The downside to single-momming it, aside from the one income, is home repair. I have learned some pretty useful things by watching YouTube and by Googling things, when I was previously married and he was on the road as a truck driver, learning different ways to repair or work around issues. Got a clogged drain? Vinegar and baking soda, then boiling hot water. Clogged toilet that you cannot unclog no matter how hard you plunge? Dawn dishwashing detergent (after you turn off the water at the toilet so it doesn’t overflow). Washer won’t drain? Check the outflow valve, I guarantee there is a lost sock stuck in it, stopping up the works. Don’t want to have frozen pipes? Put all the faucets’ hot water on drip and open the lower cabinets. This. THIS is what just about caused my most recent personal nuclear melt down.
My pipes froze, while I was away from my home. I had told all three of my children to put the faucets on drip. They said they would, but NO ONE ever did. Frozen pipes overnight, although the occupants of the house were unaware. What made them aware is that the next day it started thawing out and an internal (thankfully, exposed) pipe burst and started flooding the house. I got a panicked phone call.
“MOM!” my pregnant adult daughter screamed into the phone.
“Omigoodness! What? Is the baby alright???”
“Yeah, he’s fine. Our house is flooding.”
I could feel the throbbing tension headache coming on. “WHAAAAAT!?!?!?!?! Didn’t you all put the faucets on drip???”
“Yeah, I mean, I don’t know. Anyway, come home, quick!”
I instructed them to turn off the water. I left my boyfriend’s house to buy two mops and a bucket…oh and a new shop vac because our current one had no hose that was anywhere to be found. Naturally.
I came home to clean up and assess. We determined that a PVC pipe had come loose from an elbow fitting and I sent my pregnant daughter’s boyfriend to get PVC cement. He assured me that he could fix it, because he asked at Lowe’s. I left to go back to my boyfriend’s house, as he had just cemented it (he said) and they’d let it cure. They assured me things were well in hand.
Another call the following day. “Uh, Mom, that pipe is still leaking. A LOT.” I came back to find it caked with what looked like pancake batter where the entirety of the pipe had been cemented. NOPE. That’s not going to work! *Face palm*
I shook my head in disbelief. Then, my fifteen year old and I cut the pipe and measured, taking the identifiable fittings/pipe to Lowe’s. I questioned the plumbing staff and got everything I needed, with complete instructions and a reference YouTube video. I got back and we cemented and fitted and fixed the pipe. It had to setup overnight. It was tried the next day and water tight. Take that, Bob Villa!
Excuse me while I flex a bit and then add minor plumbing to my resume. It even looked better than the previous arrangement my Ex had done and I think my teenage son might have a new-found interest in the plumbing/building trades. He told his class the next day during virtual learning! YESSSSSS!
Until the next house catastrophe…oh, wait…my hot water heater is dying…dammit…I’m hiring that out, after I receive my tax return…I have NO idea on that and I’m going to leave that in the hands of professionals…