rubber plugs and memories.

[micky]

When I first moved here, I needed a rubber plug to plug up the laundry sink once in a while. Either there was one here already or I bought one. It was hollow.

After 31 years, it started leaking at the sides, and it was hard to find one the right diameter. HD didn't have one, but Ace had one for every

1/8".

I bought the right size and now it fits so well I have to pry it out with a small screwdriver every time I want to drain t he tub.

But more interesting, the new one is not hollow. It's solid along the bottom and every time I use it, still after 6 months, it strongly reminds me of the house I was born into and lived until I was 10, in

1957, and its basement. . I guess the laundry sink there had a solid plug too, and I haven't seen one since then.

That sink was cement iirc with a front that was slanted backwards iirc.

[philo]

Yeah. My house was built in 1898 and I've lived here 35 years. Will never be able to sell the place due to the solid plug in the laundry tub.

[Stormin Mormon]

"If you like your solid plug, you can keep your solid plug."

- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .

. .

[Moe DeLoughan]

Sounds like mine. The front has a metal washboard inset. I recently bought a couple of replacement plugs for it at Ace, too. Also noticed they were solid, and fit better.

Sometimes I think about replacing this massive old concrete sink with a new plastic one, if only to brighten up that part of the basement a bit.

[notbob]

Plastic is killing us. Stick with the cement sink.

nb

[dadiOH]

Count your blessings. When I lived in Mexico, just about every house had a concrete sink with a built in washboard at one side. I would love to have such for a utility sink here in Florida but no such luck. And I'm not about to lug oneback from Mexico.

The house in which I was born (in 1933) was built in 1885 and had a similar sink in the kitchen but it was porcelain. It too had a built in scrub/drain board. Handy.

[Dan Espen]

If plastic is killing us it's taking it's merry time.

We do leak a lot of exotic chemicals into the environment but I don't think a sink in a basement is a significant source.

I had my basement sink replaced a year ago. The old one looked like plastic, the new one looks more like fiberglass than anything else. After over 50 years, the old one was just too nasty.

All the polluting we do would be a lot less of a problem if there were less of us on the planet. So, before you procreate, think.

[Vic Smith]

I did that last year. The drain fitting was corroded. Broke it up with a hammer. Plastic sink is half the size, which is more than enough to drain the washer.

[John]

I have a plastic one, looking to replace it with porcelain or stainless. It scratches easily and always looks like shi%$#. Mould tends to live in the scratches and even bleach and scrubbing doesn't get it clean.

Seriously thinking of replacing it with a deep single bowl kitchen sink over a cabinet. Get extra storage and decent looking faucets along with a sprayer that way.

John

[Jerry.Tan]

Why????? Unless it's cracked, leave it alone. They were superior to the plastic/fiberglass ones sold today. They were very durable and did not move around when you use them, (which the plastic ones do, unless you anchor them to the concrete floor). I've had both, and preferred the concrete ones.

You can paint the exterior of them, but I dont suggest doing the interior.

One final note. The metal base (legs) should be inspected yearly. If you have a damp basement, those metal (angle iron) legs can rust. Once when I was in the plumbing biz, I went to a job, where the concrete sink had collapsed because the rusty legs failed. Not only did it bust the water supply pipes and drain pipe, but they said one of the people was in the hospital from the injuries when that sink fell on or against them. They are very heavy sinks. They were usually placed in the basement BEFORE the house was built, using some sort of machinery like a small crane.

The first time I had to replace one of them (which was cracked), I had a couple guys come to assist me remove it and carry it up the basement steps. I think we all came close to getting a hernia just taking it off the stand. Rather than fight with it up the steps, we busted it up with a sledge. Even that was not easy due to all the reinforcing wires inside the concrete.

BTW: If a rubber plug is hard to remove, put a little vaseline or plumbers grease around the side edges. That makes it a little easier to remove. But you have to renew it every so often.

[Dan Espen]

My fiberglass one is attached to the wall. It doesn't move.

[micky]

I don't remembver if thre was a washboard inside it. I've been back there but not in the basement. I've been goine 58 years now but I'll try to get invited in one more time and check out the basement too.

About 1948, my father had another outlet put in my room, by their drilling a hole from the closet in my parents' room, through the wall right above the baseboard, running some lamp wire through the wall, plugging it into an outlet in their closet, and running along the baseboard to a surface-mount receptacle.

I'm dying to see if they're still using that of if they upgraded.

If they repaired the railing above the back porch or blocked off the door from my brother's closet, or neither.

And if the basement is dry yet.

[micky]

But is it big enough to do the laundry? What about draperies and big quilts? Hoop skirts and crenalins.

>

[micky]

I like them too, but even though this happens rarely, you gave a powrful argument here for replacing them.

One big hernia, or 3 smaller ones?

I'll try that. Thanks. By coincidence I have some vaseline right in front of me, but doesn't that hurt rubber?

[micky]

You don't have to do it yourself. Put it on a burro.

We were the first in that house to have a washing machine (automatic, no less) . Had to put it on a wooden crate, so it wouldn't rust out when the basement flooded.

A little later we got a gas dryer too.

[Jerry.Tan]

in a dry basement they should not rust at all. They were made well. My parents house had one and it was over 50 years old. The sink and metal stand were still in perfect shape. My dad painted the metal legs once, just for appearance, but that helps prevent rust. The sink itself was clean and perfect even after all those years.

The one that I had to replace on that job was in a basement made of rocks, which appeared to leak and was probably damp all the time. The legs on that stand were pure rust. Of course I didn't see it before it fell, but I find it hard to believe it stayed up as long as it did. The metal looked like swiss cheese.

BOTH :(

No, vaseline wont hurt rubber, but it will melt away fairly fast from hot water. Plumbing grease is MADE for rubber, like O-rings, and other faucet materials. It will last longer and not "wash away" as fast. Probably $2 or $3 these days at any place that sells plumbing parts. But you got the vaseline, try that first!

[Stormin Mormon]

If you find out, please don't post from Home Owners Hub, using an example dot com return adress. I've got those filtered. The remote outlet sounds like about enough for a clock or table radio. I'd not use a hair dryer, too much current draw.

- . Christopher A. Young learn more about Jesus .

. .

[Vic Smith]

Yeah, big enough. Tents too. White plastic with steel legs. Mine doesn't wobble. I put the washer against it and the plumbing stack is on the other side.

Nice!

[J Burns]

It's easy to make a stone sink. Just drop it in a lake.