Plumbing, Again

Friday morning, September 1, as I took my shower, I realized that the shower head had a leak. I have a hand held shower head on a flexi-hose, but mostly use it in the holder. Sometimes, I take it out of the holder and use is as a hand held.  I like having the option. I am not sure how long this leak has been present. The unit is a hard plastic, in two pieces, and the leak was at the seam of the two pieces.  

So, I purchased a new shower head today.  It has 5 settings, including a pause setting, a shampoo setting, a massage setting, and a couple of others. It was easy to disassemble the shower head I had and replace it with the new one.  I did not try it out to see if it is leaking anywhere, but it shouldn't be.  We will see.

Air Conditioner and Heater Day 2

So, the air conditioner/furnace specialist came by this morning to check on my situation. Sure enough, the condenser coil was rusted and leaking. Options were: try to replace the condenser coil; for not much more money replace the inside furnace/condenser coil unit; for about twice the money replace everything inside and out.  Since I had already thought that I would be doing that in June, and the unit is 26 years old, I decided it was time to replace everything. 

I was scheduled to be off Friday, and had a couple of errands to do, but I rescheduled those, after I scheduled the system replacement for Friday. 

I think this will be a good move. 

Plumbing

Well, I actually called the plumber last week, but did not receive a response, so let it go until this morning, when I usually go into work late.  I called, and received a response.  I called into work and said I would be later than usual.

The plumber came.  We looked at the bathroom near the leak, and could find nothing. We checked the meter, which showed no leak, he pulled up carpet and padding that was soaked, and asked to put a fan on the area to dry it out.  He wanted to come back later in the day. That worked for me, as I had some work things I felt obligated to do.

So, in the afternoon, when the plumber came back, the area was dry, unless he stepped on a specific spot.  Amazingly to me, but not to the plumber, there was high quality tile on the slab.  He tried to dislodge it and could not, and said he might have to come back tomorrow with different equipment.  

So, then we looked in the furnace/ac closet.  I had looked. There were some water stains on the floor, but I thought they might be old.  He took the panels off the furnace, and sure enough, saw water drips.  The filter was wet.  That was the leak, and it was seeping into the hallway. He said it was a coil in the air conditioner.  

So relief, I did not have a slab leak that could take an untold amount of digging to find, but now I am faced with possibly needing a new air conditioner and even air conditioner and heating unit. 

The plumbing company I use has specialists who do certain things.  The air conditioner person, and the supervisor were both unavailable to talk to me this afternoon about what my options are.  So, I will stay home from work in the morning, again to meet with someone about this. 

Well, if you are a regular reader, you will remember I thought a new system might have been required a couple of months ago, when the air conditioner could not keep up with the 112° heat.  But, all that was needed then was a clean out of the compressor. But it might have been an indicator of more serious things. 

The air conditioner/furnace were replaced in this house in the fall of 1991, about 6 months before I purchased it.  So, I have really been blessed that I have not had much trouble before now.

And, I am still blessed, because although there is a leak, I have air conditioning.  Most of the time, when the air conditioner develops a problem, there is no air conditioning.  

This will be an expensive process. 

I will deal with it.

I am blessed that I can deal with it. 

Floor Leaks

So, I did not want to believe this at first, and I thought I had a kitty who vomited on the carpet in the hallway.  I cleaned it up, but it took days to dry out, and only after I tried to towel up the excess water several times.   

Then, another spot, and the first spot, and another spot.  I soaked them up last night but they are soaking wet again tonight, and there are some other little spots in the same general area.

I am afraid that one of the pipes or conduits in the concrete slab on which the house is built is  leaking.  I am hoping for one leak, which is spreading to surface in various areas in my hallway.

I cannot deal with this right now, but I will have to take time off from work to do so.  It is just a fact of life.

I will start dealing with it tomorrow. 

Plumbing

The toilet in my full bath sometimes does not work. The lift arm to allow it to flush is connected to the plug by a chain, and sometimes, not very often, the chain disintegrates, and needs to be replaced. That happened to night. I keep extra chain in the tool box, and it takes me less that 10 minutes to fix it, usually not even 5 minutes. So it was tonight.

Lowery Plumbing and the Drain Cleanout

So, Chris, the plumbing technician from Lowery Plumbing http://trustlowery.com/ who came by Saturday came by late this afternoon to work on my drains.  He worked on the main drain, and identified the problem at the main line where the drain pipes are connected. He identified that Lowery had replaced the drain and asked me how long ago.  I guessed about 10 years ago, with about a 5 year guarantee.  He said the pipes had settled and have started to separate, so the roots are growing in.  He cleaned out the main drain, and then, he worked on the washing machine drain.  He did not charge me for the second drain clean out, since I was a repeat customer, and Lowery had done the main drain before. He suggested they could dig up the main drain and fix the connection to eliminate the roots, and I said I would think about it.

