Our new toilets are installed, although our instructions are that we're not to sit on them for the next five hours (it's a good thing there's a third toilet in the house). The downstairs toilet is black. The upstairs toilet is white. They both fit properly in their assigned spots and flush
nicely.
However they are both 15 inches rather than 17 inches high. Someone mixed the order up
and I was out when the installer came. Oh well. We've lived with standard height toilets
for the past 6 or so decades - and we will continue to do so for the next 6... I hope!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Toilet Tales...
About a year ago the toilet in our downstairs powder room developed an annoying habit. Every once in a while, for no apparent reason, its innards would somehow release and a gentle whooshing sound would occcur.
(At this point I feel I should state I am not a plumber, nor am I related to one - in fact as far as I know I don't even have a social connection to any plumbers. Therefore I have no idea about the technical terminology for, or the inner workings of toilets - or sinks or bathtubs for that matter. Mind you, I do consider myself somewhat handy around the house, and can sometimes perform minor miracles with a butter knife and Crazy Glue.)
There was no evidence of leakage (my first concern), and the toilet continued to function correctly, doing exactly what toilets are supposed to do. At first we tried to ignore it. But the whooshing continued. There was no pattern or rhythm to it - it was just random whooshing.
After a few days I decided enough was enough. I marched into the bathroom and glared at the offending commode. It didn't whoosh. (I have been told I have an effective glare.) I removed the lid from the tank at the back and looked inside. As far as I could figure, everything seemed fine. There was water in the tank, the big ball thing was floating, all chains were attached, and the plug at the bottom was appropriately plugged. I stuck my hand into the water and jiggled a few things just to be on the safe side, because you never know - sometimes judicious jiggling will do the trick.
In the meantime, perhaps because we had become more 'toilet aware', we noticed that our upstairs toilet was running on for an unusually long time after being flushed.
We called a plumber.
$300 later the innards of the downstairs toilet had been replaced and the upstairs toilet had been seen to. The plumber, who seemed to know what he was about, informed us that whatever he had done would most likely turn out to be temporary, and that we were due for new toilets, probably sooner rather than later.
He left.
We continued to whoosh and run on.
We decided to live with it.
Until last week, when we realized the whooshing had intensified, and the running on was running on... and on....
Did you know Home Depot has an extensive toilet section? Row upon row of brand new toilets to choose from. You can select toilets by brand, by shape, by height, and by flush performance. You can opt for various degrees of outlet size, flush valve size and of course, bulk removal (you can figure that one out for yourself). There are round bowls and elongated bowls (we opted for the latter on the advice of our very pleasant and extremely knowledgeable toilet sales person, Eugene, who told us it was a 'guy thing'.) There are one piece, two piece, and wall mounted toilets. And of course one must also consider overall performance, comfort, and style.
After much deliberation, and in consultation with Eugene, we chose two toilets. Along with our elongated bowls, we went with chair height - 'for taller people'. (One of us qualifies, the other will just have to adjust).
The upstairs toilet was not much of an issue. A white, one piece Kohler, all parts included. The downstairs commode was another kettle of fish. Unfortunately our home was built in the 80s. Styles and tastes have definitely changed since then. The fixtures in the powder room are black. A 'special order'.
Our new, black, twice the price of the white one, downstairs toilet will come in two separate pieces, and not include the rubber ring thingie that goes around the bottom or the shut off valves. It will also not include the seat. A black seat. Another (read expensive) special order. There are also installation fees. And 'haul away' fees. We opted to forgo the delivery fees and will be picking up our new toilets when we are called to do so. I hope they fit in the back of the SUV.
So there we were, two hours and almost $900 later, wandering through Home Depot with a 7 page toilet contract in hand. We ended up in the garden center where I bought two flats of impatiens and a bag of red mulch for just over $20. (The flowers are already planted and mulched, and I didn't charge myself extra for the watering.)
But I just know we're going to feel very, very special when we plunk ourselves down (in style and comfort) on our brand new, specially ordered, chair height, elongated, black toilet and seat.
About a year ago the toilet in our downstairs powder room developed an annoying habit. Every once in a while, for no apparent reason, its innards would somehow release and a gentle whooshing sound would occcur.
(At this point I feel I should state I am not a plumber, nor am I related to one - in fact as far as I know I don't even have a social connection to any plumbers. Therefore I have no idea about the technical terminology for, or the inner workings of toilets - or sinks or bathtubs for that matter. Mind you, I do consider myself somewhat handy around the house, and can sometimes perform minor miracles with a butter knife and Crazy Glue.)
There was no evidence of leakage (my first concern), and the toilet continued to function correctly, doing exactly what toilets are supposed to do. At first we tried to ignore it. But the whooshing continued. There was no pattern or rhythm to it - it was just random whooshing.
After a few days I decided enough was enough. I marched into the bathroom and glared at the offending commode. It didn't whoosh. (I have been told I have an effective glare.) I removed the lid from the tank at the back and looked inside. As far as I could figure, everything seemed fine. There was water in the tank, the big ball thing was floating, all chains were attached, and the plug at the bottom was appropriately plugged. I stuck my hand into the water and jiggled a few things just to be on the safe side, because you never know - sometimes judicious jiggling will do the trick.
In the meantime, perhaps because we had become more 'toilet aware', we noticed that our upstairs toilet was running on for an unusually long time after being flushed.
We called a plumber.
$300 later the innards of the downstairs toilet had been replaced and the upstairs toilet had been seen to. The plumber, who seemed to know what he was about, informed us that whatever he had done would most likely turn out to be temporary, and that we were due for new toilets, probably sooner rather than later.
