Shoutout to the old plumber who fixed my grandpa's 1940s faucet with a rubber band

I was at Frank's Hardware in Toledo last Saturday and this guy in his 70s watched me struggle with a leaky 3-handle faucet for 20 minutes. He walked over, didn't say a word, took a rubber band off a bundle of asparagus, and wrapped it around the valve stem where the washer had worn out. It stopped the drip instantly. Made me realize I overcomplicate stuff with store-bought repair kits when sometimes a simple hack works better. Has anyone else had a stranger fix your plumbing problem on the spot like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

hugo_coleman285d ago

I get where you're coming from but I'm not sure a rubber band is a real fix for the long haul. Your grandpa's plumber knew his stuff but that trick is gonna dry rot or slip off in six months and leave you with a flooded floor.

rowan2625d ago

Agreed a hundred percent. Had a buddy do the exact same rubber band fix on his toilet fill valve and it held for maybe four months before it snapped and flooded his bathroom overnight. He had to rip up the whole floor and replace the subflooring. A proper replacement part costs like ten bucks and takes twenty minutes, it's just not worth the gamble.