Archive through October 25, 2002
TV ClubHouse: Archives: The only Dumb question is the one not asked (ARCHIVE):
Archive through October 25, 2002
Weinermr | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 04:10 pm     Whoami, A product called CLR might work too. You can buy it at Home Depot, or Lowe's, or your local hardware store. Fill up a glass or cup or small container with some of the CLR, and submerge the shower head in it for about 5 minutes. You may feel silly standing there holding a cup for five minutes, but it should work to loosen up alot of that gunk that's frozen the showerhead. Then try to twist the showerhead loose a little at a time. Good luck! P.S. You may have to try it a couple times. |
Weinermr | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 04:11 pm     My advice to Whoami is serious. The following isn't. If Whoami has to go back and try more than once to loosen the spout on her shower, it reminds me of the famous PBS British import miniseries, Showerhead Revisited. |
Halfunit | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 04:19 pm     ...and just to confirm, yes: Righty tighty - Lefty loosey |
Car54 | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 04:38 pm     Who, I had the same problem, and Draheid's suggestion was what I did. I did not know about Liquid Wrench, but I tapped the fitting all around, and then used a big fat pliers and worked it a bit and it came loose. It is hard because it is up high and at an awkward angle, and there was a ton of rust and build up on it, but it came loose. |
Babyruth | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 04:50 pm     Whoami, good luck! You can do it! BTW, when you DO get the old showerhead off, be sure to clean the rust and gunk off the water pipe threads, then wrap the threads once around with some plumber tape (white, thin stuff) to ensure a water-tight seal and no drip drip drips. |
Whoami | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 05:25 pm     Wow! Great advice and suggestions already! Thank you. It may be a few days before I can get to a Home Depot or something. I've heard of CLR, but not Liquid Wrench. I assume I can find them in the same area of the store? Car, I know what you mean about the awkward postition. Being short makes it even worse! By the time I get the wrench fitted over the shower head, my arms are already tired. BR, I have the plumber's tape all ready, along with the new shower head! Weiner, I never saw that show. Was it really a show? What did they do? Half, thanks for confirming. The last thing I'd want to do is find out I was turning it the wrong way!! |
Car54 | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 05:36 pm     Who, I have a really sturdy stepstool and I put it in the bathtub and got up on it to get where I had better leverage. |
Wargod | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 05:43 pm     I have a stupid question...how come the short bus has seat belts for the kids and the big bus doesn't? And how come the school busses don't have air conditioners? |
Halfunit | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 06:27 pm     OK - I'll give it a shot at answering Wargod. In my neck of the woods, the short bus is normally reserved for our MR/DD kids. That's Mentally Retarded / Developmentally Disabled. I think there are seat belts on those buses so that the kids that can't understand or won't listen are assured that they remain seated and safe. Not a sure thing, just my hunch. And no, it doesn't make sense that ALL buses don't have seat belts. As for A/C, I'd say that normally it's a short ride with the door constantly opening and closing. Those are my guesses, but I'm usually wrong! Do we have a bus designer expert on the board? |
Draheid | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 07:34 pm     Ok, in case you haven't already gotten past this, Whoami some follup instructions. When you wrap the teflon tape (you call it plumbers tape, but it's really teflon tape for sealing the joint) be sure and wrap it clockwise (same direction as the new head threads onto the pipe). Wrap it 3-4 times tightly to form a good seal and try to cover the threads completely starting from the end of the pipe back. This will ensure that the tape stays in place as you are tightening the new shower head onto the pipe and you will have a good watertight seal. |
Sia | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 07:35 pm     Whoami, I have never tried this before, but could you spray or pour the solvent of your choice on the joint of the shower head and then wrap the joint with strips of cloth soaked in the same stuff and leave it on there for at least ten minutes? That would be sort of like holding a cup of the stuff on there for five minutes. That, or put the CLR into the bottom of a one-quart milk carton that you've cut off (or a small margarine tub, whatever is the right size) and fasten it to the shower head to hold the solvent in the right place. I know what you mean about your arms getting tired. I realize that Red Green would use duct tape to hold the container of CLR up in the air, but I'd recommend florist's wire run thru little holes in the sides of the container or something like that. Hope you get your showerhead replaced okay! |
Teatime | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 07:51 pm     Sia, the soaked cloths sound good. I would rubber band them on, saturate thoroughly, then cover with a ziploc bag. I would put a plastic bucket or tub underneath to catch any drips while applying or removing the cloths. Any of the caustic stuff needs to be rinsed off before long and this would cut down on your tub getting too much exposure and possible damage. |
Sia | Tuesday, October 22, 2002 - 08:44 pm     Teatime, the baggy and rubberbands are the perfect solution! See, put enough heads (brains) together, and a workable plan is hatched! And caustic materials really WILL etch a bathtub; mine is ruined from the toilet-cleaner I've cleaned it with over the years. The tub needs replacing. |
Vanillarose | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 11:33 am     Wargod, Halfunit was right about the smaller busses. They are for special ed students, some of whom have behavioral problems and might cause a disturbance on the bus. As for the other, regular length busses, (and municiple busses as well), I've heard that the reason that they don't have seat belts is that it is too difficult for passengers to extricate themselves if the bus should catch fire, which is appearantly, not an uncommon occurance after an accident. |
