My kingdom for a lightsabre!
Apr. 2nd, 2004 07:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quasigeostrophyAh, the joys of living where the water is so hard it can be used as a stiffener.
Had the dishwasher looked at last week because I thought it was just not cleaning right and something was broken. I'd already cleaned it, and it looked to me like some part in the back might have been broken, but what did I know. Nope. It turns out that our water softener hasn't been doing its job lately. For how long, who knows? Anyway, this afternoon I went down to take a look at it and discovered we have what the experts call a salt bridge. Salt hardens in the outer tank and creates a barrier with water underneath, and the barrier prevents the softener from doing its job. So, I went to work on this supposed salt bridge, first with the suggested broom handle (so much for RTFM - it didn't budge and it started to splinter the handle). I then decided to take an old screwdriver and pick away at it, loosening some of the pellets. After that, I would scoop them out into a bucket, bail the small amount of water on the surface into the nearby sink, and then pour some very hot water on the salt to start the loosening process again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I don't have a great deal of upper body strength (okay, where arms are concerned, I'm a total wuss - that's what I get for only being into bicycle riding for so many years). I halted the process after a few iterations when I started to achieve very little with the screwdriver (and Toni had just come home with a migraine, anyway). I can't tell for certain yet, but I don't think this is actually a salt bridge - I think it goes to the bottom. Fortunately, it is a small water softener, by Water Boss, but that also means the access to the salt is via a small opening with nasty edges. I have to say I did not enjoy having my hands in the potassium chloride solution after getting several scratches on them.
What I really need is a laser of some sort. :-) I'm so tempted to pour some vinegar in it, but the part of my brain that remembers some of my college chemistry doesn't like the idea of acetic acid and potassium chloride. I'm resigned to making this a multi-day project, chipping away here and there until the damn thing is gone. I need to remember to keep the waste salt from getting too near my darkroom supplies.
Had the dishwasher looked at last week because I thought it was just not cleaning right and something was broken. I'd already cleaned it, and it looked to me like some part in the back might have been broken, but what did I know. Nope. It turns out that our water softener hasn't been doing its job lately. For how long, who knows? Anyway, this afternoon I went down to take a look at it and discovered we have what the experts call a salt bridge. Salt hardens in the outer tank and creates a barrier with water underneath, and the barrier prevents the softener from doing its job. So, I went to work on this supposed salt bridge, first with the suggested broom handle (so much for RTFM - it didn't budge and it started to splinter the handle). I then decided to take an old screwdriver and pick away at it, loosening some of the pellets. After that, I would scoop them out into a bucket, bail the small amount of water on the surface into the nearby sink, and then pour some very hot water on the salt to start the loosening process again. Lather, rinse, repeat.
I don't have a great deal of upper body strength (okay, where arms are concerned, I'm a total wuss - that's what I get for only being into bicycle riding for so many years). I halted the process after a few iterations when I started to achieve very little with the screwdriver (and Toni had just come home with a migraine, anyway). I can't tell for certain yet, but I don't think this is actually a salt bridge - I think it goes to the bottom. Fortunately, it is a small water softener, by Water Boss, but that also means the access to the salt is via a small opening with nasty edges. I have to say I did not enjoy having my hands in the potassium chloride solution after getting several scratches on them.
What I really need is a laser of some sort. :-) I'm so tempted to pour some vinegar in it, but the part of my brain that remembers some of my college chemistry doesn't like the idea of acetic acid and potassium chloride. I'm resigned to making this a multi-day project, chipping away here and there until the damn thing is gone. I need to remember to keep the waste salt from getting too near my darkroom supplies.
