December 7, 2007

Dear Tom-

We have a leaky dishwasher, and we were unaware of the fact until the next day, when we saw the water marks on our beautiful tongue-in-groove wood floors (oak with a cherry stain). All of the water soaked into the floors and we didn't know it. The next day, some of the boards in the middle of the kitchen floor started to cup/warp! Are we going to have to replace these boards, or is there a way to flatten them out? It's only been a day since the leak. Regarding the leaky dishwasher, I think it was caused by our two year old daughter sitting on the dishwasher door when it was open. Is there a way to straighten the door to its original position without replacing it?

Thanks

Hard wood in a kitchen? Pretty, but not a good idea. There is really no way of flattening them out. The wood is no longer the same size it was. It expanded when it got wet. Depending on how bad it is warped, there is a chance you could use a hard wood floor sander and sand it back flat. This would only work if there was minor warping. And you would probably have to refinish the entire kitchen floor to make it match again.

This happened to me, in a family room when a bath tub overflow gasket failed. I replaced the wood and since it was a factory finish and the floor was new, it matched. Hopefully you can do the same.

Regarding the dishwasher, the hinges are most likely bent. I would try replacing them first. I get my appliance parts from here: http://www.repairclinic.com/0001.asp

Tom

December 7, 2007

Hey Tom,

I need your help! We've got a little tiny bath toy stuck inside the drain of the bathtub. The pipe doesn't go straight down, it kind of curves (?) and we can't get it with needle nose pliers or anything of that sort. A plunger doesn't work either. We need to get it out because the tub doesn't drain real well, making it difficult to wash out (we've got 3 little boys and use it quite frequently!). DH remembers seeing something about this on This Old House, but it was before we had the problem, and we can't find anything about it online. Thanks!

Robert Here -

The best approach would be to come at the problem from below. If that is possible, you can simply take out the curved section of the drain pipe and remove the toy from the other end. Many systems do not give you that sort of bottom access, so let's look at some second-best things you can try.

There is a tool--I don't know if it has a name--that could solve your problem, depending on the shape of the toy, and how firmly it has gotten wedged. It is a length of steel wire, inside a flexible casing, much like a clutch cable or a bicycle brake cable. One end of the inner wire has a button, the other has a little sort-of hand, that comes out of the sheath when you push the button. Very handy for picking up small parts that you have dropped into an engine block--never mind how I know that. Anyway, if you can lay hands on one of these gadgets, you may be able to get a grip on the toy, and pull it out.

If the toy is the wrong shape to get a grip on, or you can't find that tool, get a wire coathanger and untwist the hook. This gives you a remarkably versatile tool, which can not only be shaped by hand, but can also bend in curved pipes. If, by feel or by looking, you can slip the end of the wire past the toy, you may be able to bend the end of the wire so that, once past the toy, you can turn it to bring the bent part up behind the toy, and draw it toward you. Didn't work? Okay, can you see the toy? Is it made of rubber or plastic? Try heating the twisty end of the wire with a propane torch, and quickly (before it cools too much) pressing it against the toy. The idea is for the wire to melt a hole in the toy, which when cool may permit the toy to be pulled out.

Again, if you can see the toy, you may be able to get it out the way kids used to get coins out of storm drains. The kids used chewing gum on a stick. You can fashion your "stick" out of whatever is handy, as long as it has a flat place about the size of a fingernail available at the end. Get the toy wet, put a dab of Gorilla Glue on the flat place, touch the two together and leave them there to set for however long the directions say. Then pull it out.

If all else fails, there is a final approach. I don't really like it, because it has more injury potential than I like to suggest to people, but it might work, depending on what the toy is made of: lye. For this, you need dry granular lye, rubber gloves, and eye protection. You add lye to water, never the reverse, but you did say the drain worked slowly. Run water into the tub, and while the toy is immersed in the water, pour in the dry lye. It will generate heat and corrosive chemistry, and will burn you badly if you get it on you (and blind you if you get it in your eyes), but it will also eat many organic materials, and if the toy is made of any of them, it is doomed.

Anyway, good luck.