Djgirl5235 | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 12:29 pm     Who - I used to be an apartment building manager, and had to deal with tonnes of plumbing problems -you might want to note that although the universal rule is Righty-Tighty, Lefty-Loosey, when it comes to plumbing that isn't always the case. Try it one way, your plumbing could be the other way, so if it doesn't work one way, try the other... |
Wargod | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 01:08 pm     Thank you Half, Vanilla! Yesterday was one of those days where something happens and you notice other stuff related to it, LOL. There was a bit of a mess up with parents thinking they didn't need carseats for their four year olds. As I had just watched my son getting on his bus, and then seen the short bus going down the street with one of the kids grabbing the seat belt it just had me wondering. It makes sense as to why the short bus has seat belts and the other one doesn't. Thank you! |
Lumbele | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 05:19 pm     OK, my turn for a dumb question. Someone in the TV section referred to "PAX", does anyone know what that is? |
Whoami | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 05:30 pm     Yea! I get to answer a question for a change! Lumbele, I'm the "someone" who mentioned PAX. PAX is a network. Check out the shows I listed in the thread "PAX Network Shows." Not a soul has responded to that thread, or the one I started last week on a specific show on PAX, "Sue Thomas: F.B.Eye." Since nobody has responded to either of those threads, and not one show from PAX is listed in the list of shows, I was starting to wonder if I was the only one. I may still be! Oh, and thank you everyone for the continued advice on how to get that shower head off! Like I said, it's going to be a few days before I can get anywhere to buy CLR or Liquid Wrench, but I will defenitly be trying a combination of everyone's ideas! Thanks again! |
Mystery | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 05:32 pm     There's a TV station called PAX that plays family-oriented shows (seems like whenever I browse by it on the satellite dish it's always showing Touched by An Angel!) |
Grooch | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 05:46 pm     Whoami, I used to get PAX, but not anymore. The only show I used to watch on it was Little Men. I liked the first season, but the second went downhill. |
Lumbele | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 05:58 pm     Whoami, thanks. I checked out your PAX threads in the TV forum, but none of the shows ring a bell. Doesn't mean we don't get them up here, just that I haven't seen them. |
Zachsmom | Wednesday, October 23, 2002 - 06:17 pm     I like PAX..but the only show I watch on it is "Diagnosis Murder"..or is it "Matlock"..can't remember.. They don't make shows like that anymore.. |
Sia | Thursday, October 24, 2002 - 06:04 am     Richard Thomas hosts a series called "It's a Miracle" airing on PAX-TV that Oprah has profiled on her show. It's a sort of human-interest show about healings, etc. Here's the web-site for PAX-TV if you're interested: PAXTV.com I don't watch it because we don't have cable/satellite. |
Whoami | Friday, October 25, 2002 - 03:29 pm     *sigh* I think I'm officially the dumbest person on this board! My newest dilemma. Ceiling light fixtures, and how to change a bulb when you are short, and terrified of heights. And, I have a touch of vertigo to boot, so I can't climb ladders without hanging on to something, even a touch will at least help me orient my position in space. And of course, looking up adds to the mix with the vertigo thing. I have one step stool, but the first step doesn't get me up high enough to reach the bulb. I can't for the life of me get to the top step, cause it puts me too high up, and unable to hang on to the rail on the step stool. I've tried many times, but I just plain freeze up, and my stomach is a mess from trying to force myself up. I got a second step stool, with more steps, so I can go higher, but not have to step on that dreaded top step. But, alas, this ladder is not qualified to hold someone in my weight catagory (it's "safe" weight limit is about 50 pounds less than me). I tried it anyway, figuring I wouldn't be going to the top step anyway. But, when I went to use it, the steps actually act like they are going to fold in if I put my foot squarely on the step, so I have to step on the step with my toes, and leave the rest of my foot hanging in air! Well, the overhead bulb burned out again today. I thought, ok, I'll use the smaller step stool (for sturdiness), and set up the bigger step stool next to it for the purpose of hanging on. Well, the smaller stool wobbles horrifically when I step on it too! I tried for a half hour to gut up the courage and get the bulb changed this morning. And, I'm just a mess now cause I am too scared. Mom used to be the light bulb changer in the house, but since her stroke, there is no way I'd even let her near the step stool, even if she thought she could do it. I've seen those "reacher" things that us shorties use, but the ones that are used for light bulbs look like they only work if the fixture has the bulb hanging straight down. The fixture on our ceiling has the bulb sitting parallel to the ceiling. Eventually, I'll probably work up the courage to get the bulb changed today, but it's just plain ridiculous that I go through this every time the bulb in the kitchen goes out. I know probably the only advice I'm liable to get is "suck it up and just DO IT." Believe me, I tell this to myself all the time. But it's just so hard, when my mouth goes dry, my stomach ends up in my throat, and my knees start to go weak. It's just so frustrating. So, I thought, maybe there's someone here that has a solution on how to get these bulbs changed. I know there are a few phyisically challenged people on this board, perhaps someoe knows how to get an overhead bulb changed. There must be an easier way to do this!!! |
Draheid | Friday, October 25, 2002 - 04:06 pm     Whoami: If the extension pole on the light bulb 'grabber' is long enough, you should be able to get enough grip on the bulb from enough angle to handle changing it from the floor. If you don't already have a kit, be sure to get one with a long enough pole to do this. They do work well and the 'grabber' part should be flexible enough to work at an angle. Now, on the lighter side, did you know there is a website dedicated to lightbulb jokes? Check it out at Lightbulbjokes.com BTW: I'm impressed that you are even willing to try. I have known many people who won't even bother to attempt something they have concerns with doing themselves. |
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