I was going to write about an entirely different thing today, but the day got away from me and then, just about when I was going to sit down at the computer, my husband said one of those phrases you never want to hear; "there's water in the basement."
And there was, but it wasn't that bad. My in-laws were in town and they jumped right in and helped clean up what was clearly an overflow from the condensate pump unit on the side of the air conditioning unit in our mechanical room. But...what was causing the water overflow? Why wasn't the condensate pump pumping like it was meant to?
I did the thing I am known for doing: I texted our builder. He is, without a doubt, the greatest builder. I would say ever, but there are some impressive monuments built in the world and while I know my builder is the best, I may well be biased.
At any rate, he messaged me back, asking about the pictures I was sending. He gave us tips and we were working on things and making some discoveries, but utterly failing in really understanding what the unit was doing and how it was constructed. We were basically floundering.
He said he would be near us in about forty minutes. He didn't have to stop by; we finished building our house two-and-a-half years ago. But he is just that kind of guy. When he arrived, we had made a little more progress in the diagnosis realm, determining it would come on and pump, but only if you jostled it or messed with it.
He suggested (after some messing around with it) that it was the internal float that wasn't coming on. He figured out how to open it up, and we discovered it was covered and coated in this slimy sludge. It was unappealing and it needed to be cleaned. Once cleaned, it looked like new. So now, surely all will be well.
But no, the pesky float worked just as it should in all ways, except when put back together. Did it need more buoyancy? Was it rubbing against something preventing it from rising all the way? And most importantly, why was the plastic container opaque so you couldn't see what was happening inside once you put it back together?!
We worked for close to two hours and I was so touched the entire time that our builder, in his clothes from working on another house in the summer heat, would come over and help us until the problem was solved. Eventually we worked out that the float was (prepare for a technical term here) tetchy. Okay, okay, that's my term for it, but it's the answer we came up with.
The original foam buoyancy piece was replaced with a newly cut one from one of my children's pool "noodles" and it seems, hopefully, to be working fine now.
I owe my builder another bottle of Mount Gay Rum after today. What a nice guy.
The Big Boy Update: My son decided he wanted some money today after I explained I was going to the bank to get money. When I asked him what he wanted to spend money on, he said, "I would buy chicken fries...and chicken...and people." What else would you buy, I asked. "I would buy daddy."
The Tiny Girl Chronicles: Drying the dog. We gave the dog a bath the other day and my daughter watched the whole process and wanted to help by giving the dog toys to play with while she was looking sad in the tub. Afterwards, my daughter happily tried to dry the dog off with a towel. The dog wasn't one bit interested in a toddler trying to dry her, but it didn't stop my daughter from trying.
Someone Once Said: She says people have to tell little white fibs or else people couldn’t stand each other. But she says fibs were meant to be used, not abused.
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