Thank You

You will appreciate this. It is not a screed about politics or some preaching. It is just a pleasant story of a guy doing his job.

Here is a shout out to an unknown salesman at Crosslyns Building in Smyrna. We bought our house in 1987 and noticed that the faucets seemed to drip incessantly. A stop at Crosslyns put me in touch with one of the counter men there. He told me it was probably caused by the water pressure being too high.

He loaned me a water pressure meter and we checked. (Imagine that, No charge.) It was too high. So he proceeded to show me a pressure-reducing valve. It was pretty expensive for then, but he said it would be worth it. They had some cheaper models. Then he continued and said that I should also buy an extra union joint and a water shutoff valve. He said that the pressure reducer would probably last 30 years or more, but, if and when it had to be replaced, I would be glad for the ability to cut off the water right there, and just loosen two union joints instead of having to break a solder joint.

This afternoon, I blessed that guy's memory. The pressure reducer did indeed last 30 years, but a new check found the water pressure in excess of 90 pounds. (Seventy five is the max and lower is better.)

So I crawled under the house with two big crescent wrenches, instead of a soldering torch. The pressure reducer came out with a few twists of the wrenches. I took the connector out and put it into the exact model replacement. (What are the chances of that, after 30 years?)

Back under the house and some grunting and twisting, had it back in place. It is always harder to get it back tight than to loosen it, you know. The cut off valve meant that I could just open the spigot and check for leaks, instead of crawling back out, turning on the water at the water meter, then back under to make sure that there were no leaks.

Twice he did me a favor. Now the pressure is around 50. Let's hope the knocking pipes are fixed by this. But regardless, the lower pressure will be less wear and tear on the appliances.

Thank you again, Crosslyn salesman. You saved an old man a lot of work and hassle. And, as my Dad used to say, "If something is worth doing, it is worth doing right–the first time." Thanks Dad.