend told me about being over at a friend's house as a kid. There was a fireplace with a bare wire in the back to light the logs. His friend was using a poker and touched it to that wire. He went flying across the room and had a badly burnt hand. We have 120v outlets which are less dangerous on the whole. I've touched live 120v wires many times in my life by accident. It's uncomfortable and unpleasant but it doesn't burn you or send you flying.

[@pegatheetoo1437]

I was living in CA and I plugged in a lamp that apparently had a frayed cord. It singed all the hair on my arm and threw me across the floor.

[@thenecrolept]

singed hairs is wild - I've zapped myself a few times on a normal 120v outlet and all it did was buzz my arm and feel real weird

[@pegatheetoo1437]

My girls were of high school age at the time & came running in and asked if I was okay. I said, "Well, I can hear you & if you can hear me, I'm okay!" 😂 My arm was black for quite a while, until new hair grew in.

[@jimreilly917]

Amperage actually kills…not voltage. About 1.5 amps will unalive you regardless of voltage, especially if YOU are the ground.

[@rich7447]

@@jimreilly917 You can't drive 1.5 amps without sufficient voltage. Ohms law.

[@modostig67]

American Outlet safety: Modern American outlets have GFI breakers built in. If something goes wrong it trips the GFI instead of the main breakers. There's two buttons that has to be pushed in deep, "Reset" and "Test". When tripped, you'll have to push Reset to have power back in that outlet. As for the older outlets, there's child proof safety caps that clip in by the ground hole (the mouth 😮)

[@onee-sama3984]

When you forget to do laundry It's pretty nice having a load of laundry in the washer with another load in the dryer lol

[@susandickerson2663]

It's my understanding that the dryers in the combo washer/dryer unit take much longer to dry clothes. Someone needs to confirm as I have never owned one.

[@PhxVanguard]

​@@susandickerson2663they do and the machines are more prone to mildew smell, too. 😢

[@AdmiralKakarot]

To explain the electric shock hazard on the power outlets, we have something called GFI outlets. A GFI outlet is a power outlet with it's on breaker switch and usually has other outlets connected to it. A sort of master outlet if you will. If a power short or surge is detected in the circuit connection to the GFI outlet, the breaker will trip and cut power to the master and all outlets on that circuit. Those are the two buttons on the American-style outlet. And we do, in fact, have all-in-one or dual purpose washer/dryer units. They just are not very efficient and use up more power, not only that but they are generally small. See them mostly in studio apartments and RV's (you call them caravans, however the one I have is not a driveable one as it is a trailer and is 40ft long. Need a 1 ton pickup to tow that.)

[@Hello_I_am_Jeff]

Most average middle class houses are more like 2000-2500sq ft. Most 2 bedroom apartments would be 1100-1400 sq ft. (on average.) Keep in mind that housing prices are not what they used to be.

[@annepryor9169]

My two bed, two bath apartment is 890 sq ft.

[@Hello_I_am_Jeff]

@@annepryor9169 mileage does vary.

[@IC27185]

We have electric kettles but this will really blow your mind we have hot water pot fillers which is a tap on the wall above the stove. It's so you can fill your pot with hot water and just set it down on the burner instead of having to carry a pot full of water from the sink to the stove.

[@phoenixcaladrius3538]

Dude, I'm not sure what "hot and bothered" means in the UK - but it seems VERY different from what it means here in the US! It's an old school term that's used very specifically to mean physically "turned on" here. It was awesome hearing you keep saying you were all hot and bothered! 🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂

[@superstarcat7654]

I think it depends on the region you live in. Hot and bothered means really mad at you. Want to fight you.

[@marysellers2806]

​@@superstarcat7654 we call that hot under the collar in the South ❤

[@marysellers2806]

I came here just to say that 😂

[@charlotterenee5151]

Electrician here. So our outlets are tamper resistant, or at least modern day ones usually are. Besides that we have special covers for "baby proofing" them too. Also you guys seem to run a 240volt system, here we run 120volts in a house. Only larger equipment like electrical ranges or dryers run at 240. It's interesting to see what y'all have going on there! Also, some people do have switched receptacles here, but they are literally controlled by a switch on the wall like a light would be! I love to see the differences!!

