The OTHER Toilet

Homemaking

Life Story Writing

The OTHER Toilet

Toilet Repairs

I seem to have more than my fair share of plumbing problems. MY toilet didn’t stop up … but it started to leak. Folks… what a place to try to stop a leak! Try it sometime!

At first, I thought it was… THE KIDS. Afterall, they were the source of the last problem and they were using my toilet in the interim! They were also using my shower while they were in my bathroom… which should be my next real life story!

Each evening, I’d step between the toilet and the shower doors to turn on the shower. I’d notice the wet carpet only if I happened to be barefoot at the time. Each time I noticed it, I actually thought the kids were being careless… (ah-hem, not in the toilet folks!) … but by leaving the shower door open while showering!

So I continued to ignore all the warning signs.

The carpet was so wet at 6 a.m. one morning, though, it finally dawned on me that it couldn’t be from the kids’ shower the morning before.

I tested the leak by turning off the water to the toilet and the leak miraculously stopped. When I turned the water back on, I felt around (on the OUTside of the toilet folks!!!) and thus deduced that the leak was in the seal at the bottom of the tank. I’m brilliant! (But, very frugal when it comes to my money)

So for just a couple of weeks, I placed a pan under the leak and would turn the water on just long enough to give me enough water to flush, then turn the water back off again.

This worked well for me until Friday…

I forgot to turn the water back off afterward!! When I got home from work… the floor was flooded. When I regained my composure, I decided NOW was time to make the repair.

On Saturday I went down to my friendly hardware store and got the replacement seal. Oh how proud I was of this, my first plumbing purchase!

While there, I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone and decided to replace the water line also… just in case. I also purchased a new sprinkler that squirts in square spurts, and bought a longer heavy duty electric cord for my mower.

Then I remembered I needed lawn bags and more protective face masks, plus I just had to buy the kids new keychain souvenirs.

Before I knew it, my $9 purchase turned into $95! Now I know why men spend so much time and money when they go shopping. There’s a whole n’other world in a hardware store!

When I got home, I know that this will be an easy repair for me. :::Ha!::: The nut was so tight and corroded, I had to borrow a wrench from my neighbor who stores such things at his house. To unscrew is the easy part… the hard part was trying to get the stupid water line yanked out of the bottom of the tank. I actually went so far as to put my foot against the tank to help with the leverage to yank that water line but to no avail!

So… humbling myself again, I went back to the tool guy across the street and asked him if he’d mind helping me with the water line. He does “honey do” home repairs for a living. His eyes brightened up just long enough to learn that I wasn’t planning to pay him for his services …

But I wisely asked for several of his business cards to make up for it though and promised to watch his dog one evening while he went out on the town. This seemed to pacify him long enough to help me out! (Men! They’re so easy!)

Tool guy complimented me on my purchases and said he’d be glad to help me but mentioned that I got the wrong sized water line; I needed one with a bigger end.

So… back to the hardware store I went. Another 30 minutes later, Tool Guy is back, helping this frustrated little mother out!

He didn’t mind, but all the while, he felt that my problem was the ball-cock.  Ever notice how the plumbing industry uses the male-female terms to describe the parts? Where’s their minds anyway?  I wonder how a guy would feel if we women told them that they needed a bigger end or even a newer ball-cock? I don’t mean to sound naughty, but they started it! The whole story changes when we start dishing it back to them, eh?

Back to my senseless toilet story…

Tool Guy was right all along. I did need a new ball-cock and my, my, what an impressive selection they have at the hardware store! I thoroughly enjoyed checking out the various styles on display! There were 3 types to choose from. One of which seemed way too short and the other had a shape that just didn’t look right to me. I finally settled on the old fashioned style. I wanted to go with a sure bet, tried and true. I figured if they were still making them, they must still work! Sometimes older is better.

Visit Toiletology 101 – A Course in Toilet Repairs will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about repairing toilets.

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