Fix that bloody H2O mop. Again!
Process:
This is a follow-up post to two earlier posts:
Last week I was getting ready to mop the floors for Mel and after a few minutes the mop didn't seem to produce any steam. I realized that the epoxy glue I used on the blue water filter a year ago or so had dissolved with the vinegar I used to de-calcify the mop and because of that a little bit of air was able to get sucked into the machine which essentially stopped the vacuum required to suck water through to create steam.
I went out in the shop and took the filter apart again, cleaned out all the glue and ended up trying to plastic-weld it back together with the acetylene torch instead of using glue. It didn't really work until I resorted to the soldering gun with a flat attachment. All put back together I realized that the initial oxy/acetylene "heat-treatment" warped the intake fitting. After drilling it out and exchanging some o-rings I got it semi-working except for the water tank kept creeping up and because of it kept leaking some water onto the floor.
Fed up with the ugly concoction I capitulated and ordered two replacement filters online for $20 bucks. In retrospect I should have probably done that from the beginning. Lesson learned: Fixing is NOT always the best option. Unless of course you want to know how everything works. In that case, taking stuff apart is absolutely essential.
Pictures:
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| The ugly filter after plastic-welding it together with my soldering gun |
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| You can see how the oxy/acetylene attempt at plastic-welding warped the round fitting at the top |
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| Brand spanking new water filter. Oh, so pretty and only $20 bucks for two of them |
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| Looks a lot nicer and actually works! |
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| The beauty in all its glory |
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| Close-up of the replaced filter |
Tools:
Oxy/Acetylene torch, soldering gun
Materials:
Cleaning supplies, replacement filters
Cost:
$20.00
Time:
1hr
Savings:
none
Conclusion:
In Nathaniel's words: I guess I learned something today
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