[@tinahairston6383]

While I know the term "row house" I've never heard anyone using the term. More likely you'll hear them called townhouses or brownstones depending on where they're located. It's not like we can't buy an electric kettle but if someone has a kettle at all, it's probably one used on the stove. Needing hot water like that isn't really necessary when you can just as easily heat a cup of water in the microwave which is what I will do if I want a cup of tea instead of breaking out the stove-top kettle, lol. It's also not like we can't have a two-in-one washer and dryer but it's convenient when you have several loads to wash and dry so you're not stuck waiting with one appliance. Your second load can be washing while your first load is drying so while it may not save on energy, it's a time saver. One thing I hated about having to go to a laundromat to do my laundry when I live in an apartment that had washer/dryer hook up but couldn't afford to buy those was the inconvenience of packing up my laundry in the car and transporting it back and forth. The best thing was with using multiple washers and dryers, I could wash my different loads at the same time and dry them at the same time so there was even less waiting. I I've noticed that if anyone here has a two-in-one washer it's more that they don't have the space for the two separate appliances and/or they're trying to be more energy efficient.

[@kristinetaulbut4975]

Old houses in America don’t have many closets. I don’t understand the clothes washers in the kitchen. We do have electric kettles.

[@joehackney1376]

The problem with Condos or Condominiums is that they have a HOA or Home Owners Association, which charges an annual or monthly fee for property tax, insurance, garbage pickup, etc.

[@chnalvr]

I have lived in U.S. condos since 1994 and they can be pretty great if you don't want to do yard work and upkeep on the structure of your house. The HOA does everything for you from the monthly fee.

[@joehackney1376]

Then you must have an unusually good HOA. Most are not. South Florida just had a group of about 40 condo associations that had several million stolen by a group that contracted to help run the associations. That is more the norm!@@chnalvr

[@jannibal9273]

Separate washer and dryer pair - makes laundering, especially for a family with lots of kids, much faster because you wash a load, take it out of the washer when the cycle is finished, shake it out and toss it into the separate dryer, set the level of heat to dry that you want and press the button to go. You can then wash a second load in the washer while the first load is drying in the separate dryer. When the dryer is done with its cycle most of them have a BEEP sound to let you know it's finished and you can empty the dryer, wipe out the lint trap, load in the washed clothes from the second load and start it up. Meanwhile, you have load #3 of laundry going in the washer.

[@Itsme60804]

We do have electric kettles here in America. A lot of people like their extra countertop kitchen appliances, so I’m sure a lot of people have them. Also I live in a 1000 sq ft 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment and and still feel so cramped. My boyfriend and I have a baby on the way and are looking into moving. Anything under 1000 square feet seems tiny to me.

[@carolwaite4343]

The reason we have what seems a larger house is because we have open concept. I've been watching videos of new builds in the UK and there are so many doors. Every room can be closed off from another. We have what's called central air, that means heat & air conditioning. We have screens on our windows to keep bugs out. Lol, a garbage disposal in the sink, however no bones. Sometimes the silverware falls down it & then you have a problem. My gram was from Liverpool, my mom born in Glasglow. I remember when my grams sister came to visit & was excited over the vertical bath meaning shower. She also took a ton of cake mixes & pudding mixes home.

[@Kleineganz]

I've been watching Laurence for a few years now, and the KZbin algorithm brought me to your reactions. I was born and raised in Chicago and not all the houses are enormous. The house I grew up in was a converted single-family home that was turned into two apartments. The landlady's father built the house in 1890 and she was born in 1900. For four people, our apartment was quite small, with only 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, living, and dining room and a miniscule bathroom. The house was close enough to our neighbors that even as a little kid I could touch both houses at the same time in the gangway between them. The only reason we had a back yard was because our landlady never owned a car, so she never had a garage built. Also, get this, 82% of Americans live in big cities and urban areas, where smaller houses are far more common than in rural or suburban areas. Also, 36% of all Americans are renting apartments.