He left.
We continued to whoosh and run on.
We decided to live with it.
Until last week, when we realized the whooshing had intensified, and the running on was running on... and on....
Did you know Home Depot has an extensive toilet section? Row upon row of brand new toilets to choose from. You can select toilets by brand, by shape, by height, and by flush performance. You can opt for various degrees of outlet size, flush valve size and of course, bulk removal (you can figure that one out for yourself). There are round bowls and elongated bowls (we opted for the latter on the advice of our very pleasant and extremely knowledgeable toilet sales person, Eugene, who told us it was a 'guy thing'.) There are one piece, two piece, and wall mounted toilets. And of course one must also consider overall performance, comfort, and style.
After much deliberation, and in consultation with Eugene, we chose two toilets. Along with our elongated bowls, we went with chair height - 'for taller people'. (One of us qualifies, the other will just have to adjust).
The upstairs toilet was not much of an issue. A white, one piece Kohler, all parts included. The downstairs commode was another kettle of fish. Unfortunately our home was built in the 80s. Styles and tastes have definitely changed since then. The fixtures in the powder room are black. A 'special order'.
Our new, black, twice the price of the white one, downstairs toilet will come in two separate pieces, and not include the rubber ring thingie that goes around the bottom or the shut off valves. It will also not include the seat. A black seat. Another (read expensive) special order. There are also installation fees. And 'haul away' fees. We opted to forgo the delivery fees and will be picking up our new toilets when we are called to do so. I hope they fit in the back of the SUV.
So there we were, two hours and almost $900 later, wandering through Home Depot with a 7 page toilet contract in hand. We ended up in the garden center where I bought two flats of impatiens and a bag of red mulch for just over $20. (The flowers are already planted and mulched, and I didn't charge myself extra for the watering.)
But I just know we're going to feel very, very special when we plunk ourselves down (in style and comfort) on our brand new, specially ordered, chair height, elongated, black toilet and seat.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
I had good intentions... really I did.
I was going to be a steady and constant Blogger, describing the day to day annoyances of aging with grace and dignity. I was going to get myself to my desk (well, really, my dining room table) every morning, like clockwork, sit down at my laptop, and Blog away. I was going to become an active member of the Blogosphere.
(Isn't it amazing. by the way, how the Internet has added to the English language? Blogosphere. 'Netiquette. Cyberspace. Smileys. Twittering - I have recently begun to Twitter. Something else to keep up with.)
But I digress. Since my last entry I have had four weeks (off and on) of visitors, several days in Disney World with grandchildren (this experience in itself should be good for at least one Blog entry on its own), five or six dinner parties, baby sat for two dogs, played too many rounds of extremely frustrating golf and dealt with a household full of flu. I also have what I laughably call a career, which does take up some time, albiet far less than I would like. And of course, I've got to keep up with everyone else's Blogs.
They say if you ask a busy person to do something, they will do it far more quickly than someone whose time is, shall we say, less full. Nonsense, I say. I'm busy, there's no doubt about it. But do I get things done more quickly? I don't think so - at least not any more. Oh, they get done all right, but my attitude about doing them has definitely changed. I find myself thinking that life is far too short to worry about whether the laundry will be done today when it can be done tomorrow. I find I don't obsess over whether my pantry is out of order when I can't find the Hoisin sauce. I just change my dinner menu from stir fry to grilled chicken and get on with it. And I don't tidy up the pantry for at least another two days. I sit down in the evening to read for twenty minutes and don't get up for an hour. So I didn't sew the button on my husband's trousers, his belt will work fine for another couple of days - they'll hold his pants up and hide the gape nicely. And I certainly didn't fold what laundry I did end up doing. Because it will be there tomorrow.
And I didn't Blog.
Perhaps I should change the name of this Blog to Procrastinating Gracefully.
I was going to be a steady and constant Blogger, describing the day to day annoyances of aging with grace and dignity. I was going to get myself to my desk (well, really, my dining room table) every morning, like clockwork, sit down at my laptop, and Blog away. I was going to become an active member of the Blogosphere.
(Isn't it amazing. by the way, how the Internet has added to the English language? Blogosphere. 'Netiquette. Cyberspace. Smileys. Twittering - I have recently begun to Twitter. Something else to keep up with.)
But I digress. Since my last entry I have had four weeks (off and on) of visitors, several days in Disney World with grandchildren (this experience in itself should be good for at least one Blog entry on its own), five or six dinner parties, baby sat for two dogs, played too many rounds of extremely frustrating golf and dealt with a household full of flu. I also have what I laughably call a career, which does take up some time, albiet far less than I would like. And of course, I've got to keep up with everyone else's Blogs.
They say if you ask a busy person to do something, they will do it far more quickly than someone whose time is, shall we say, less full. Nonsense, I say. I'm busy, there's no doubt about it. But do I get things done more quickly? I don't think so - at least not any more. Oh, they get done all right, but my attitude about doing them has definitely changed. I find myself thinking that life is far too short to worry about whether the laundry will be done today when it can be done tomorrow. I find I don't obsess over whether my pantry is out of order when I can't find the Hoisin sauce. I just change my dinner menu from stir fry to grilled chicken and get on with it. And I don't tidy up the pantry for at least another two days. I sit down in the evening to read for twenty minutes and don't get up for an hour. So I didn't sew the button on my husband's trousers, his belt will work fine for another couple of days - they'll hold his pants up and hide the gape nicely. And I certainly didn't fold what laundry I did end up doing. Because it will be there tomorrow.
And I didn't Blog.
Perhaps I should change the name of this Blog to Procrastinating Gracefully.
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