But First . . .

My new water treatment equipment has arrived.  It was unloaded around 12:20 PM last Thursday the 2nd by a nice Pitt-Ohio delivery man who took all three humongous cartons down the basement and set them in the laundry room for me.  From the previous post on the subject, you'd think it should have got here by the 21st or so of May.  But no, I spent a good two weeks cogitating on how I was going to pay for it, and didn't finalize the order (online) till late on Memorial Day evening.  (Two and a half day order processing and delivery turnaround.  Chalk up points for the Ohio Pure Water Company.)

Yesterday, I borrowed a blowtorch, some solder, and some flux from my friend Steve*.  Immediately, now, you'd think I'd be running up to Lowe's and purchasing the right tubing, elbows, T-joints, and any other needed supplies.


Wish I could.  But first, I need to

• Scrape the walls in the corner where the old softener was, to remove the hard bubbled paint off the bricks where the high humidity got in and lifted it.
• Scrape any loose paint off the floor where the old WS was (the floor was wet when I pulled it away).
• Use the shop vac to clean up the debris.
• Use an anti-mildew agent to kill the mold in the remaining paint, then let it dry.
• Slap a coat of Kilz or B.I.N.s over any bare bricks.
• Give the floor in the WS corner a good washing.  Let it dry.
• Give the floor in the corner a coat of Kilz or B.I.N.s.
• Realize, O carp, there's no point in repainting just that corner when other parts of the laundry room floor need redoing, too.
• Figure out how to take the old water softener apart so I can get at the resin tank and empty it.
• Take the old water softener apart so I can get at the resin tank and empty it.
• Use the shop vac to suck the resin and water out of the old resin tank.  Drain off water and dispose of resin in the trash (it's just plastic and nontoxic).
• Once it's light enough for me to carry it, get the old WS out of the basement.
• Make sure all the piles of laundry, jugs of laundry aids, buckets, cat litter pans, boxes, etc., are out of the way.
• Wash all the laundry room floor.  Let it dry.
• Give the floor, especially the corner that still flaunts the previous owners' old red and gray paint jobs, a nice coat of pale green floor paint.  Put up a gate so the cats don't track in it.  Wait 24 hours. 
• Give the floor a second coat of green paint.  Wait another 24 hours.

Then I can move the new backwash filter and the new water softener into place and start measuring for copper pipe.  (I think that while I've got the primer out I'm going to label the system as it exists so I don't end up softening the water that goes to the basement toilet and sending all the untreated junk to the water heater.)  By the time I finish the list above and can head to Lowe's, maybe I'll get lucky and Steve will find his big pipe cutter gadget.  One less thing to buy.

Hoping to get the scraping, mildrew-removal, and priming done before I go to bed tonight.

But first, I have to plan worship for the church I'm supplying this Sunday.  But first!