The kitchen faucet is dripping.
No, that is not a metaphor for our financial disaster created by Washington.
MY kitchen faucet is dripping. Drip. Drip. Drip.
If I lift the lever and turn off the faucet right in the middle, the drip stops.
Confession? It has dripped long enough that even the kids know how to stop the drip. Darling... um... kinda.
Not only is the faucet dripping, but the plumbing under the sink is dripping. Specifically, it drips when the disposal runs. The disposal seems to be perpetually clogged. I noticed the drip when taking out the garbage. The drip/gush under the sink appears to be coming from the U-bend connections.
So. What's a Girl to do?
I could turn off the water and try to figure it out. Excuse me, I could try to figure it out and then turn off the water and fix it.
Or, I could use my home warranty and spend $50 on the deductible and have a plumber come out and fix both problems.
I could do it myself for, what, $10? That leaves me $40 for groceries or kid clothes or to transfer into savings.
What would you do?
~ G
My good G,
ReplyDeleteIf I were you, I would realize my sink leak was likely the result of worn washers, replaceable for under $5 at any Lowe's or Home Depot, illustrated instructions available online.
The dishwasher leak is likely a result of the U-bend or "trap" being clogged with food boogers from over-reliance on letting the dishwasher do the preliminary dish cleaning. Pull the trap, clean it out, and put it back. While you're under the sink, you should probably pull all the non-glued compression joints, verify their gaskets, and rewrap their threads with new Teflon tape, also available at your hardware store of choice at a dollar and pennies per roll. Illustrated instructions available online.
Madam Stuart recently did exactly this, so I have every confidence you can, too.
And then, my good G, you should write up this adventure and post it when you rejoin us as an Author in Alexandria. It has been too long, and we would be delighted with your return.
It would seem frugal to do it yourself, but there’s no guarantee that your faucet won’t leak again. If you hire a trained and professional plumber, on the other hand, you only need to pay once for services, and you may even ask for a warranty for his service or the materials he used to replace your leaking faucet.
ReplyDeleteDarryl Iorio