Oh, it's always on Friday when something needs repaired. I'm sure glad you now have a working toilet before it became a horrible situation. MrP has made the service desk gal at Menard's his best friend, who therefore lets him return everything he bought the first time, even if six months ago because you know, procrastination. And the truck he talked me into buying soon became a terrific buy because all those wrong things can get hauled back very easily. Unless he forgets to use the ties and something flies out the back. There's a reason I say "take the back roads, please."
Next time buy both sizes of gaskets! You will return the wrong one with an air of superiority instead of in the shame of “I bought the wrong size” feeling.
I also wonder if you will have a decrease in your water bill. That would be a plus.
When my mom bought us clothes for Christmas, she would buy the size she thought we were and a size up and down. She hated returning things, so at a very early age it became my problem. I hated the holidays
I guessed toilet as soon as you said "12 gallons per hour." I think that's a pretty common amount, somehow, for a leaking toilet.
Before I launched into RV life, I lived in a 2.5 bath condo with three toilets. I had long periods there where I lived alone, interspersed with periods with roommates (one at a time), so I suppose that seems a bit wasteful. There were probably roommate-less times where the upstairs hall bathroom toilet went months without being flushed at all. (I regularly used the downstairs guest bathroom toilet because why walk upstairs to my ensuite bathroom when there's a closer option?) But even an unused toilet will eventually need to refill itself... even if there's no leak, sooner or later it loses water purely to evaporation.
The toilets I did use regularly leaked from the tank to the bowl, I know. My ensuite toilet would sometimes run continuously if you didn't jiggle the handle right after you flushed it, and if I went downstairs without catching it, it might go for hours. I felt (and feel) mildly guilty about the environmental impacts of wasting that much water, but not guilty enough to get a plumber to fix it properly. The condos had communal water metering and the bill was paid out of our maintenance fee, so nobody had an incentive to stop leaks... which drove up the price for everybody, ultimately, as I'm sure the other 233 units had leaking toilets too and it made the property water bill astronomical. Insert observation about collective responsibility. I DID at least replace the innards of my toilets myself at some point, but I have low confidence that my plumbing skills actually stopped the leaks.
I thought toilets were our friends. Little did I know they've all been working to betray us. Also, 2.5 bathrooms for one person sounds like exactly the right ratio. We've have six people and three toilets, which is all wrong.
We have a similar problem here. My dear husband is procrastinating on the repair, partly by spending hours researching on his computer, and also by taking looong showers to think about what he is going to do. Sadly, I lack Lola’s skills, as my own father was a similar procrastinator.
This reminds me of the toilets in my maternal grandparents' house, which also suffered from constant water flows. The cause of it was the poor construction of the button, which when pressed for too long locked in position for pouring water. The whole family found out after me and one uncle pushed it too hard and made it stay "on". Said uncle repaired that, but since then I avoid that loo and its construction, trying to be very gentle. Other than that, it was usually my dad and me who took care of any toilet and/or urinal malfunction, especially given it was one of mum's conditions for letting install the latter when the house was being built.
That sounds exactly like my family, right down to my wife finishing the job to get it done right. And oddly enough, last night I had my regular dream that the toilet was overflowing.
Ah, a toilet repair not kid related, must be refreshing. The ghost from that old comic strip named “Not Me” must be the culprit. Good thing you married Bob’s progeny.
Years ago at my parents, I was taking a bath and when I went to get out, I braced myself on the wall which promptly gave way. Seems there was a leak behind the wall. After about a week, I asked my dad when he was gong to fix it, past the duck tape on the pipe with the leak and he grumbled he would do it on the weekend. next day my mom chewed me out because my dad had no clue how to fix it and she would arrange for a plumber "friend" to do it so he didn't have to mess with it, because she had discovered it was way cheaper than to have dad start it and mess it up more... How was I supposed to know that? LOL
Obviously, some of Bob's qualities have rubbed off on Lola. You are lucky she still keeps you around.
I am indeed lucky. Please don't tell her. I don't want her to get any ideas.
Lola is a gem!
Oh, it's always on Friday when something needs repaired. I'm sure glad you now have a working toilet before it became a horrible situation. MrP has made the service desk gal at Menard's his best friend, who therefore lets him return everything he bought the first time, even if six months ago because you know, procrastination. And the truck he talked me into buying soon became a terrific buy because all those wrong things can get hauled back very easily. Unless he forgets to use the ties and something flies out the back. There's a reason I say "take the back roads, please."
Owning that pickup must make you popular with your friends. If I knew someone with one, I'd call them for favors every weekend.
