Thursday, November 13, 2008

Everyman's Quick Fix

There comes a time in everyone's life when you can not afford to take things lying down...when you can not hang around and wait for someone else to solve your problems - in my case, the tap that had inexplicably burst out of its rightful place in my bathroom. Another time, another place, I would have perhaps waited for the plumber to take his own sweet time to plug the leak. But this was early morning, I had to get ready for work, AND, nature was about to call - but the tank was empty. All the water had leaked out of the hole left behind by the tap that was now lying senseless on the floor. If I needed to pump the water into the tank, I had to first plug this leak. I was reminded of a story from my primary school English text - of a boy in Holland who spotted a leak in the dyke and used his finger to stop the leak from getting any bigger. Heroic and the stuff legends are made of. However, I wasn't keen on creating a legend in my own humble bathroom. Moreover, I couldn't hang around in the bathroom all day. I had to think hard - and that is not an easy task at 7 AM.

I tried the following two options first:
1) Old newspaper stuffed into the gap. Looked solid. Only till I turned the motor on. Once the water started flowing, the paper(the whole thing!) flew out in glory.
2) A sidey looking wooden stick. This seemed to be a stronger proposition. It wouldn't wilt under pressure. But hell no, it didn't have the right proportions. It stayed steady for a while before water started spurting out the sides.

With time, and more importantly, water, running out, I was left with no more options. There I was tool-less and skill-less. And as I looked around, I had a wild idea..it didn't seem the proper thing to do, but what the hell..desperate times call for desperate measures don't they....

There you have it people - Everyman's quick fix guide to plumbing

PS: The author is not responsible for ANY accident arising out of the use of this particular method. It's not dangerous, and you CAN try this at home, but you better stuff that brush in quite well!!
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8 comments:

Macabreday said...

i thought this was going to be about the pizza that did turn out good :P

Anonymous said...

Ha ha. The Everyday adventures of Everyman.
But tis good... except for that eyesore of a brush poking out a cavity, your new bathroom looks quite nice :)

Anonymous said...

Ha ha Everyman. That brush does look funny. Hope the plumber turned up to give you a permanent solution.

Everyman said...

@Mac - Well..something that goes right isn't all that interesting to read about :-)

@Jimbo - The eyesore is out now..Very everyday...

@3inone - yes..the plumber did come by noon that day..but he's installed the same brand of tap again.. :-/

Anonymous said...

You do really make everyday experiences sound interesting.. Waiting to hear more of these kind ;-)

Sumo said...

Ahh...u finally turned into an engineer!!! :-D

claytonia vices said...

You know, moms have some very good know-how in this area. My mom used to stuff the pipe very tight with a piece of cloth. It always worked...

Anonymous said...

quite a man about the house you are, varkychaaya!