[@shirlw6075]

Hey I love the way you people talk.....I am 5th generation Texan and you can definitely tell by the way I sound and the words I use! I love your gardens.....they are so quaint and have flowers.....our "yards," are usually huge and takes a few hours of work and have more greenery than flowers.....also when we say garden in TX it usually refers to space where we grow herbs or edible plants, like veggies.

[@10thcharacter36]

You said: "We're just doing it wrong". Not really, your infrastructure is several hundred years (if not a thousand) older than ours. We have newer houses going up in new developments all the time and the sellers always put the latest gadgets in those new houses to sell them faster! If you know or knew someone living in a newer neighborhood they probably have those gadgets as well. I once knew a couple who lived in a house (they were kind of tiny too) that was a couple of hundred years old. I couldn't believe the size of the doorways! Anyway thanks for making us happy with what we do have. I always enjoy your videos and enthusiasm.

[@lindiharris-axon8167]

On washers/dryers - much better if you do much laundy. In fact, many American have one "laundry day" per week. Separate units get laundry done more quickly because you can be drying in one and washing in another. Also, most houses since the 70s have special utility rooms for washers/dryers. Before that, washers were almost always either in basements (horrible because you have to carry it up and down), garages or enclosed back porches. Growing up, I saw one house with the two units in the kitchen but they were larger and not 1 in 2 like in the UK. I'm old and grew up in the 50s and 60s. My mom had a ringer washer when I was young and hung clothes outside on a line (or sometimes in the basement in bad weather). Starting in the 1960s, the automatic washers and dryers took over.

[@ixchelskyfeather2513]

A lot of our outlets are connected to a switch. But it's on the wall and usually used for the lights plugged into the outlet. But they can be used as a safety feature as well. Also, as another commenter mentioned, we teach our babies as soon as they crawl not to touch those. Also, we have those covers that are difficult for some adults (me 🙋‍♀) to take off.

[@karlbmiles]

It's common for the farthest outlet to be controlled by a switch that is intended for a lamp. Older houses had ceiling lights controlled by that switch.

[@logan4005]

-You can child-proof outlets. Also, I like that ours are smaller than yours. I had to take a big chunky adapter when I was in the UK. Your plugs are HUGE! -Condos can be similar to apartments but bigger. I know the term row houses but I’ve never called them that. Always condos. -the Projects are also called “Section 8 housing”. And as soon as anything in your neighborhood is classified as that, the value of your house plummets and crime goes up.

[@lindsayruiz3789]

I just purchased 8.5 acres of land just south of Niagara Falls in New York. It has a little creek and a pond on it and I plan on building a little (little by American standards, about 1,400 square feet) cottage on it to spend my summers. It's just too hot during the summer where I currently live in Cape Coral Florida. The Florida winters and Spring is beautiful, but the cool summers in the Appalachian mountains are amazing and the colorful Fall makes New England states perfect in the Summer and Fall.. so those are the two places i like to live, and will be living... of the places you mentioned, I would've mind living in Canada either, but I would live in Alberta or Bristish Columbia.. the only problem with Canada is the lack of freedom, but those two provinces are Gorgeous!!

[@raygover7458]

I love Canada. What lack of freedom are you referring to?

[@lindsayruiz3789]

The freedoms the Canadian Convoy Truck protesters were fighting for. Freedoms that Pastors and Priest were getting jailed fighting for. Lots of examples out there... Read what the government did in retaliation against the convoy. The Canadian people are getting their freedoms taken away from them. It's sad....

[@annepryor9169]

My father-in-law lived in Orlando. We lived in Illinois. The coldest I have ever been was one Christmas in Florida. The low temp was just 32, and it sometimes get well below zero here. Everything was wet. The sheets were wet, and that thing that’s supposed to be a furnace didn’t help at all. Come to think of it we should have bought my father-in-law a dehumidifier for Christmas.

[@XenQ7]

Our place was built in the 50s and there's brick in the kitchen which houses an oven that, if it ever dies, cannot be replaced because its dimensions are so kitchy-50s. Appreciate the vids on these slow days, man.

[@yugioht42]

Condo is basically an apartment but you actually buy it outright instead of renting it.

[@glennrobinson2014]

Yes, it's an apartment "con dominium" -- "with ownership."

