Grump

[beowabbit]

I feel bad grumping after a wonderful four-day weekend, involving a delightful Thanksgiving dinner at plumtreeblossom’s, wonderful friends, seeing Beowulf, and all that, especially given that I’ve been posting so little lately.

But I have no toilet.

Well, that’s not quite right; I have a toilet. I just can’t flush it (except with the “bucket of water” method).

See, my toilet tank was a really awful low-water-flow-retrofit design to start with. This did not actually save water in practice. So I'd been wanting to replace the mechanism for a while. On top of that, lately it’s been leaking really badly. But I didn’t want to start messing with it while I had a renter in the house, just on the off chance I messed something up and we were without a working toilet for a few days. I felt kind of dumb about that, because how hard can it be to repair a toilet? But I’m really glad I waited.

See, the old bits were fragile and corroded, and I broke some of them while taking them out. But the bolts that hold the tank onto the toilet bowl, while not fragile, are also corroded, and I can’t unscrew them.

I would try WD40, but it’s 10pm on a Sunday, so there’s no place open I can get it. (And I don’t really feel like going out anyway.) Anyway, that’s the plan (along with a more appropriate screwdriver — the slot in the bolts is almost an inch wide). And if that doesn’t work, I guess I’m looking for bolt cutters and a drill bit appropriate for drilling out the bolts. Only in using those I’d be likely to crack the porcelain, I suspect.

Thursday and Friday were really lovely, though!

(Oh, did I mention there’s some foul stinky black gunk in the tank, too? The weird low-water-flow mechanism meant that there were some spots in the tank where water never really moved, so I think it’s just 10 years or so worth of bacteria. I am very glad I started this project with gloves on.)

Comments

[docorion.livejournal.com]

If you decide (or end up needing) to replace the toilet, let me know; I have done this job twice, and consider myself something of an expert (buffs nails on shirt). And besides, I need to teach someone else for the "See one, do one, teach one" trifecta :-)

[mamasee.livejournal.com]

Perhaps it isn't nice to smile at someone's grump, but you just made me smile -- thank you. :) You're so sweet about grumping.

And I'm glad that you started the project with gloves on. 10 yrs worth of bacteria... ick.

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

I hate broken plumbing; it makes me feel like civilization is actually all fragile or something.

I'm glad you can still use it with the bucket method, though; that's way better than having to use the bucket for something else!

If you still lived in Malden, I'd tell you to come over and grab our WD-40, but it's a little far to come from Quincy. :-) Hey, might Zeph have any?

Bleach is really good on mold, mildew, and general accumulations of ick. It might make the job less unpleasant if you get rid of that stuff first.

Good luck fixing it!


It's funny, but I was just talking about you to my parents on the phone today. I called them to tell them to look for Norman in the endzone at tonight's Patriots game, and my mother sniffed, "And what did you do for Thanksgiving -- stay home and eat tofu?" And so I told her where I went and how lovely the people there were and how much I like you and Mare and Honey and how happy I was to meet John and Tom.

So then, of course, my parents wanted to know all about you, and I told them that you had the gift of happiness, before which all other gifts pale. I said that you were a very cheerful person who managed to see the humor in life's little hassles, and when people were with you, they got to be carried along in this little cloud of Jayjoy. They heard all of that and the question about you they wanted answered was, "Is he a good-looking guy?" Why they would think that had anything to do with anything, well, my parents are hopeless. Anyway, a couple of hours later, here you are proving my point, making a fairly cheerful post about a an annoying problem. :-)

Hugs and hopes for good toilet karma!

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

I told them that you had the gift of happiness, before which all other gifts pale. I said that you were a very cheerful person who managed to see the humor in life's little hassles, and when people were with you, they got to be carried along in this little cloud of Jayjoy.

This is the best description of beowabbit I have ever heard!

:)

N.

[weegoddess.livejournal.com]

they got to be carried along in this little cloud of Jayjoy...

I love this! It's perfect!

(and sorry about the yicky wabbit toilet; I hope that things, um, flow again soon)

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Aww, sweetie, so sorry to hear about this hassle. If you need a break from dealing with it, you're always welcome here. My potty is operational. :-)

Also, if it would help, I have this morning and afternoon free, and I could go buy your WD40 and bring it to you at work. Just ask and I'd be glad to.

[cathijosephine.livejournal.com]

Jayjoy is the perfect word for it! I have tried to find that word for years. Thank you for finding and sharing it.

Unfortunately, I don't have any WD40, but I do have a reasonably near completely functional bathroom, thank goodness!

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

*smile* Thank you!

He's one of my favorite people on this earth, but then, I think a lot of us could probably say that. I'm SO glad he's found Mare!

[nex0s.livejournal.com]

I've never met you, but I am in 100% agreement with you regarding our Dear 'Wabbit :)

N.

[chienne-folle.livejournal.com]

Jayjoy is the perfect word for it! I have tried to find that word for years. Thank you for finding and sharing it.

*smile* Thanks, and you're welcome!

[beowabbit]

Thank you! I would love to learn to replace a toilet. I sincerely hope, though, that that I am not forced to replace this one. For one thing, given the size of the bathroom (and the current size of my pocketbook), I probably couldn’t really trade up. For another, the supply tube to the toilet tank is rigid, not one of those flexible ones, and appears to be soldered to the valve, which I take to mean that if I replace the toilet I will almost certainly need to get a plumber in to hook it up, since a different toilet tank might not have its intake in exactly the same place. (If they’re standardized, then maybe that would be OK.)

[beowabbit]

Awww, thank you! *Hugs.*

[beowabbit]

Jayjoy is the perfect word for it! I have tried to find that word for years.

Not that it’s news to me, but I am deeply glad that you still feel that way.

Unfortunately, I don't have any WD40, but I do have a reasonably near completely functional bathroom, thank goodness!

Thanks! So far, the bucket-of-water method is functional, but I am sure I will be making use of your bathroom when I start working on the bathtub!

[beowabbit]

Thank you, sweetie! Sorry I didn’t get back to you in a timely fashion! Maybe I should have taken you up on it, since I don’t seem to have managed to find time today to get WD40 myself, but I’m not worried about it. And I’ll see you Wednesday!

*Kisses!*

[docorion.livejournal.com]

There is a workaround to the soldered valve problem (which I know because I once had to work around it :-) But I will hope you don't have to replace it as well. Let me know if you need help.

grumping

[ka9sqb.livejournal.com]

After all that praise, I would imagine
you're flushed with pride? (if you weren't
so humble.)

I've done the interior, but never tried to
replace the whole thing.

Guess that's why I like working with electricity:
if I make a mistake, it doesn't run out all over
the floor. :-)