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Thought I could replace a toilet flapper in 20 minutes. Took me 3 hours instead.
I watched a 45 second TikTok where a guy swapped his toilet flapper in what looked like 2 moves. Figured I could knock it out real quick before dinner. Turns out the old plastic screws were so crusted with mineral deposits they wouldn't budge. Ended up driving to Ace Hardware twice because I snapped one and then dropped the new nut behind the toilet. By the time I got it working my pizza was cold and I had water all over the bathroom floor. Has anyone else had a simple DIY turn into an all afternoon thing like that?
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lunar893d ago
Oh man, that is the most classic home plumbing trap ever. The TikTok videos make it look like a 30-second job but they never show you the part where the hardware is fused together with 20 years of mineral sludge. I tried swapping out a sink faucet once because the old one was dripping. Started at 9am on a Saturday and by 4pm I had the water shut off to the whole house and was on the phone with my dad in tears. The pizza getting cold is the real insult too, like you already paid the price with your time and now dinner is ruined.
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fiona_hunt712d ago
Come on now, you guys are being dramatic. I swapped my toilet flapper last year and it literally took me 15 minutes including cleanup. The trick is to actually read the directions on the package instead of just winging it. I soaked the old screws in vinegar for like 5 minutes first and they came right off. Maybe the problem isn't TikTok giving bad advice, it's people not having the right tools or patience to do a basic home repair.
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