He also said that the cast iron pipes used in the houses of the age of my house tend to develop internal corrosion and build up which slows down the drainage.  If that happens, the plumbing can be re-worked in the house, or out-skirted to the yard, and connected to the main sewer line outside.  Good to know.

I was really impressed with how careful Chris was: with his tools, with working in the yard, with how he managed himself on the roof.  Lowery Plumbing tends to be higher in cost for many services.  They were when I had the sewer line replaced, years ago.  But they did it in one day and did not dig up my entire yard.  Several years earlier, I had had the gas line replaced and the low cost plumbing company I used took 3 days, and because there was a snow storm before they finished, they never covered over the trench they dug!  So, you get what you pay for. 

Lowery also uses a camera in the sewer line, and Chris showed me just where the problem was. He explained that they could discount their cost to fix the separation, because it was their work, originally. Lowery has a low cost drain clean service.  Chris only charged me for one clean out, not two!  I was really impressed with Chris' customer service skills!  And, I did a review for Lowery on Facebook because of it!

Plumbing Problems

So, the weekend of December 10, 2016, I had a plumbing problem:  my drains backed up into the shower and bathtub, and onto one of the bathroom floors, when I did laundry.  I cleaned up the mess, and did the rest of my laundry at the laundromat. I used the root kill chemicals, and it seemed to clear things up.  I also had to plunge the shower drain.  So, when I ran the dishwasher mid-week, there was no backup problem.

On December 17, 2016, when I did laundry, the drain backed up and flooded into the kitchen and the garage.  I called around looking for a plumber.  One said they could come but for overtime prices which are $187 plus per hour.  I declined.  Another company that does regular weekend work responded, but by the time the plumber arrived, it had been sleeting in my neighborhood. The plumber had said on the phone he might not be able to help me because of the weather.  He would have to get on the roof to clean out the washer drain.  It was not safe for him to get on the roof with the precipitation and wind. We set up an appointment for later in the week.

It meant another trip to the laundromat.  But, it is what it is, and you do what you have to do.

On December 18, 2016, I did run the dishwasher.  It did not back up or flood the kitchen, so this tells me the drain clog is in the clean out for the washing machine.

Plumbing Woes

In late 2013 and early 2014, I was having a regular problem with my sewer line being clogged by roots, and backing up into the shower, the bathtub, and the floor in the little bathroom, from under the toilet. Every few months, I had to have the plumber in.  Sometimes, they did a good job, sometimes, not so good. So, after waiting all day for a plumber, who did the clean out job, the next time I had a problem, I used a chemical agent to kill the roots that were clogging my drain.  That was in 2014, before I had the little bathroom remodeled.  I have not had a problem since then, until this weekend.  I did not know I had a problem this weekend, until I got in the shower this morning, and saw the residue from the back up on the shower floor.  Yuck! 

Well, since the bathroom was remodeled, it makes sense that the toilet might not flood. But there was also back up in the tub. 

After work, I went to Home Depot and purchased some root killer  and put it in the sewer line, and ran water in the shower for about 10 minutes.  I had to go to the Catholic Charities Board meeting tonight, so I did not bother cleaning up the back up in the tub, or scrubbing the shower.  I will do that tomorrow night. The timing is good. The back ups seem to occur when I dump a lot of water in the drain, as when I run the dishwasher or do a load of laundry, both of which I did Sunday.  So, that gives the chemicals a week to work. And the chemicals are cheaper than a plumber, so even if I need to do a repeat treatment, it is cheaper than using a plumber.

Philosophers and Welders

I did not watch the Republican Presidential Candidates debate last night, but evidently Marco Rubio talked about if you don't honor philosophers or welders, society will suffer.  I think I know where that comes from.  Years ago, I had a poster, and I cannot remember the exact wording but it was something like this:

The society that exalts philosophers for being a glorified profession, and disparages plumbers for being a humble profession, will neither have good philosophers nor good plumbers. 

In other words, neither its theories nor its pipes will hold water.

Plumbing Done

I am so glad I called a second plumber, Discount or Reese Plumbing. They do not have a home page.  They were able to get to me about 3 hours after I called. I ended up taking the day off.  I did not mean to, but by the time the plumber left and I cleaned up the mess, it was about 3 PM.  I had not even taken a shower.

I try to use Lowery Plumbing http://www.trustlowery.com/ because they are the ones who replaced the sewer line, and because they off a lower rate for drain clean outs.  I suspect drain clean outs are at the bottom of their list of service calls. There was no reason for me to wait as long as I did to hear from Lowery.  I called them and said to take me off their list. I should have waited to see if they ever even called me. 

So, I enjoyed the rest of the day. I did some yard work, went to the library and went for a walk.  Now I am watching the Red Raiders play against the Kansas Jayhawks at Lubbock.  

