The Grumble Thread - No energy for a full on rant.

[nuttycyclist]

Modern WC’s are rubbish. Their flush is pathetic (oh how I pine for our old syphonic device) and their refill time laggardly.

Thames water emailed me yesterday, inciting me to reduce my water consumption with their free gadgets. They can keep them! As far as I can see they all score 'own goals'.

I'll flush a 'water-saving' loo three times until the pan is clear; two gallons with a drop of 6 feet would be more effective than this push-button close-coupled rubbish.

I use my washing machine to remove dirt & smells from my clothes. I'll use it less frequently i it does this WELL; low temperatures, weak detergents, less water and slow spins might save water and energy in theory...

Notice how "laundry sanitiser" has became a thing?

Modern detergents may well loosen dirt even at cold wash temperature, but cold washing won't kill off the bacteria...

There was something on daytime tellybox the other week, where they did "proper" science.  The people who did their washing at 30C had more bacteria post wash than they did before they put the stuff in the machine.  i.e. the washing machine at 30 made the bedding more dirty.

[Mr Larrington]

Wimbledon being on all afternoon all over the Beeb will at least provide a few minutes alternative viewing while the adverts are running on ITV4.

We at P@nd3m1c Pr0duckt10nz^TM® record it and start watching 20-30 minutes later.  In theory we should catch up around the time of the last shitvert break before the end of the stage.

[CAMRAMan]

Boss (who ignores us unless he needs to talk to us): Before implementing a system that requires cloud access, in a new location, it might be a good idea to check that there is access to the internet in said location, eller hur?

It hasn't, of course...

[SoreTween]

2020 - Washing machine died.  Flat, unequivocal 'f##k off with your tinkering skills, I iz ded' from the control board.
       - Voluntarily also replaced the tumble drier as a) the old one was VERY NOISY, b) it scared the hell out of me the volume of fluff that had escaped the drum into the gubbins space at each annual cleanout, c) it broke down frequently (corollary of which is it was very fixable).
2021 - Dishwasher died.  Coaxed some life back into the motor that drove the dial.  It still tended to stick but seemed set to give a few more months at least before we had to do the disposable society consumerism thing.  4 days later the drain pump packed up.
       - Lawn mower started pining for the fjords today.  Motor bearings have got very stiff resulting in excess brush destruction.  That should be easy except a) every part of the motor is a press fit onto the spindle, no hope of removing any of the bottom end.  I suspect the top end bearing would have been doable if the lower end could have been dismantled non-destructively.  b) the brushes are unobtanium. c) new complete motor assembly £180.  New similar machine £199. 

Still clinging on
       - Mrs tween is making noises about a bigger freezer, may as well as the current one is sick.  There should not be condensation on the outside (yes we have defrosted it annually)

Bored of this game.

[Beardy]

2020 - Washing machine died.  Flat, unequivocal 'f##k off with your tinkering skills, I iz ded' from the control board.
       - Voluntarily also replaced the tumble drier as a) the old one was VERY NOISY, b) it scared the hell out of me the volume of fluff that had escaped the drum into the gubbins space at each annual cleanout, c) it broke down frequently (corollary of which is it was very fixable).
2021 - Dishwasher died.  Coaxed some life back into the motor that drove the dial.  It still tended to stick but seemed set to give a few more months at least before we had to do the disposable society consumerism thing.  4 days later the drain pump packed up.
       - Lawn mower started pining for the fjords today.  Motor bearings have got very stiff resulting in excess brush destruction.  That should be easy except a) every part of the motor is a press fit onto the spindle, no hope of removing any of the bottom end.  I suspect the top end bearing would have been doable if the lower end could have been dismantled non-destructively.  b) the brushes are unobtanium. c) new complete motor assembly £180.  New similar machine £199. 

Still clinging on
       - Mrs tween is making noises about a bigger freezer, may as well as the current one is sick.  There should not be condensation on the outside (yes we have defrosted it annually)

Bored of this game.

the only real cure to compulsory consumerism is to buy yourself a +1

[MattH]

Modern WC’s are rubbish. Their flush is pathetic (oh how I pine for our old syphonic device) and their refill time laggardly.

The loos in the multiple-occupancy building I currently work in are appalling. A double flush used to be a bit of a badge of honour after a good night out. Triple flush meant I'd excelled myself, and quite possibly incurred some internal damage with the previous night's proceedings.

These loos always need a double flush, sometimes double, stir up the remnants with the brush to break up any paper that might have the smallest air bubble trapped, then flush again. And they are slow to refill. Which is doubly horrible, because you can guess how many people other than me actually bother to do that, and hence the typical state of the loos when you go to use them 

[Jaded]

If you are having trouble with turd pile ups in ineffective loos, release the first flush as the pile up begins, before there is significant bulk in the pan. It requires dexterity and coordination, and obviously isn’t as satisfying as a proper bowl filler…

[MattH]

In ours it's the paper that's the worst. Any bubbles at all caught in it, and it just floats and rides the waves - rarely are solids the issue.

