Today has not been a good plumbing day. I've narrowly averted disastrous overflows several times using either the bucket or garbage disposal method; there's no point in calling the maintenance guy, because it would just take him away from fixing the actual problem, and he'd just do the same thing I'd do anyway. I consider it my small sacrifice to help out.
I was not so lucky a few minutes ago, and I ended up with probably a gallon or so of stinky sludge water on pretty much everything in the kitchen. I've got it mostly mopped up and taken care of for the moment, but I'm pretty sick of it. So, being the MacGyver that I am, I have a temporary workaround.
I put the plug in the drain, stuck a tin can on top of it, and put a weight-lifting weight on top of it. The hole diameter is about 3 inches, and the weight is about 12.5 pounds, making for about 1.8 psi rejection, or about four feet of water column. This isn't a huge amount, but it should stop incidental seepage and should at least limit the impact when a surge hits.
I really hope this shit gets fixed soon.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Plumbing
Maintenance spent the majority of the afternoon trying to snake out the plumbing that leads to my kitchen sink drain. Apparently things are pretty bad; it really has been all afternoon, and they only started making progress a few minutes ago. For a while, I was concerned that it might overflow the boundaries of the sink; I had the trash can ready to start bailing to the bathroom if necessary.
On the downside, my sink is full of sludge that really does not smell very good.
On the plus side, this will hopefully clear up the weirdness with the sink occasionally gurgling itself full of foam for no apparent obvious good reason.
On the downside, my sink is full of sludge that really does not smell very good.
On the plus side, this will hopefully clear up the weirdness with the sink occasionally gurgling itself full of foam for no apparent obvious good reason.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Power Failure
Louisville recently got hit by a major snowstorm (major for here, a 'light dusting' for most other places I've lived) and the temperature dropped substantially. As the temperature dropped, people got cold - so they turned on the electric heat.
As a result, the power went out last night. The hallway lights were still on; but the apartments in multiple floors were out. Too many electric heaters were on, and the mainline breaker downstairs tripped. After about an hour, the power came back on.
Half an hour later, it went out again.
An hour later, it came back on. Half an hour later, ... you probably get the idea at this point.
Some time around midnight, it came on for good, though what they had to do to manage it is unclear to me.
This afternoon, maintenance was going around to each apartment to clean the filters in the hot water radiator headers. The plan is to improve the hot water heat, so that there's less load on the electric heaters. So far, it seems to be working, in that my apartment is a good 2-3 degrees warmer than it used to be.
None of this takes into account that the patio door is drafty as hell, and sheets of ice cold air slough off the windows to practically cover the floor in a layer of ice. While improving the heaters will help, the core problem of the windows being insufficient remains unaddressed.
As a result, the power went out last night. The hallway lights were still on; but the apartments in multiple floors were out. Too many electric heaters were on, and the mainline breaker downstairs tripped. After about an hour, the power came back on.
Half an hour later, it went out again.
An hour later, it came back on. Half an hour later, ... you probably get the idea at this point.
Some time around midnight, it came on for good, though what they had to do to manage it is unclear to me.
This afternoon, maintenance was going around to each apartment to clean the filters in the hot water radiator headers. The plan is to improve the hot water heat, so that there's less load on the electric heaters. So far, it seems to be working, in that my apartment is a good 2-3 degrees warmer than it used to be.
None of this takes into account that the patio door is drafty as hell, and sheets of ice cold air slough off the windows to practically cover the floor in a layer of ice. While improving the heaters will help, the core problem of the windows being insufficient remains unaddressed.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Louisville New Year
It is freezing in here. A steady stream of cold flows from the windows down the inside of the blinds, and coats the floor in a two foot thick layer of 40 degree air. The heater points upward, and toward the ceiling the temperature is a balmy 70 or so. It's not even windy out; it's simply colder than the operating capacity of the building.
Ironically, this is a better situation than if I turn on the overhead fan. Within an hour, the fan would have the temperature equalized pretty much floor to ceiling; yet at that point the entire place would be below 60 degrees. At least as things are now, you don't freeze when you're standing, and my bed is about four feet off the ground so I sleep well. If you wear thermal underwear on your lower half, it helps tremendously.
On the plus side, I can do most of my work from the bedroom, and the bedroom is buttoned up a lot tighter than the living room. It has a lot less glass, and the curtains I have are very solid and drag the floor. Coupled with a barrier of storage boxes and furniture to keep the cold air overflow contained, I can actually keep the bedroom at a reasonable temperature. If I keep the door closed.
Ironically, this is a better situation than if I turn on the overhead fan. Within an hour, the fan would have the temperature equalized pretty much floor to ceiling; yet at that point the entire place would be below 60 degrees. At least as things are now, you don't freeze when you're standing, and my bed is about four feet off the ground so I sleep well. If you wear thermal underwear on your lower half, it helps tremendously.
On the plus side, I can do most of my work from the bedroom, and the bedroom is buttoned up a lot tighter than the living room. It has a lot less glass, and the curtains I have are very solid and drag the floor. Coupled with a barrier of storage boxes and furniture to keep the cold air overflow contained, I can actually keep the bedroom at a reasonable temperature. If I keep the door closed.
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