The worst week I can remember.

[coffee]

Actually it all started with my girlfriend telling me she is going to get a new phone as she didnt like the one she had. Kept dropping calls. Tired of arguing with her, I let her go and she said that her girlfriends husband works at verizon and he will her good. So, She came home with a HTC with a big screen (5 inch?) and was excited because she could trade in her own phone for this one which was much larger and faster than her old Samsung blaze. I looked it over and it did look nice. So, I went up with my work phone and did the same thing. However, What we discovered is that the sound clarity was so bad that I could not understand my customers. So, We had to return them (we had a 14 day trial period). I was pretty upset about her "Friend that would treat us right" and picked another salesperson to help me. I was informed that there would be a restocking fee and that my old phone was of course gone. So, I did something that is pretty uncharacteristic of me. I raised a big stink in the store. I ended up spending a lot more money that I didnt plan on and purchased a Samsung S6 outright, unlocked and paying 55 a month for service. I looked at the whole 2 day adventure on this as a big waste and should have kept my own phone. This cost me some good money but at least I have a great phone. While I was waiting for my girlfriend to finish her return with this "Girlfriend's Husband that is going to take care of us" I over heard him tell her "Well, Its not a very good phone and it has problems". Nice guy.

I get home from this adventure on Saturday. Then my girlfriend tells me that the clothes washer is acting up. Really? I mean this is a 2 year old LG front loader. Should be. Seems it will not drain. I discover that she has been doing throw rugs in it. For anyone that does this and does not realize it - the rubber backing wears off these rugs and clogs every pipe and place that water discharges from. I spent ALL SATURDAY tearing a part this washer and cleaning. Have a look at these pics:

The Big Teardown....

Even the pump assembly had to be removed to be cleaned. This rubber backing was like clay in every darn area including the discharge tube and the drum. I did get it all cleaned out eventually. Front load washers have a big door seal that is held in place by a big wire ring and a "Spring from God". I could not expand the spring to fit it over the seal. So, Looking for a tool to do it, It seems LG sells this tool which is a cheaply made "Ring Extender" that they sell for 75.00 !!!!!! . I havent bought it yet though. What a rip off.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...ol&qid=1446047863&ref_=sr_1_sc_1&sr=8-1-spell

The next morning, I get up and take my normal daily shower. "Humm, Did my girlfriend use up the hot water?". No, My 4 year old Whirlpool (POS) water heater died. What did I do to deserve all this??? The gas valve went out and although covered under warranty, The replacement will not arrive for two days. Also, The tank is full of sentiment and I need to drain it. I open the drain valve and nothing comes out - of course. But I have a fix for that.

Now understand all this time over the couple of days of all this going wrong darn cat picked up flees and we had to move all the furniture and treat the carpet. So, I have a house with all the furniture moved out of the main room, A broken washing machine, A broken water heater and all this time I have been trying to get out and rake leaves and clean the gutters. You see, We now have no burning laws and the county I live in will come by and suck up the leaves at the curb for you instead. But when they come no one knows. They just show up and go by township to township at their discretion. Well, I was taking a break a brake from repairing things and sitting on the front porch saying to myself "Lord, What else?" and just a few minutes later the leaf truck shows up to suck up all the leaves - to which I havent had time to rake yet.

I want to just scream.

 

[Mike McCall]

Ugh! I hate weeks like that!

 

[BlackLabTechs]

Look at the bright side - at least you got a new phone to take pics of the broken washing machine!

 

[coffee]

Well, Who said American Ingenuity is dead? LG wants 75 bucks for their stupid tool. Well, Ladies and Gents I bring you the "Hoyt-Clangwell" Ring expansion tool. Made at a cost of 5 bucks from parts at Home Depot. My first design had a single screw assembly and promptly bent the bolts on the spring. This is version II with a double bolt design. I used the tips from my ring remover tool.