[@jlpack62]

I'm literally replying to you from my condo!

[@Cino-Cin]

Your face looks like a condo

[@amywells8609]

You are mistaken, you can rent a condo and buy an apartment.

[@amorky8391]

​@amywells8609 in some parts of the US you can only rent either. Where I live there may be condos you can buy but there are no apartments you can buy. And I've never actually seen a condo you can buy into, just rent.

[@soicetea]

Laurence lives in the mid-west region of the US. Housing differs greatly depending on the part of the country you live in. I live in California and most newer homes here are two story and 2000+ sq ft. Homes here have a wooden frame, but the outside of the home is stucco. Most newer homes here don't have the large lots that older homes have. Also you commented on the separate clothes washer and dryer. It is much more convenient to have them separate when doing multiple loads of laundry. While a second load is washing the first is in the dryer. In our homes there is a separate area for the washer and dryer. Sometimes in the garage or sometimes in a separate laundry room. We don't have them in the kitchen except in some very old homes. One last thing, as Laurence mentioned our outlets don't have a switch. In homes with small children who might stick things in them, there are plastic covers available so that doesn't happen. I love watching and learning about the differences between our two countries. Have a great day!

[@ajwinberg]

The house I grew up in was built by my grandfather's grandfather. He came to America from England. The house was a lot more like British houses as it had no closets and we had to put our clothes in Wardrobes or dressers. I currently live in a wood house. But there are a lot of red and Grey brick houses here. My next door neighbor has a stucco house. The house I grew up in was made of Adobe and slate. Also, the house I currently live in is tiny and cramped. There are three of us living in said house, and it is hard to be alone anywhere. The house in Harry Potter is bigger than my house.

[@Cricket2731]

Some houses have no closets because there used to be a tax on closet doors.

[@Annie_Annie__]

In addition to row houses in the US, we also have townhouses. The only difference is that row houses all look basically the same, done in the same brick color and are basically just carbon copies of one another all the way down the street. Townhouses are attached on either side, but each house looks different, has a different layout, is a different color, and might even be different heights to one another. You might also hear “brownstone”, which is a specific kind of row house that has a façade made of brownstone, which is a red-brown sandstone. They’re widely associated with NYC, so you might hear them referenced in movies or shows that take place there.

[@lorag4664]

American building is still in it's infancy, compared to Europe. But we were able to steal all the knowledge AND stretch out a bit. I love the history I see in European architecture! PS. I just subscribed, I love your curiosity and genuine enthusiasm.

[@kevinprzy4539]

I like the build of European brick homes (stability and such) but I can't stand the look, they just look grimy and old.

[@redshed2020]

We have the combo washer dryer option but most have separate machines. I think because you can be washing one while the prior load is drying. So you get more done at the same time.

[@TheUselessbuthappy]

So I was already incredibly grateful for our home since i grew up really poor (we live on a military post and our house is nice) but watching this makes me feel even more grateful for even the "normal' american things.

[@ladybee883]

Many years ago when my husband and I were still in the military, we were stationed in Germany. We lived off-post in an apartment, but we're able to requisition American appliances from base. I could understand why when I realized that the normal refrigerator wasn't even the size of a dishwasher, and a pizza pan wouldn't even fit in the oven. We ended up getting a refrigerator, stove, and a washing machine. At least it had a hook-up for a washer in the bathroom. No shower, but the landlord had installed the hand-held things, so we managed. We had to have transformers for all of the appliances and our Christmas lights.

[@MaxxiBoy]

you have plastic protectors that you can put in it and it covers all the metal, also newer outlets have on and off switches. There is only electricity running through the outlet when you stick a conductive item in the outlet like a plug or piece of metal.

[@upmperthay]

You'd be surprised at how much better than you expect that modern modular & even doublewide & singlewide mobile homes are.

[@Dusk1962]

I don’t advise buying them depreciation rate is bad.

[@kimberleedavis7170]

Dual Machines are available, but many folks prefer to single purpose Laundry machines because some clothing requires different handling at the dry stage and you can run another wash load while the dryer is going.

