Ray of Sunshine

I believe the black rod is the dip tube

My friend Frieda* called me a little before 6:00 this evening.  How was I doing with my hard water situation?  And could she ask me something?  Would I be willing to have somebody else connect my new water treatment equipment for me?  It wasn't that she wanted to cast any doubts on my DIY abilities, but she was a little worried about my plans to do the plumbing connections for my new water softener and filter myself.  Seeing as I'd never actually sweated copper pipe before and all that.

No, I told her, I'd been wondering the same thing, and might end up using the mechanical-connection GatorGrip or SharkBite fittings instead of solder, even if they are more expensive.

What she was calling to suggest was, would I mind if she mentioned my job to her next-door neighbor?  He does plumbing work, and would charge me a lot less than going rates.  Or, if I didn't need the work done right away, her grown son would be willing to take a look at it, and he'd do it for free.

Oh, no, said I, with all the painting (and cleaning) I still need to do down there, it will be at least a week before I'm ready to do any plumbing.  At least.

Well. that's good, because (with all due respect to my DIY abilities) she knows that if you get the plumbing wrong you can blow out the equipment.  Yeah, I said, or spring a major and very annoying leak.

I am not proud.  If she wants to send her son over to sweat these pipes for me and he knows what he's doing and he's willing, I'm all for it.  It'd actually be a relief.  Thanks!

Slurp, slurp, slurp!

So on the strength of this prospect I went back downstairs this evening and dismantled the old water softener.  It took a little while, but it wasn't complicated.  The water sitting at the top of the resin tank I tipped out into the floor drain, and the resin itself I sucked out with the wet-dry vac.

Not pie material

The spent resin went in two triple-bagged black lawn-and-leaf sacks that up to a couple days ago held last year's maple leaves for mulching.  Fascinating stuff, that resin.  It looks like pureéd sweet potatoes or pumpkin pie filling.  Happily, it's only little wet plastic beads and totally non-toxic, so I could scoop the last glops of it out of the vacuum cleaner tank with my hand.  The only real hazard about it is mechanical-- get those little beads underfoot on a smooth floor and it's like walking on ice.  This I had read and this I experienced-- just enough to keep the broom handy to sweep any little spills. 

Notice broken place at bottom

I don't know if any of the plastic parts of the old WS are recyclable, but I put them in the bin anyway.  We'll see if the trash haulers take them in the July pickup.  I did save the salt that was in the bottom of the brine tank-- put it in my sidewalk salt bin for use next winter.  Yeah, it doesn't have all the sidewalk salt ingredients, but it's better than throwing it out in the alley.

The bags of resin went in the trash for pickup first thing tomorrow morning.

So hurray! that's done.  Maybe I'm making progress after all.