my mom

[Drunk Monk]

Sorry, I mispoke. It was the GFCI outlet, not the fuse or the washing machine itself. At least, that's what it sounds like from how my mom described it. i did unplug and plug the washer back in (as if it were a computer) but failed to notice the reset button.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Who knew outlets had fuses? Or "reset" buttons?

[Drunk Monk]

Most outlets near water sources are GFCi so kitchens, bathrooms and of course, laundry rooms. I think that was established back in the 70s. Maybe you've been living in too many dives there, Ivor. That being said, we don't have them here in the bungalow - it's a century+ old.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Yeah, not a lot of recent construction at my price up here.

[Drunk Monk]

I only learned that they were called GFCI just now when I looked them up on the interwebz. Ground fault circuit interupter = gfci

[Greg]

More commonly known as a GFI plug. Building codes require a GFI plug within 6' of a water source.

[Drunk Monk]

Yeah, I take back what I said about having them in our century+ old bungalow. Of course we have them. Our building is up to code. No idea on what's up with the yeti cave. Do you even have indoor plumbing or do you just poop in a bucket?

Now the bothersome thing is my mom's mention of one of the caretakers having problems with the machine. If it was the GFI reset, that should not have caused an intermittancy. It's either on or off and no jiggling of the control panel will affect that. I shouldn't think about this too hard because it'll only worry me more.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Bucket? Is that a new thing?

My artisanal hipster yeti-cavelette has those fancy plugs since the cavelette is only 6 years old. Othe places I've lived...not really a thing

[Drunk Monk]

The bucket was prophesy. Now there's an intermittent leak in the upstairs bathroom when flushing. It happened twice last night but didn't happen twice this morning. I've set up a bucket to monitor the situation. I'm guessing the mounting screw seal has corroded, which I might be able to fix on my own. Anyone here ever use Flex Seal?

This morning, there was a 911 call in my mom's court. 2 cops, fire and ambulance. It's my mom's neighbor, a couple of my mom's generation. I grew up with the son, who was like 2 years older than me, but we haven't crossed paths for like 40 years. I think the mom is wheelchair bound. They've ramped the place and I know she had a stroke many years ago. Fire and Ambulance left several minutes ago. The 2 squad cars remain. One cop took photos of the yard. Their caretaker showed up, talked to the response team, and went inside. The cops are waiting for something - coroner maybe? I'll observe for another half hour but then I must attend to my mom's grocery errands.

---

Cops left. False alarm? All is peaceful now.

[Greg]

I used the flex seal spray but it did not work. I think the gap was too wide. Where is it leaking from?

[Drunk Monk]

It looked like the anchor screw that attaches the tank to the base. But it's stopped now so I can't really tell. I have some plumber's sealant paste at home.  Maybe I'll try that next week. 

Those Flex Seal ads looked so cheesy but they were enticing enough for me to ask.

---

I talked to another neighbor of my mom's. She said she saw the van from the care center of the neighbor who had the 911 come by but never saw her leave. The caretaker is still there so we're assuming all is well.

[King Bob]

We had a leak at the join of the tank and the basin after I took off the tank to replace the the flushing apparatus (Is there a name for that?) because it needed a different gasket than the old one. Tightening the bolts took care of it. Worth a try. Anyway, pulling the tank and replacing the works is really not that big of a job - no need for a plumber. I've also had leaks on the inlet hose but I assume you checked that.

[Drunk Monk]

Yeah, it looks doable. I got it to leak again. It's definitely the left side anchor screw. I've turned the water off and emptied it. I'll pull the screw and find some sealant next week. It's got some sort of old sealant on it that looks decayed. Thanks for the advice.

[King Bob]

Might as well install a new flush assembly with the tank/basin gasket while you have the tank off

[Drunk Monk]

The flush assembly works fine. I'm hoping I don't need to remove the entire tank, just that one screw. The tankside part of that screw is totally rusted over. I just broke off some of the rust. Maybe I just need to seal around that part.

---

My mom started wandering around the house convinced she saw some sort of sealant recently. She wanted to water the yard a few minutes ago but it's in the 90s so I talked her out of that. It'd just evaporate now. She also asked me last night to remind her of the name of her dog, Baron, which she had for years. He passed well over a decade ago now, a maltese/terrier mix that she inherited when one of her friends passed. Her mental state is constantly worrisome with these little blips, but overall, she seems to be thinking clearly.