Under the sink at a client's place
A client said there was moisture under her sink and she did not like the word moisture. I told her I understood because it is one of the worse words. Moisture is a word that already sounds like it has gotten into the particle board and started making plans,, and not GOOD plans either.
This was years ago, not today. I am saying that because people read a thing on the internet and then think a man is driving around tonight with a wrench in his lap like a volunteer fire department for P-traps. I am mostly drinking coffee and looking at notes right now,, which is different than being AVAILABLE. But I remember this job because she had everything ready before I arrived, which almost NEVER happens.
It was not a big leak. More of a shine where there should not be shine. She had already moved the cleaning bottles out and put down a towel, which I appreciated because some folks make you discover things by touch. There is no reason a person should put his bare wrist into mystery water if society is still pretending to be organized.
She met me in the kitchen wearing one of those soft house dresses that is not fancy but somehow looks like it has rules. VERY nice woman. She said “I am sorry to drag you over for this” and I said plumbing either gets handled early or it teaches the cabinet a lesson. She said she did not want the cabinet taught anything.
I got down on my back and put my head in the cabinet. She said “are you comfortable down there?” I said no ma’am but I am in position. That made her laugh and then she apologized for laughing, which made the whole thing more awkward because I was half inside her sink cabinet with my knees sticking out like a man who lost an argument with storage.
The trap was loose enough to tell a story. I tightened it, checked the washer, ran the water, waited, ran it again, waited again. Plumbing will lie to you if you do not give it time to reveal character. Percy once said pipes are like certain relatives because they only show their bad side after you have already told everybody it is fine. I think about that more than I should.
She kept leaning down asking if I needed anything. I said just light. She said “I can give you that” and held the flashlight very steady, which is rarer than people think. Most people with a flashlight get bored and start inspecting your ear. She held it right on the joint. GOOD beam. No dancing around,, no moth behavior. Professional woman with a flashlight even if she did not know that was the category.
There was a smell under there too. Not bad. Lemon cleaner, old wood, and that cold metal smell from pipes. She said she hoped I did not mind tight spaces. I said I mind them but they do not mind me back, so it is mostly one-way.
When I slid out she said I had something on my cheek and wiped it off with her thumb before I could say I had a rag. I said thank you. Then I looked at the trap again because I wanted to make sure the washer had not changed its mind. That happens less than people think but MORE than zero.
No drip when I left. That is the main thing.
I was thinking about this today because I saw a towel under my own sink and for a second my brain went THAT ONE JOB, which is not a normal thing for a towel to say. But memory does not label drawers correctly. It just throws one open and there you are on your back again trying not to bump your head.
Comments are turned off for now. I had a form here once and I do not know where the messages went,, which is not a system.