In a previous entry I talked a little about the shower control being difficult to turn, that I had taken it apart, cleaned and lubed it and that it seemed to be working better. Well, it worked better for a couple days - then we were back to having to use two hands to turn it. So last Friday I decided to do something about it. I suspected I might have to replace the entire fixture, but I again removed the cartridge, crossed my fingers and headed for Ferguson Plumbing Supply in Indio.
There was a plumber chatting with the fellow behind the counter and when he saw what I had in my hand he said, "Ah...", rattled off a part number (apparently this is an infamous item) and disappeared around the corner and into aisle #2. He emerged a few seconds later - part in hand and plopped in down on the counter. The parts guy began punching numbers into his computer then paused and said, "You know... this part is covered under Moen's warranty. I can sell it to you for $83.00, but you can call Moen and they'll send you a new one for free. It'll take about a week for you to get it".
I thought about it for a second, thanked him for the information and told him I'd suffer the hard turning shower control for another week and call Moen. He replied, "Tell you what... I'll sell you this one, you hang onto the packaging, call Moen, get the free one, put it in this packaging, bring it back here and I'll refund your money!". I thought that was a heck of a deal! It's always refreshing to have someone go above and beyond in situations like this. He had nothing to gain ... just the satisfaction of helping out a fellow human being in need of a properly functioning shower control.
Kind of renews one's faith in humankind.
The plumber was very helpful as well, giving me a few pointers on how to install the new part, why cartridges fail, specialty tools he uses to get stuck cartridges out etc.
Who knew that a trip to a plumbing supply store could be such a reaffirming experience?
I installed the new cartridge and it works like a charm. I can now operate it with two fingers instead of two hands. Moen HQ had a ninety minute 'on hold' queue when I called Friday afternoon so I called Monday morning. No questions asked... my new cartridge should arrive within a week.
And now I'm trying to remember the other thing I forgot to write about...
Oh yeah...
The sprinklers here have been hitting the port side of the coach and leaving hard water spots all along the cargo bay doors. I had gone up to the office and asked that they send a maintenance guy to adjust the heads, but a couple of days went by and... no maintenance guy.
Before you think to yourself, "Water spots? What's the big deal?", let me tell you, these are water spots from hell! The day after our arrival one of my neighbors warned me against washing the coach and that, if I did, I should work really fast to dry it off as the water here has a very high alkaline level. Another person related a story about water spots in his coach's gel coat that he still hasn't completely removed.
I spent an entire morning rubbing out water spots with polishing compound.
So...
I knew the sprinklers were coming on sometime during the ten o'clock pm hour but wasn't sure exactly when. At 10pm last Thursday night I sat in my captain's chair behind the steering wheel with a flashlight and a small flathead screw driver, looking out the window and waiting for the little bastards to pop. At 10:06pm, like little tubular plastic prairie dogs from hell, the offending gadgets poked their hideous heads above ground and began spewing their vile, alkaline brew along the lower third of my coach, leaving a corrosive cocktail of enamel etching solvent on my shiny cargo bay doors.
Game on!
I sprang to action.
Not knowing how long they would remain above ground I jumped from my seat and out the door. On an earlier reconnoiter I was able to locate only two sprinkler heads. But now, to my horror, in the blindingly bright beam of my recently purchased Harbor Freight Tools 588 Lumen Tactical Flashlight, I saw there were not only two... but four.
With cat-like reflexes, I moved from one head to the next, grabbing each by the neck with my left hand and twisting their little radius reducing screw in a clockwise fashion, incrementally choking down the scope of their destructive effluence with each turn of my screw driver.
So there's that.
Travis and I went for a hike in the hills today. He has to stop and say hi to everyone we meet walking in the opposite direction. Sometimes he lays down on the trail and rolls over on his back to get his belly scratched.
Thanks for checking out the blog.
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