LOL, I will probably get one good use out of it before it breaks

@BlackLabTechs - Yes, I do enjoy my new phone. Best part is - its unlocked and ready for my "Alterations" probably this weekend

 

[ohio_grad_06]

I can relate man. We had a situation in July where I was driving home from work, all of a sudden my car starts acting up. What gives. Pull off at a motel, car won't restart. Great. Call wife, mechanic, get a tow truck. I'm about 35-40 miles from home at this point. So I end up taking it to a mechanic that was recommended by someone. $90 dollars to look at it. Ok, I know what we do on computers, go for it. Keep in mind I was basically broke at this time. We were just getting some bills caught up.

Mechanic looks and a few days later calls, we think it broke a timing belt. Timing belt change they wanted 900, if it needed valve work, another 2000. Nope that was way too far out of the ballpark for what I could afford. Paid someone to tow it to my mechanic in town. He had the car for a month or a little more. Changed timing belt, changed water pump, head gasket, etc. We even put a new cylinder head on it. After almost 1000 in parts, still can't get it to run a month later. He calls up a friend of his, they determine the crankshaft broke. Needs new motor, only motors available seemed to be 800-1200 for a 9 year old car. No way to really recoup the money on a lot of the parts either since they'd been installed.

Car booked for about 2000, wife and I said we can't justify almost 2 grand in a car with 150,000 miles(we still owed nearly 5k on it too). Ended up looking for a car, sales guy who sold us our last car strung us along for like a week before saying he didn't think he could work a deal.

Anyway, it all later worked out that we were able to trade the dead car in and bought a 2016 brand new chevy sonic sedan. Small car, but decent mileage, and we like it. For us that car was a blessing of God. During the time the car was broke down, we'd been sharing our other car, and begging rides from people just trying to get to work. But yes, 2 months without my daily driver was not cool. So I can relate. Life gets better my friend.

Get the phone taken care of first, cure the cat(we have 2 yorkshire terriers that were getting fleas. Try Harts flea and tick shampoo, it is supposed to kill the fleas, and you can keep using it up to like once a week I think.

It will all get better.

 

[coffee]

Watched a YouTube video on water heaters and a good tip for the clogged drain on the heater (will not drain) was to hook up a garden hose to the drain plug and then hook your washing machine cold hose to the garden hose. Open the drain on the heater and flush back the sediment so that it drains. I will be trying that today . Then I am going to flush the thing out.

I am hanging in there but its just a lot at once. Right now I am preparing myself for a very short, cold shower.

Thanks for the comments so far

 

[Larry Sabo]

Sometimes, life is just one $#%*ing thing after another.

 

[wickedmojoit]

Bahahahahaha, when it rains it pours. I am guilty of washing throw rugs braking the machine, multiple times.

 

[katz]

So it's not just me, then!

I've had similar weeks, always everything at once....

@coffee - can you get that size bolt in Grade 8? If so, they will be much stiffer & should work out better for your application.

 

[coffee]

So it's not just me, then!

I've had similar weeks, always everything at once....

@coffee - can you get that size bolt in Grade 8? If so, they will be much stiffer & should work out better for your application.

I cant because the hole on the tips are size #10 or a bit bigger. Would be nice if I could.

 

[cypress]

When it rains it pours, been having one of those weeks. But I been keeping my cool and so far everything has been turning around. Good news has been that business has been excellent this month. One more task to face, the daunted HOA where I live. lol.

 

[katz]

Geez - I just received some bummer news.

A friend who helped up out with the aforementioned parade/candy/handouts just got back from the doctor today, and has been informed that she has TB. It is *supposed* to be the latent type, but of course now we are all panicked because we were working in close proximity with her.

Now we're all quizzing each other - did she cough when she was around us? Was she laughing "heartily", where droplets could be cast into the air - transmission possible...

 

[TCG]

In life, sometimes you are the pigeon and sometimes you are the statue!

 

[kwest]

Sounds like you need a new girlfriend.

 

[Mainstay]

At least you have your health.

.... and I actually mean that. If a problem can be solved with money, it isn't really that big of a problem.

Wait until you spend a few months in the Children's Hospital with a sick kid. Then a phone with poor sound quality and a fucked up washer isn't that big a deal.

I DO feel for you... but this is clearly a case of a 1st world "worst weeks".