plumbing problems solved

For years now, I have been living with two separate leaky joins in the copper pipes that distribute water from the well-pump to the kitchen and bathroom. Decades ago, it appears that someone other than I treated the leaking t-joint by wrapping a roll of electrical tape around it, and the leaking elbow-joint by simply reapplying plaster to the wall below it when such coverings got wet and fell off; therefore, I did as the Romans do, worrying about this problem while racking my brains constantly for a way to stop these two separate joints from constantly moistening the things stored in the basement and causing strange mushrooms to grow from the soaked and sodden concrete floor.

Finally, just days ago, I took action, shutting off power to the water pump and using a borrowed miniature tube cutter to slowly cut out the two offending connectors. Upon closer inspection, it turns out that whoever had originally installed the copper pipes had done a poor job sealing the terminals, mangling the pipe-ends badly and failing to seat them properly. Such was the damage to one of the pipes leading into the t-joint that it pulled away from its housing effortlessly, paper-thin metal crumbling to the touch.

Luckily for fools such as me, a local home-improvement retailer sells (nearly) fool-proof replacement connectors of the push-fit, compression type, with which I am able to solve my problems without setting the basement on fire trying to sweat a line that sits within the house's wooden superstructure. I say nearly because I have proven myself to be a fool, not following directions and erring in the installation of one of the new joints, which I must now remove, and replace. This time, however, I shall double-check things and take my time, as I should have done in the first place, worthless and impatient blockhead that I am. While it is not so bad urinating off of the rear deck and washing the dishes using rain-water, I am loathe to let solid wastes sit for too long in the toilet bowl, since they stink quickly and must be flushed with creek-water, which is a bitch to haul. Soon enough, however, fellow fault fixers, I shall rectify this plumbing problem, celebrating my return to the ranks of the modern and the civilized person by having a nice, leisurely dump, inside.

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