Brent wrote:

The plastic around the winding and plunger in my door bell melted when
the door bell button got stuck in while I was gone. The button is 2
years old. I can get another, but it could easily happen again. It
seems like it could be a fire hazard too.

My (ancient) doorbell failed shortly after I moved into my house 26
years ago. Ghostly ringing when no one was there. So I disconnected
it. An electrician failed to find the fault, somewhere between the
back and front doors and 40-yr-old (then) wiring. I have a brass
door-knocker on the front door, and friends and neighbors know to make
a noise when they visit. However, door-to-door salespeople,
solicitors, and cruising religious just pass without disturbing me.

I cannot identify *any* occasion when I have suffered from from having
no doorbell. YMMV.