Took me 45 minutes to fix a toilet flapper that should have been a 5 minute job

I was dealing with that annoying running toilet sound for days. Turns out the little rubber seal on my Fluidmaster 400 flapper was just slightly warped from hard water buildup. I wasted a whole lunch break scrubbing it with vinegar and a toothbrush before realizing I could flip it over and get a perfect seal in 30 seconds. Anybody else ever spend way too long on a simple fix because you overthought it?

2 comments

2 Comments

cooper.reese24d ago

Oh man, I totally feel your pain. I once spent almost an hour trying to unclog a bathroom sink drain with a wire hanger, digging around and making a huge mess. Then I remembered I had this little plastic zip tool under the cabinet that does it in 30 seconds flat. I was so mad at myself for not just checking the cabinet first! Hard water has gotten me too with that rubber seal warping, it's such a sneaky little problem.

rubybarnes24d ago

Right, @cooper.reese, that wire hanger thing is my life story. I spent a whole Saturday trying to fix a slow kitchen sink with a bent coat hanger. Pulled out all this nasty gunk, scratched the hell out of the drain pipe. Then my neighbor walks over, opens my cabinet, and grabs this little $3 zip tool I forgot I even bought. Fixed it in ten seconds. Felt like a real idiot. Hard water is the worst too - it wrecked the rubber seal on my washing machine hose last year. Took me three store trips before I found the right replacement. That stuff is relentless.