Saturday, May 18, 2019

Necessity is a Mother: DIY Plumbing (UPDATED)

In spite of a short stint as a USAF Aircraft Armament Systems Specialist, I've never been a grease monkey kind of girl.

But they tell me that change is good.



I can barely sleep with this going on. And I definitely can't concentrate on writing. On top of this, the drain is slow. I own a snake and have already tried to alleviate the clog it once. Of course it was gross and I wasn't aggressive enough in loosening up the clog, so I'm going to try it again, but, obviously, I need to fix this first.

Some might wonder why I'm not calling my landlord about this. From experience with these owners, I know that I'll be waiting for weeks until they get around to it. Example: the security door on the building's entry is encoded to each resident's phone number. When I got a new number last year, my landlord put my number in, but it's the wrong number. When someone enters my apartment number, he/she gets the voicemail of some law office instead of my cell.

I told them about this months ago and, again, two weeks ago when they came to collect the rent.

I can't fix that, but I can fix these drain things. So, this is my portion for today.


I view this as evidence that it's time for me to learn new skills. Pray for my success and ...

Hit the Tip Jar!


UPDATE: Thanks for the link, Glenn! Will post updates directly.

UPDATE: Bought: O-rings,  cartridges, WD-40 and super Drano. Changed my mind and snaked the drain first. Looks like the clog is too far out.

So now I'm trying to remove this. Tried with synthetic gun oil and WD-40. Glad I clipped my nails first! /chick

UPDATE: Taking a break to write a post for Da Tech Guy Blog.

UPDATE: I just don't have the hand strength. Looking at cheap plumbers in LA. With you fine people hitting my tip jar, I think can happen!

UPDATE: Upside to taping on the faucets with a huge hex wrench: water not flowing so freely.

UPDATE: Thank-you emails are in the future of many. When the plumber gets here in the next few days, I will put up a new post.

UPDATE: All Fixed.

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7 comments:

Mitch said...

There is a faucet handle removing tool you can get from Amazon. They cost about $10 - 15, depending on the model. Before you order, make sure there is at least 1/8" under the faucet handle, or you won't be able to get the tool in place.

baldilocks said...

Will look!

LonestarWhacko said...

Semi-retired Plumber here. You're better off changing the faucet out. Make sure it has a ceramic cartridge. Rubber parts are eaten up by the chemicals in the water.

Beth Donovan said...

Go to Home Depot and buy a new faucet. They guys in the plumbing dept can tell you how to do this - ask for a military discount they ought to give you 10% off - If you lived nearby, my husband and I would come and fix it for you, but it would be a bit of a commute from Kansas! LOL!

Tolbert said...

I've been wrenching on stuff for several decades. WD-40 isn't the greatest stuff in the world. PB Blaster is a penetrating oil and lubricant, which WD-40 isn't. I would also second replacing the entire faucet.

Anonymous said...

I have found that plain old laundry bleach works pretty well as a drain cleaner following a gallon of boiling water, letting the water drain first, of course. Let it sit for a few hours and see if it works. Cheap, and in my experience (lots of cheap apartments in "affordable" parts of town during the nomadic part of my younger life in the oilfield) it often works. Did I mention cheap?

SweatBee said...

You might try a product called Power Plumber if the chemical product didn't work. It shoots compressed air down the drain. About $10 for 15 uses.