I have plenty of leave, so that is not a concern. I just hate being out unscheduled.  

Waiting for the Plumber

I need some plumbing work done, and called yesterday afternoon to set an appointment for today.  I had hoped I would be early on the list, as it is difficult to get called at work to get home to meet a service repair man.  Well, no such luck. I have called to check twice and they are not even trying to give me a time.  I called another place and they said they could get to me before 5 PM today.

I called into work at noon and told my boss what the situation was.  She is very understanding. I did not have a lot of outstanding work to do today, so the timing is okay as far as that goes.

I am just not a good waiter.  I have been reading. I ran a quick errand but had the cell phone with me, thinking for sure I would get called while I was away from home. Not so.

I am back to waiting.  It is pretty out and I am going to take myself outside.

A Biblical Plague

I really feel like I have been infested with a Biblical plague.  I have chronicled my automobile and cell phone problems.  Thursday night, my skin infection returned from out of nowhere! And, today, while I was doing laundry, my drains backed up.   So that put the kibosh on laundry.  The drain clean out was covered with leaves, so I thought I should clean that area of the backyard.  And, of course, I ended up cleaning the entire back yard.  I did not even plan to do that this weekend. I will say that between the celebrex and my physical therapy exercises, I am getting stronger.   It only took about 2 hours to rake the entire yard, with only two rest breaks.  That is about what it used to take before my back started bothering me.  Of course, I am very sore tonight.

On the other hand, the snow and freezing rain we had last weekend and early this past week knocked most of the leaves off the trees around my house, except the Bradford Pear, to the east.  I sometimes do not even rake leaves until New Years, because I want to wait until they are all down.  The last couple of years, I have raked a couple of times for two reasons 1) I get tired of looking at the leaves and 2) it takes me so long to rake.

I still have to do the front and alley, but that is not so bad.

I did some serious house cleaning that I was not planning to do, but did not mess with the bathrooms until I can get the plumber in. Nor did I wash the kitchen floor, for the same reason.  I called, but it was about 1 PM, and the on-call guy had 8 calls ahead of me.  I will check in the morning and see what the prospect is for repairs tomorrow.  Amazing, at 10:15 PM the plumber called.  He has had a long day, but says they only take weekend call once a month.  He was willing to come out tonight, but I told him not to: the cleanout is in a corner of the backyard where there are no lights, and he will have to get on the roof to do the washing machine cleanout.  So we have an appointment for noon tomorrow. That makes me happy.  I will be able to do the laundry in the afternoon.

The car starts once, but does not hold enough of a charge to start again. I am hoping it will start Monday morning so I do not have to bother a neighbor to get a jump start, but either way I need to be able to get to the repair shop. 

The injection that Sake received last Tuesday just did not work as well as the first time.   She runs to food, but does not eat.  She smacks her lips, but does not eat.  She did eat some baby food chicken, some hard treats, some turkey wing meat, and liver tonight. Just a little of each.  It is so frustrating. She eats a little at a time, but will not go back to something she has eaten earlier in the day.  I am thinking the next step is to have her teeth extracted.  I hate to do that, because she will have so much trouble grooming. She will just have to let me help her more. 

Well, the cell phone works.  The car is safe in the garage.  I can renew my library books online or by phone tomorrow.  I did get groceries today, but had to get a jump start to get home.  It takes almost nothing to start the car, so that is weird. 

One thing that has come out of this is that I can now back the car into the garage.  I did that for the first time Wednesday night, and I bet it took me 30 minutes. Maybe not, but I sweated over it and did it inch by inch, correcting and recorrecting.   Yesterday, it did not take me that long, and today, it took even less time. Of course, I still need to be careful, but it is nice to know I have that skill.

What is really weird, is that I do not think twice about backing the car out of the garage, it is just a straight shot, but sometimes, I end up crooked off the driveway.  Well, I am glad I have learned this new skill!

Plumbing Access

In the computer room, there is a wall access to the bathtub plumbing in the main bathroom.  There is a desk about 8 inches from the wall.  For years, that door has remained closed.  Until a few weeks ago.  I noticed that the door was open.  I dared not close it, until I could account for all three cats.  Eventually, I did close it.

Last night, I noticed it was open again.  I again had to find the cats before I could close it.  I am not sure why this door is opening.  Of course, both Sake and Haiku know how to open these types of doors.  So it could be one of the cats.  It could be a pressure thing.
Who knows. 

Hmmm.

Drains, Floods and Other Plumbing Stuff

Less than 8 years ago, I had the sewer line at my house replaced.  I went with a company that had a higher bid than others, but said they could do it one day, and they would not have to dig a trench in my back yard.  Some five or six years earlier, I had had to replace the gas line: it was done at a reasonable price. But it was winter, took three days, and they never came back to fill in the trench they dug.  I was in the process of renting out the house, and the renter was gracious to be okay with the 3 day delay (she stayed with her mother, out of town) and she and I filled in the trench.