[@tomhalla426]

Masonry houses in much of the US are unsafe, due to either earthquakes or hurricanes. Unreinforced masonry has very little side strength, so high winds or an earthquake will yield a used brick pile.

[@darkstar2480]

Most homes in FL are reinforced concrete blocks because of the hurricanes.

[@TexasbyStorm]

We get discounts on insurance because our brick home offers more protection.

[@SherryFord-t7e]

Oh yeah. That happens every day.

[@tomhalla426]

@@TexasbyStormIf it was built post WWII, it is almost certainly brick veneer, over a structural wood frame. If your walls are not about a foot thick, the brick is not structural.

[@wryter93]

Um.. I beg to differ. My house is brick, foot deep walls, and has withstood 50 yrs of SC hurricanes. And we're less than 3 miles from the ocean. My previous house was enforced cinder on a military base, a mile closer to the water & has been there since the 1940s. I'm surrounded by wood and mobile homes that have shattered many times and rebuilt. My home is often the refuge for others then

[@rhondaboncordo9776]

You mentioned in one video about Mobile homes.. A mobile home is a house with a moveable foundation and no basement. I have a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom 1325sq foot mobile home and it is quite spacious and nice

[@dawnmoore4329]

Our house isn't anything special in our area, but we have a 1200 sq ft footprint with a full basement, so 2400 sq ft of living space. And we're sitting on 9 acres of land, with a 3 car garage, a carport and a 24x40 barn. I definitely feel very lucky to have the ability to have all of this, which we built ourselves ( yes, 2x6 wood stud framing and all!).

[@virginiarobbins7539]

The home size is why we can have a separate laundry room.. yrs ago here even the washer was in many kitchens, later a tiny open room off the kitchen or on the porch was added or used for washer.

[@Sandra-zb1bm]

😂 you are so much fun to watch. Your enthusiasm for America is awesome. Hope you make it here some day.

[@carriebuhler1284]

My husband and I have a 2,000 square foot 1890 farmhouse on a small 22 acre (8.9 hectares) in northwest Kansas. We sleep with our windows open during late spring-late autumn, and we heat our house with a wood burning stove in the winter. Our nearest neighbor is 1/2 mile to the east down the dirt road. Yes, we do have separate clothes washer and dryer but in the summer we hang the wet laundry on our clothesline. It's quiet and peaceful.

[@SmittenKitten.]

We don't drink tea due to the fallout from the Revolution, so there's very little need for electric kettles. We tend to drink ridiculous amounts of coffee instead. You're very, very kind when comparing the two countries. Both have their amazing upsides and terrible downsides. Thanks for being so awesome. :)

[@Windyroller]

We don’t drink tea *as much* or in the same way. Tea is very much a staple in the Southern states- albeit it’s served cold and is more like tea-flavored super-sweet juice. I keep an electric kettle for my hot tisanes/herbal teas or if I want my pasta water to boil in a shorter amount of time. (It boils faster than having the range eye on high.)

[@outrageousaistories]

Huh? We drink tons of tea. It may not be as popular as coffee, but we drink tons of tea. I'm from NYC and I drink tea nearly every day. I have 10 different types of tea in my cabinet right now.

[@SmittenKitten.]

@@outrageousaistories That's really nice, but we don't drink anywhere close to the same amount as the Brits do. They consume around 4.25 lbs/capita to our measly 0.5 lbs/capita. That's about 8.5 times more! :O I can't post the link to the source (YT frowns at that), but if you want to find it, it's on Statistica under consumer goods & FMCG, then non-alcoholic beverages.

[@SmittenKitten.]

@@Windyroller Yes, I love me a good southern sweet tea! Growing up in Texas, my mom used to make sun tea!

[@JanineCeleste]

Separate washer and dryers offer more space than a combo unit and you can get the laundry done faster because while the first load is drying, I can start washing the next load. I had a combo unit in our 5th wheel trailer and didn't like it very much, but that's because it took forever to wash and dry a single load.

[@JOYFULLYME]

i live in a ranch style house, its so nice. very roomy and spacious and there is wide open spaces from one room to the next. not alot of doors. Cheaper to have a one story house for heat/cooling to not have the second floor.

