Tuesday, September 30, 2014

A whole lot about my new toilet

Still pretty depressed.  Getting really sick of these depressions. 

We went to Walmart, I got some cleaning supplies.  I found a tropical smelling Lysol.  I also bought some wax melts and a warmer because I thought I could plug it in the bathroom. 

Our toilet installer came, and I wanted him to have a pleasant, yet not overpowering, experience.  Yes, my house is a mess.  It took me forever to clean a 48 square foot bathroom.  I emptied it, too.  I like the way it looks and will probably keep it sparse. 

I also got more deli meat, some yogurt for work, etc. 

We came home.  I emptied the bathroom and cleaned it.  I tried to plug in the warmer, only to realize our only bathroom outlet was installed upside down.  Normally it's not a problem, but my warmer didn't have an adjustable plug.  Funny I only now notice that after over 10 years. 

Of course I had no other air freshener items.  AGH. 

I finally found a can of Febreeze spray, ran through the house with that, and used the tropical Lysol (surprisingly nice) to clean and disinfect the bathroom.  It was only $2, and I'd get it again. 

I didn't get a nap.  The installer called.  Then he arrived.

I heard a lot of loud banging noises and figured he was having trouble with the bolts.  Nope, apparently we had a lot of build up in the line.  He said the opening from the toilet, supposed to be "a couple of inches" was down to "3/4 to a half inch".  Yuck.

No wonder I had to plunge for everything.   He took a little time working, we left him alone (I made sure Ron did).  The cats were out otherwise Torbie probably would have fallen down the sewer, smelling it. 

All set and looking good!  The toilet has a taller seat, easier for Ron, and a soft close seat.  Ron can bang the lid sometimes. 

Ron had fun feeling the toilet and flushing it (before we used it).  I put in my little hanger thing with the cleaners and air fresheners.  The plumber gave me a rather skeptical look. 

Yes, my house is a mess, but I do prefer a clean toilet. 

He dragged off the old one, and I don't miss it.  I can tell from the paint marks that it was in the house from the start - so the toilet itself was nearly 30 years old.  The new toilet is narrower than the old. 

So, did it work?  We wanted a mega flush.  We didn't want to plunge every time we "dropped a solid". 

We found out.  Someone made a rather large "deposit".  I was very skeptical. The toilet didn't appear very vigorous.  However, I pushed the lever and wham - an empty bowl.  OK, I am impressed.

With the old toilet, I would have been plunging for a good 5 minutes.  

Joe (yes, we had a plumber named Joe) said we might want to do a line cleanout.  We're looking into that, but in the meantime I had half a bottle of lye and some rubber gloves.

I used to work with lye crystals, making soap.  It is very toxic and will burn like no one's business.  You have to be tremendously careful, working with lye.

I have glasses for eye protection.

I loved that in chemistry, I never had to wear goggles.

So, I donned the gloves and very carefully poured the liter of lye down the drain.  I'm supposed to let it work for 8 hours and "flush the line with hot water".  Since I poured it down the shower drain, that will work perfectly.

I'll make sure to rinse the shower out, very well, before I step into the tub, though.  

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

What was the cost for the plumber to come out (if you don't mind my asking).

Heather Knits said...

The install was about $160, and we also tipped him.