Household Flub

So you know, when starting a houshold project, you should think it through all the way, or read the documentation.

For example:

The clocks were changing, so it was time to change the filter in our water filter for the kitchen. As an aside, I recommend these under sink filtration systems over those carafe-based ones (read Britta) or faucet mounted ones. They are cheaper over the long run, and the filters last longer since you only use them when you want, and the filters are larger and hopefully more efficient.

Anyway, the filters are in big cartridges, kind of like a very long oil filter. There are 2 of them, a particulate filter and a charcoal filter. To change the filter, you unscrew the holder for them, take them out of the holder, drop in a new one and screw the holder back into the unit.

So I grabbed the wrench, grabbed a towel to catch and drips and reached under there and started unscrewing. The astute handyman will notice that I skipped a step - I should have known better. I forgot to shut off the water supply to the sink. What ensued was just what you imagine - the water started to drip as I loosened the holders, then it became a stream and then a torrent of water spurting from the joints. It was like a Three Stooges episode, except I was playing Curly.

I squawked for my beloved to bring another towel and to quickly reach under there and turn off the valve at the angle stop.

Fortunately, it worked, and with no more Stooges moments.

The moral is, before you start mucking around on a home task, or any task, either read the documentation, look it up on a reputable online site, or site back for a moment and go through the process and see if you can find any flaws in your plan.

Or else you might be going, "Oh, a wise guy, eh?" and getting poked in the eye.