We are in the final stretch of moving into our townhouse in Redmond. We have to be out of the apartment by Tuesday morning in fact. One of the tasks that's been on my plate since we bought the townhouse was to adjust the water heater to a manageable temperature, as it seems to have been set to "Melt your skin."
I finally got enough boxes out from in front of the water heater that I was able to somewhat comfortably look at it. I just had to figure out where the thermostat is. There are 2 "doors" that enclose presumed electronics. Not knowing which of them to try to pry off, I referred to the labels on the tank and I found the following instructions:
Remove outer door covering gas thermostat and burner assembly
Well, if I knew which door was covering the thermostat, I wouldn't be referring to the instructions. Whoever created the label made the improper assumption that I already knew where the thermostat is, despite the fact that I'm referencing the instructions on how to find the thermostat.
Well, I guessed at it being the larger of the 2 doors, and I was right. It would have been nice if the instructions had included a note about how in the heck the door is affixed and how it can be removed. The booger makes you think that the door looking part just pops out, but no, the whole box that the door is on comes off from the tank.
And then of course, the instructions warn you to not set the temperature above 120°, but the thermostat simply has: Hot, A, B, C, Very Hot. Considering it was set between C and Very Hot, I'm guessing something close to A will be appropriate.
This experience made me wonder how many times I've written documents or tooltips that simply state the question rather than providing a useful answer to the user.