It can be a weekday if it’s a Christmas Day or New Year’s Day
Next time buy both sizes of gaskets! You will return the wrong one with an air of superiority instead of in the shame of “I bought the wrong size” feeling.
I also wonder if you will have a decrease in your water bill. That would be a plus.
I've done that before, but it gets me to the same place. Either way, I need a second trip to the store. It's inevitable.
When my mom bought us clothes for Christmas, she would buy the size she thought we were and a size up and down. She hated returning things, so at a very early age it became my problem. I hated the holidays
When I saw the title, I thought the door had been left open again. Nothing unusual with kids...
It's always possible. They often fool me in the same way multiple times in a row.
I guessed toilet as soon as you said "12 gallons per hour." I think that's a pretty common amount, somehow, for a leaking toilet.
Before I launched into RV life, I lived in a 2.5 bath condo with three toilets. I had long periods there where I lived alone, interspersed with periods with roommates (one at a time), so I suppose that seems a bit wasteful. There were probably roommate-less times where the upstairs hall bathroom toilet went months without being flushed at all. (I regularly used the downstairs guest bathroom toilet because why walk upstairs to my ensuite bathroom when there's a closer option?) But even an unused toilet will eventually need to refill itself... even if there's no leak, sooner or later it loses water purely to evaporation.
The toilets I did use regularly leaked from the tank to the bowl, I know. My ensuite toilet would sometimes run continuously if you didn't jiggle the handle right after you flushed it, and if I went downstairs without catching it, it might go for hours. I felt (and feel) mildly guilty about the environmental impacts of wasting that much water, but not guilty enough to get a plumber to fix it properly. The condos had communal water metering and the bill was paid out of our maintenance fee, so nobody had an incentive to stop leaks... which drove up the price for everybody, ultimately, as I'm sure the other 233 units had leaking toilets too and it made the property water bill astronomical. Insert observation about collective responsibility. I DID at least replace the innards of my toilets myself at some point, but I have low confidence that my plumbing skills actually stopped the leaks.
I thought toilets were our friends. Little did I know they've all been working to betray us. Also, 2.5 bathrooms for one person sounds like exactly the right ratio. We've have six people and three toilets, which is all wrong.
Water, in all its conveyances, from downspouts to faucets, to heating, to sewers, is the bane of homeowners. It’s a pity we cannot live without it…
We have a similar problem here. My dear husband is procrastinating on the repair, partly by spending hours researching on his computer, and also by taking looong showers to think about what he is going to do. Sadly, I lack Lola’s skills, as my own father was a similar procrastinator.
This reminds me of the toilets in my maternal grandparents' house, which also suffered from constant water flows. The cause of it was the poor construction of the button, which when pressed for too long locked in position for pouring water. The whole family found out after me and one uncle pushed it too hard and made it stay "on". Said uncle repaired that, but since then I avoid that loo and its construction, trying to be very gentle. Other than that, it was usually my dad and me who took care of any toilet and/or urinal malfunction, especially given it was one of mum's conditions for letting install the latter when the house was being built.
I am impressed you managed to convince your mom to let you have a urinal in a residential house. You're living in the year 3000 over there.
The numbers were on our side - with four of us to just herself she could see there would be a demand for them!
That sounds exactly like my family, right down to my wife finishing the job to get it done right. And oddly enough, last night I had my regular dream that the toilet was overflowing.
Your description of always guessing wrong made me giggle. 🤭 My ex-husband used to say given a 50-50 chance, I was 100% wrong. It’s a curse!
Hilarious
Hilarious! My three main takeaways from this newsletter:
1. Home Depot should offer toilet flaps listed in “Clown” sizes.
2. For some people, clearing out pig poop is preferable to fixing a leaky toilet.
3. Lola is an awesome handy person! Yay Lola! And yay James for getting all the correct parts ready!
We had an intermittent flush for awhile. We joked it was the Phantom of the Hopper. We called him John.
John was banished by fixing the flapper chains; all good now.
Ah, a toilet repair not kid related, must be refreshing. The ghost from that old comic strip named “Not Me” must be the culprit. Good thing you married Bob’s progeny.
Years ago at my parents, I was taking a bath and when I went to get out, I braced myself on the wall which promptly gave way. Seems there was a leak behind the wall. After about a week, I asked my dad when he was gong to fix it, past the duck tape on the pipe with the leak and he grumbled he would do it on the weekend. next day my mom chewed me out because my dad had no clue how to fix it and she would arrange for a plumber "friend" to do it so he didn't have to mess with it, because she had discovered it was way cheaper than to have dad start it and mess it up more... How was I supposed to know that? LOL