Last September, there was a drainage back up. I called a different plumber and they came out quickly, and cleaned out the sewer line. The next weekend, the washing machine flooded the house. So I called the same people back.  It was my fault.  I recalled, after the flooding event, from earlier years, that the drain line for the washing machine would also flood when the main drain line flooded.  The plumber gave me a discount, anyway.

Saturday, the 12th, once again I had a drainage problem: sewer water backup into the half bathroom, and into the bathtub of the other bathroom.  It took me most of Saturday afternoon to clean out and dry out the half bathroom, and the bath tub. Also , the washing machine drain overflowed, which required cleaning the kitchen floor.  So I went to the laundromat on Sunday to finish washing the laundry.

The plumbing company that replaced the sewer line offers a really low cost drain clean out, with a discount on a second line, if done the same day.  So, I called that company early Monday morning, before business hours.  They did not call me back by about 9 AM, and when I called them, again, they admitted they did not have their faxes from the answering service. They were very vague about a time they could get to my problem, and wanted to call me at work.  I said this was not possible.  (It might be, but I am never certain where I need to be in the building, there is no guarantee I would hear a page if someone did page me, I may or may not be in my office to take a call, I may or may not be able to disengage from a patient interview, and it can take me anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes to get from my office to my house. My experience in the past is that some service people do not wait, others do.) 

I asked to be placed on the morning schedule for Tuesday. The receptionist was not sure she could do this, but after checking, said she would. So, Tuesday morning, when I did not hear from the plumbing company by 9:15, I called them. I was told I was on the schedule, but there was no guarantee when I would be called. When I explained my concern about waiting all day, again the receptionist suggested I go to work and wait for a call.  Do these people not get it?  What if I were a mail carrier?  And there are many positions of employment where people are unavailable in the course of their work day: meetings, classes, traveling from job to job, in the middle of programs, procedures or what have you.

Shortly there after, I received a call from a perky, upbeat sounding plumber.  He came to the  house, and we discussed the problem which included that I knew when the bathroom plumbing backed up, I could count on the washing machine drain to overflow, as it did Saturday, and both needed to be cleaned out. He said he would work in the backyard from the alley. I also told him that his company had replaced the sewer line sometime since 2005.

He suggested I fill the washing machine, so we could check out the drain when he cleaned it out.  It took him a very long time to clean out the sewer line, and he got some serious root clumps out of it.  Then we drained the washing machine, which immediately flooded the kitchen. Well, of course, he had not worked on the drain line for the washing machine.  He felt badly about flooding the kitchen.  I told him I had plenty of experience in cleaning it up, so no big problem. (Besides, that is clean water, and not sewer backup like the flooding of the bathroom.)

But, I think he was embarrassed enough that he worked and worked and worked, on the main drain and the one associated with the washing machine.  He worked on both of them for quite some time, and even called to see if their cameraman was in the area to look at the drain.  Well, after some time, we tried the washing machine drain again, and it worked. Before he left, I flushed both commodes. He had already run water down the tub and kitchen sink. We pretty much checked everything out. 

He said he wanted the camera technician to come out, anyway, to see if they could find the problem, and talked about making arrangements for that. He agreed that there should not be a problem with the sewer line, since it was so newly replaced.  Hmmm. We shall see if I hear from them about the camera tech checking the line.

We shall see how long this drain cleaning lasts. One of my coworkers suggested getting crystals that help to keep the drains cleaned of roots. That is a good idea.

The Plumber Came Early

As promised, the plumber came early today. He got on the roof, and cleared out the drain from the washing machine that connects to the main sewer line. I am so glad it is fixed.  I should have realized that might be a problem, when I was having other drain problems, but I did not. Oh well

Plumbing Woes

Last weekend, the commode was leaking. I shut the water off, used the other bathroom, and was able to have a plumber come out. They found roots in the sewer line, and cleaned it out. I was really glad that I did not have other back ups. In the past, I had sewage back up in the shower!  And the bath tub, but I rarely use the bath tub.

Also, in the past, I was alerted to drainage problems because when the washing machine drained, it over-flowed onto the floor in the kitchen. 

Well, today, when I did laundry, the washing machine over-flowed when it drained.  Into the kitchen, and into the garage. 

As I was cleaning up the mess, I was going to put some wet stuff into the bath tub.  I discovered that there had been a drain back up, dried now, in the tub.

I plann to go to a laundromat tomorrow to do my washing, but the dryer is available.  I will call the plumber and get them back out here to root out the drain for the washing machine.  I understand how this works.  And it is not the plumbers' fault they did not discover this.  But it is an inconvenience and a hassle.