[@jakemiester45]

Over here, for a few decades we used coffee makers, just didn't put coffee gounds in and it's a hot water maker. For the last three years, I have had a Kureg, and that gives all the options for my hot water use.

[@landonharris734]

In the U.S. if a child sticks metal in an electrical socket, they are gonna learn the hard way not to do it. However, if you are not a cool parent, there are rubber/plastic plugs you can put in or over a socket

[@ayanagreen5349]

Many Americans use electric kettles. I keep hearing that we don’t, but everyone I know has one. Our garbage disposals are part of the regular sink, operated by a switch. And our wooden houses are aren’t like log cabins. They’re wooden framed and typically reinforced with many different materials. My house is cinder block and wood. Built in the 40s.

[@LeeBeeBumble]

1 sorry homes are the dream!!! My dogs wouldn't need to worry about stairs, since they're bassets and have a hard time with stairs. Also they tend to be a decent square footage since they are older!

[@pinkonesie]

I had a Brit once call a garbage disposal "that horrifying sink blender thing." Absolutely perfect.

[@kiryukaimemorial]

American electrical housing codes require outlets to be rated for "Tamper Resistance (TR)' so there is a small flap that covers the inside of the slots, so that a fork or small skinny object can't just be randomly jammed into it. On top of that, parents can buy the small babyproofing tabs that plug into outlets, but honestly, TR outlets are safe without them. On top of that, if you somehow successfully jammed a fork into a slot, there is no current running through it unless you somehow jammed the fork into TWO of the slots, not just one. AND one of them has to be the hot side. They're safe.

[@ukaly1]

Some people in the US have gone back to separate taps (faucets here) for an 'old-fashioned' look, if that's their style, but single faucets are by far more popular. We don't have switches on the plugs but you can get a little cover that goes into the plug to cover it up for making it childproof. My husband and I at age 20 built a new house of 1225 sq ft, 2450 sq ft with the basement. It is on 1 acre and we are still here 50 years later. You can have your clothes drying in the dryer while the second load is washing in the washing machine. We do have electric kettles but stove top ones are more popular. My stove is gas and it runs cheaper than electric. Apartments are rented but condos are purchased. I would not consider the projects the same as council houses. I grew up in a council house (rented from the city council) in the NE of England and both of my parents worked. The projects are for very low income people who pay virtually nothing to live there and are on state aid for their income.

[@catw6998]

Condo - kinda reminds one of apartments. Laurence would not need to buy a lawn mower. Like apts, someone else does that but you still pay for it. If you have a house, you have those two options, but it’s up to you to find someone that offers lawn mowing, or painting, or cleaning.

[@russellkeeling4387]

We have what are called arch fault interrupters and ground fault interrupters in our breaker panels. An arch fault interrupter shut off the juice to the plug if an arch is detected and a ground fault interrupter shuts the juice off in wet location if a short occurs. It happens at the speed of light.

[@spurmarks]

We have electric kettles available, but most people are coffee drinkers so they prefer to just heat water up on the cooktop for tea.They also make instant hot and ice water dispensers, but they're not that common.

[@Greywolf74]

I have to admit I like the idea of being able to turn the wall socket off, but I've also never seen or heard of anyone I know getting electrocuted by sticking something in a socket either. Also, the 2 prong outlets hardly exist any more unless you have a really old house. Almost every house in America has a garbage disposal in the kitchen sink, and yes, they are wonderful! :) I would ask why your washer and dryer is all one unit, lol. I'm not sure how that even works :) I love British English :) A condo is basically 2 houses that are technically the same structure but the yard, driveway, porch, entryway, etc. are separate. So it's like owning a house, but It's got a bit of an apartment vibe also. Also, condos usually have some sort of community rules that you have to follow in order to live there also.

[@amybenham7998]

I have a built in water heater at my kitchen sink. When you want hot water, you just pull the lever and hot water comes out instantly. No need for any kind of tea kettle, the plug-in kind or the one you fill with water and put on the stove.

[@GizmoJunk]

@17:11 One feature of having a separate washer and dryer is the option to wash a load of clothes while the previous load is drying.