I don’t normally use this platform to name and shame products, but I’ve got this platform, so why not?
I live in a family with three females. Got a son too, so that makes five of us.
A knackered shower screen door means instead of my wife and me using the ensuite, our whole family is sharing the one bathroom, for now.
SIGN UP NOW FOR OUR FREE REAL ESTATE NEWSLETTER
Now, two of these females have quite long hair. My wife’s is particularly thick too. Already I’m seeing some of the fellas thinking: “I know where this is going” and you may be right, but have you factored in the cassowaries? Stop jumping ahead – the rest of the class is still on page 77.
Anyway. All of these women and all of these showers means from time to time, I have to deal with a blocked drain due to a build-up of hair. Case in point last week, when, after turning on the shower, the drain gurgled.
What a neat looking bathroom. This family obviously don’t have three women who shed hair like a golden retriever. Pic: iStock.
“Well, that’s not good,” I said to myself.
Then water started to rise up out of the shower drain.
“Well, that’s not good at all,” I thought to myself.
Mere moments later, water started rising out of the bathroom floor drain, creeping its way towards the bathroom vanity like when the evil robot dude turns to liquid in Terminator 2.
“Well, that’s really not good at all,” I said, out loud this time, for effect.
So it was off to Bunnings for some drain cleaner. Here’s where the naming and shaming comes in. While at the big green heaven, I picked up a couple of bottles of Drano 1.2-litre Max Gel Liquid drain cleaner. I’ve used it before and it’s good stuff.
Here’s where my optimism turned into disbelief and then needless annoyance. The instructions say to pour one third of the bottle down the drain and rinse with hot water a half-hour later. From using the product before, the process can be repeated for stubborn blockages. But a third is what you need. That’s the take-out here.
How my shower drain should look. Pic: iStock
So you go to the side of the bottle where the little clear level and dosage indicator panel is – you know, so you can measure out a third as instructed – and what do you find?
The indicators show quarter measurements.
Yes, ¼ , ½ , ¾ all the way up the side of the bottle. If ever there was a call for a slow, mocking clap this is it.
It’s like a fertiliser I was using in the garden a while back. I can’t remember now what it was called and I haven’t bought it since because it peeved me so much. But the instructions on the back of the bottle were very clear: Shake well, pour 70ml into the cap and mix into 8 litres of water.
Me as an iStock model watering my seedlings according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Pic: iStock.
Now, you’d think the cap holds 70ml, right? Wrong! The cap holds about 40. But there are measurements on the side, right? Nope.
So it’s just guesswork and hope you trot out here across two pours, praying you don’t spill out too much that you burn your seedlings’ roots and kill them?
Yep. Full disclosure, I poured out too much that I burned my seedlings’ roots and killed them.
Well that was money well spent … Picture: Alison Wynd
There’s a lot to be said for making something as easy as you can. Make something simple and it’s more of a pleasure to engage with. Add an extra layer of complexity and you risk people disengaging with what you’re trying to sell.
It’s especially the case when selling a house. You want people to have a positive connection to your home because it’s crucial to their decision to buy it.
So if you’re selling, present it fairly and price it accurately. Want to make it super easy? Publicise your price guide. Removing this layer of secrecy goes a long way towards a buyer connecting with it.
This is the sort of faces you want to see on people coming through your house. Picture: iStock
Schedule your open inspections at times people can attend and, when selecting a real estate agent, pick one that returns calls promptly and reports. Any extra layer of effort or guesswork you can take away from a potential buyer and it’s one step closer to a quick and successful sale.
And now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to guess what a third is in a world of quarters and unblock a drain.
English (US) · 