Vaguely related, the Drain Unblockers youtube channel is strangely relaxing to watch.

[robgul]

My theory isn't that it's just the cistern/flush that's the issue here - I'm sure that the shape/angle of the u-bend in the pan itself is a contributing factor to successful "first-time flushing"

BUT cisterns are poor too, especially the two button type - our cloakroom WC was pathetic and wouldn't stop running into the pan (it was a very expensive model all in a wooden cabinet - can't remember what make - was there when we bought the house) - I replaced it with a £30 cistern from Screwfix . . .  it's now so powerful that you have to hang on to the door handle to avoid being sucked into the pan

While we're on flushing - en suite cistern was poor so the water level baffles were taken out (by a plumber) to increase water volume in the flush - better, but the volume whistling down the soil pipe now pulls the shower trap and sewage smells rise up - everything is boxed in/tiled etc so there's no obvious way to find out if and where there might be a soil vent (which should stop the trap pulling) 

[Canardly]

I would imagine that fitting an AAV would help with that.

[robgul]

I would imagine that fitting an AAV would help with that.

Yes - BUT there is no access to nor any visible pipework before the soil pipe gets to the cloakroom WC on the ground floor pretty much underneath the shower tray . . .  in typical stupid fashion everything is boxed in and tiled with no removable inspection panels.  There's no soil stack through the roof (which would provide air admittance) nor anything I can find in the loft like an internal AAV.    The shower trap is one of the shallow "double-sealed" type with a cup in it that should retain water and be the seal against smells - it seems that the seal water is being pulled and leaving an air gap..

[Beardy]

As bathrooms seem to be a topic here at the moment I shall -it the following grumble here rather than the First World Problem thread where it could equally have been posted.

Hotel showers. No, make that budget hotel showers. In particular, those that are fitted over baths that are only big enough for TdF climbers and jump jockeys. Starting at a the top, the shower head is never fitted high enough, which means bending down to get ones head wet, and twirling to get wet in both sides. The water pressure is usually high enough, which should be a plus, but often causes greater problems. That small bath is also narrow, not of itself an issue as a shower tray, but this being a budget hotel, no expense has be given in provision of a proper shower screen, no they use what I can only think are disposable shower curtains that are so light that even moving quickly draws them to you. And of course, in a vain attempt to keep the water within the confines for the bath, the hand the shower curtain so that it is inside the line of the inner edge of the bath thus exacerbating the narrowness issue. and back to that high pressure jet of water which is excellent through the appliance of SCIENCE at drawing in the shower curtain which then clings to the body beautifully. Which results in even more water ending up outside the curtain and thus on the floor. The only real positive is that it’s not my bathroom and so I will not have to clear up after me.

And while I’m on the subject of hotel showers, who’s bright idea was it to decant my shower gel and shampoo into unlabelled clear bottles? Ok, I might know the answer to that. But the reason for the grumble is my penchant for perfume free and undyed shower gel and shampoos which means I have a small collection of clear ‘airline friendly’ toiletry bottles with either clear or white unperfumed viscous liquids with no clue as to what they actually are. I think I might have got lucky with my choices this weekend but the ‘shampoo’ did create a very dense lather.

[rafletcher]

If you are having trouble with turd pile ups in ineffective loos, release the first flush as the pile up begins, before there is significant bulk in the pan. It requires dexterity and coordination, and obviously isn’t as satisfying as a proper bowl filler…

Somewhat difficult with the flush buttons in line with you spine…. Ours is exacerbated by having a right angle in the soil pipe immediately behind the pan. I guess that’s solution is a complete bathroom rebuild and a side exit pan.

Now we have suctioning of the waste traps on the bath (to the left) and bidet (to the right) when emptying the (central) hand basin. Probably as a result of 20 years of my wife’s wiry hair.

[robgul]

As bathrooms seem to be a topic here at the moment I shall -it the following grumble here rather than the First World Problem thread where it could equally have been posted.

Hotel showers. No, make that budget hotel showers. In particular, those that are fitted over baths that are only big enough for TdF climbers and jump jockeys. Starting at a the top, the shower head is never fitted high enough, which means bending down to get ones head wet, and twirling to get wet in both sides. The water pressure is usually high enough, which should be a plus, but often causes greater problems. That small bath is also narrow, not of itself an issue as a shower tray, but this being a budget hotel, no expense has be given in provision of a proper shower screen, no they use what I can only think are disposable shower curtains that are so light that even moving quickly draws them to you. And of course, in a vain attempt to keep the water within the confines for the bath, the hand the shower curtain so that it is inside the line of the inner edge of the bath thus exacerbating the narrowness issue. and back to that high pressure jet of water which is excellent through the appliance of SCIENCE at drawing in the shower curtain which then clings to the body beautifully. Which results in even more water ending up outside the curtain and thus on the floor. The only real positive is that it’s not my bathroom and so I will not have to clear up after me.

