I wanted to post my experience as a caution to fellow homeowners. This applies to renters, too.
The lights in my house were going dim and then very bright. At first, I didn't pay any attention because the local power company was putting in new poles. I had a few small appliances misfunction but otherwise I attributed it to the contrariness of electronics. Just recently my microwave died. So I bought a new one. When that malfunctioned I began to think something was wrong with my power.
I called the power company and they came out and determined that I have an "open neutral" on the line. This means that the neutral wire that grounds the hot current wires is not working properly. In my case, it is probably loose because my lights dim/brighten only intermittently. I still have power.
The upshot of this is that they have yet to fix it since it was not "malfunctioning" when they came out. I'm still trying to get them to fix this problem. It has the potential to be dangerous. At the worst, it can start a fire from one of the 110 volt appliances suddenly getting 220 volts.
So if you notice anything like this in your home or apartment, I suggest you call your landlord (renters) or your power company. This could be a potentially serious problem.
Also, if anyone has ever dealt with this, please let me know how you got the problem solved. Right now, I am cautious with anything I'm using in the house and I've been told it is most likely to destroy my computer than anything else. Yikes!
