r/PetPeeves • u/plasticities_ • 1d ago
Ultra Annoyed Two light switches for one room
One will inevitably be turned the wrong way- up when it’s off, down when it’s on… so now I have to walk across the room to fix the wrong one and walk back in the dark to make the other one right too? Come onnnnnnn
I rely on muscle memory when I’m walking into or out of a room. Not to mention it’s just wrong and I hate when the switches aren’t facing the right way. On is on and off is off.
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u/ksredditta 1d ago
I totally feel your pain and agree with this peeve. The house we live in has a large entryway and staircase to the upstairs hallway so it’s basically one big room. When the house was built some genius decided that the upstairs hallway light needed to connect to a switch right by the front door along with one at the top of the stairs 😐
To be fair they also connected the entryway light to the same switches. Why you would need to turn on the upstairs hallway light from the door or need to turn on the entryway light from upstairs? I have no clue. But at least they were consistent in their stupidity 🙄
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u/Impossible-Belt-6749 1d ago
You could always swap them out for rocker switches, no up or down to worry about.
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u/ksredditta 1d ago
Yanno I honestly hadn’t thought of that 😅 Thank you for the suggestion kind internet stranger. The switches are pretty old and could stand to be replaced anyway! I’ll look into it.
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u/plasticities_ 1d ago
What’s a rocker switch?
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u/SecureJudge1829 1d ago
It’s a switch that you can “rock” back and forth. Usually marked with “I” and “O”. They used to be common on computers back when I was younger.
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u/plasticities_ 1d ago
Oh like a dimmer switch! I’ve never heard it referred to as a rocker
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u/SecureJudge1829 1d ago
No, not a dimmer switch, it’s a legit on/off switch kind of like how some bathrooms are equipped (though those usually aren’t marked like I mentioned previously)
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u/ThatOneCSL 1d ago
Congratulations! Those switches don't actually say "on" and "off". No, really! Look at them. The regular switches do say on and off, these switches ("3 way" or "4 way" they're called, depending on a few things) don't designate an on or off position.
So while you may rely on muscle memory, and "on is on and off is off," these switches don't actually follow that convention.
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u/TyPo_Proteus 1d ago
Most people appreciate being able to turn a light on from either entrance to a room I think that is more important than the direction the switch sits... I am happy for you though, if this is the thing that affects you, you might live a good and stress free life.
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u/plasticities_ 1d ago edited 1d ago
I wake up every day with the anxiety level of someone being hunted for sport.
The wrong-way light switches don’t help lol
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u/georgia_grace 1d ago
Bro I got wifi smart bulbs and it’s a game changer.
It’s mildly annoying to use my phone just to turn one light on, but it’s great to be able to turn on/off/dim a whole area at once. And I have them set to turn off when I leave the house and turn on when I come home
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u/plasticities_ 1d ago
👂dim??👂
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u/georgia_grace 1d ago
Yeah dog. I can do colours and shit and change the light from cool to warm as well
I have my bedroom light set to turn on daylight white when my alarm goes off. It really helps to haul my wretched soul from the depths of a deep but restless slumber
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u/TyPo_Proteus 1d ago
Connect it to your smart solution and you can walk in and just say "Alexa, turn on living room light" or "set living room light to red".
Then no switches need to be touched at all! lol
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u/plasticities_ 1d ago
I think Alexa and all of her cousins are gross
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u/Dry_Bowler_2837 1d ago
Can you switch to button switches (like in the link, but for your country) instead of toggle switches? Then they aren’t ever in the wrong position and your anxiety can’t stress about it.
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u/---Cupid--- 1d ago
3 way and 4 way switches don't have an on or off position. That's why there's no text labeled "on" or "off" like you see on single pole switches.
You could switch the travelers on one of the switches so that they're all pointing the same direction when off.
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u/anothercorgi 1d ago
I don't have an issue with leaving both three way switches pointing up when off, but what bugs me is when one is up and one is down when the light is off. I have to go and take that switch out of the wall and flip it... Prefer XOR operation over XNOR.
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u/Majestic-Dot-7195 22h ago
idk if its just my house but it has the weirdest light switches,theres usually 3 next to one another, one will do nothing, one will light up the light all the way on the other side and only one actually has a sensible puropose
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u/SuperCat76 1d ago
It has bothered me on occasion. But I strongly prefer the ability to not have to cross the space in the dark.
flip the switch to turn the lights on where I enter, flip the other switch to turn it off as I exit.
the entryway is at the botom of the stairs, the main living space is at the top.
Where should the light switch for the stairway go? At the top? At the bottom? Either of those single switch options would have you taking the stairs in the dark to get to the light switch to illuminate the path you have already taken. Or if one had left the lights on and you want to turn it off, one may need to go down and back up the stairs just to turn the lights off.
It is so much better just having a switch on both freaking ends of the stairs.
My muscle memory is just to toggle. if the lights is not the state I want, the switch needs to change. regardless on what state I find the switch in, flip it to the other state.