And while I’m on the subject of hotel showers, who’s bright idea was it to decant my shower gel and shampoo into unlabelled clear bottles? Ok, I might know the answer to that. But the reason for the grumble is my penchant for perfume free and undyed shower gel and shampoos which means I have a small collection of clear ‘airline friendly’ toiletry bottles with either clear or white unperfumed viscous liquids with no clue as to what they actually are. I think I might have got lucky with my choices this weekend but the ‘shampoo’ did create a very dense lather.

I believe that the budget hotels will often have "water saving shower heads" and basin taps - the concept is to mix air and water to give pretty much the same effect but also reduce actual water flow - and therefore consumption and thus cost.

[Kim]

Hotel showers. No, make that budget hotel showers. In particular, those that are fitted over baths that are only big enough for TdF climbers and jump jockeys. Starting at a the top, the shower head is never fitted high enough, which means bending down to get ones head wet, and twirling to get wet in both sides.

The corollary to that is shower heads fitted at such extreme altitude that the spray has dispersed to a medium drizzle by the time it reaches your head.  Bonus points when this is combined with a Pissy Landlord Electric Shower™, feeble BRITISH water pressure and/or installed in a female-only showering facility.

Obviously the proper solution is a movable shower head (which is also useful if you want to wash bits and pits without getting your hair wet).  Except that they break.

[rafletcher]

And showers that have sufficient pressure were it not for the fact that the nozzles are so blocked with scale that all that emerges are fine needle of spray in random directions.

[FifeingEejit]

As zo eone who identified as a lanky bastirts, (even if the scales and belly disagree) anti-vandal shower heads are one of my pet peevs (ok so I have a lot of them i suppose).

I'm not even all that tall really at 1.83ish meters (varies according tontine of day, how I've been sitting and other stuff)

Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk

[Pingu]

As zo eone who identified as a lanky bastirts, (even if the scales and belly disagree) anti-vandal shower heads are one of my pet peevs (ok so I have a lot of them i suppose).

I'm not even all that tall really at 1.83ish meters (varies according tontine of day, how I've been sitting and other stuff)

Sent from my BKL-L09 using Tapatalk

I'm not going to buy a BKL-L09 and use Tapatalk.

[Jaded]

 

[ian]

The hotel showers that have a half-door, ensuring half the water ends up on the floor. On day two, you have to strategically place half the towels on the floor to soak up the lake.

Those and the showers that lull you into a false sense of security. You're there under the perfectly temperatured jet of water, soaping away, and then, there's a momentary burst of ice or fire that has you scurrying for safety and confessing to crimes you've not yet committed.

I remember one occasion in Ethiopia (where no one goes for the hotel shower experience) where I trying to get the dribble from the detached shower onto my head when I looked up through the open window above my head to see an entire family sitting on the stairwell enjoying the show.

[Mrs Pingu]

Banks, official looking bank statements for proof of funds re; money laundering regs.

Banks have to apply similar looking money laundering regs to solicitors, so why is it that of the 5 accounts I have with the Nationwide I can only download a full statement with my name and address on it for 2 of them 

[ian]

I once grabbed a logo from a website and made up my own 'bill' – I figured the five minutes of copy and pasting was better than six hours on the phone to a call centre.

I will offer my ninja skills to real money launders who obviously won't have figured this out.

[Mrs Pingu]

Well there's an idea if I get any grumblings, but seriously if a bank can do it for one account, why not them all?

[robgul]

Banks, official looking bank statements for proof of funds re; money laundering regs.

Banks have to apply similar looking money laundering regs to solicitors, so why is it that of the 5 accounts I have with the Nationwide I can only download a full statement with my name and address on it for 2 of them 

. . . there's a bloke that lurks here that might be able to answer that 

[ian]

Well there's an idea if I get any grumblings, but seriously if a bank can do it for one account, why not them all?

If you hung around with Demons, like I do, you'd know why. They're making your life interesting and user-testing innovative strategies for eternal torment.

In other grumblenews, I've adopted one sporting event, and that's the TdF. So dear radio, which has never been tempted to mention cycling before, why spoil it by telling me who wins the stage, eh? Did you really run out of footballfootballfootballfootballfootballfootballfootballfootballfootballfootballfootballfootballfootball?