Productive Morning

The problem goes back well over a year ago when Himself raped the hot water faucet in the bathroom. Just didn't know his own strength and ripped the knob from its moorings. He turned the hot water in the bathroom off. We still had running cold, running water. I was not bothered by this fact as I usually wash my hands in the kitchen sink anyway. (Just an old idea from childhood that water from the bathroom sink came from the toilet) This was also the impetus to finally get the bathroom remodeled and it was supposed to happen this past summer. The project came to a screeching halt trying to coordinate between the demolition guy, the plumber, and a miscommunication as to who was serving as general contractor. No worries, next summer for sure.

Somewhere around Tues. of last week, the youngest child began complaining about water pressure dropping during her shower. I sang the usual "if you didn't stand in the shower like a statue while the well was draining dry, you'd have plenty of water" song. The following day her sharp cry of "HEY!" sent me dashing into the bathroom to see her head completely lathered and two drops of water dripping from the shower head. Houston, we've got a problem.

Pressure had dropped throughout the line. Not much pressure in the sink, none in the bathroom sink, and the toilet was filling trickle by trickle. Houston, we've got a big problem. Living out in the boondocks, we own our own well which has good and bad points. Good, because we know what's in our water. Bad because we can't be sure whether the problem is a straight plumbing problem or something to do with the well. To complicate matters, there's the water filtration system to remove the iron and manganese from the water. There's also the boiler mate which makes and stores our hot water. Who ya gonna call?

Talking to my friend, Red, she had a similar problem and it turned out to be the boiler mate. I wasn't so sure, but I called the heating oil service as the water is heated through the furnace. It was a place to start. At least I knew I would get a return call. I wasn't so sure of a return call from the plumber.

The receptionist was very nice. Said she's send someone over, at least if it wasn't their problem, he could point me in the right direction. Service was schedule for after 9:30am on Thurs. Promptly at 9:30 am, Tom arrived. In the meantime, we still had water in the shower. Pressure would build up and then drop. Tom thought it was a problem at the well pump in the basement, and happily the oil service took care of pump maintenance too. He fiddled and tested and finally said there was a problem in one or both check valves. He took them apart and found one was clogged with bits of plastic and what looked like string. He changed both for good measure since the parts were 20 years old. Voila! We had volcanic pressure in the shower!

The bathroom sink was another matter. Just a drip, drip, drip. It seemed like such a little project when I asked Himself to buy a cheap faucet to replace the one with the missing hot. By the way, we had purchased a lovely faucet with a nice goose neck after the hot water knob was torn off. American Standard is an oxymoron as the darn thing wouldn't fit the holes in the sink! Never mind, we set it aside for the bathroom remodel.

Himself went out early Sun. morning and purchased an inexpensive faucet set up. He began taking things apart. I went downstairs to do some work. I don't remember how long I was down there when I heard something drop and "Y'horse's patoot!" which is the phrase Himself utters in mixed company. Then I heard, "I'll be right back." and the sound of the front door closing. No worries, just the usual run to Ray's. Any project Himself has ever tackled involves a couple of trips to Ray's and sometimes a trip to Home Depot.

I went upstairs to the bathroom to check the progress. My mouth dropped open in a wordless "OH" as I saw the a very large crack and a hole in the side of the toilet bowl. I'm glad it wasn't the expensive, gleaming toilet I had picked out for the remodel. On the plus side, there was a new faucet in the bathroom sink, and it worked. Not only do we have the miracle of cold running water, but guests to the house will be thrilled to learn we now have hot running water as well. I know how Neanderthal man felt when he discovered fire.

Sometime later, Himself returned with epoxy which he slathered over the crack. Fortunately, the damage was above the water line. As Himself finished up he said, "Well, that was a productive morning. I think this is God's way to get moving on the bathroom remodel." I smiled politely. I think it was God's way to say next time call a plumber.