"Are you going to ask Jason what aisle to go down?"

Yesterday, I went to the Ace Hardware store with Sarah and Grace to buy 1/4" waterline.  60 feet of 1/4" waterline to be exact.  This is not the standard length.  Home Depot didn't have this length.  They have the 25' variety.  I tried running the 25' line with connectors through the attic with moldy results.  I hate rats.  Why rats? Because those little pests ate through the original line.  I had the line replaced for $150 the first time it started leaking through the ceiling, because quite frankly I didn't want to crawl around the attic and step through the ceiling.

Needless to say I've been in the attic no less than 10 times since September.  It's December.  The day after the line was replaced by professionals it started leaking again.  Actually it was the same night.  That's when I discovered the teeth marks in the line.  Rat evidence.  I wasn't about to pay $150 to get the line fixed again, so I shut off the water filter until I caught some critters.  Did I mention it's December.  I haven't killed anything to my knowledge.  But, I have grown some mold.  

I was pretty proud of myself when I decided to run both the AC condensation line and water filtration line through some PVC pipe in order to protect them from rodent teeth.  If you can't kill the rats you better out smart them.  Since nothing longer than 25' waterline was available I just connected the line with compression fittings.  Apparently, I didn't tighten them enough or I tightened them too much.  Eventually there was evidence of a sloooooow leak in the ceiling of the pantry.  Then the mold started.  So I haven't killed anything, but I have created fungal life.  GREAT!  Now, I've got to fix this thing again.  And this time I'm going to find the right length line.  

That's where Ace Hardware comes in.  A week ago Sarah went with me to the hardware store and they had 100' waterline.  I was instantly happy.  Until we went to the box and they only had 40 feet left.  I asked Jason, the guy working there, if he could order some more.  He assured me that he would order some more.  So there I was a week later with the girls, walking into Ace when my brilliant daughter Sarah asks "Are you going to ask Jason what aisle to go down?"  A week ago he told me his name and Sarah remembers that its Jason.  I was floored.  When she first asked me the question it took me a second to realize that she remembered his name.

By the way, I fixed the line permanently... I think.  And on my 10th trip in the attic I put my foot right through the ceiling.  I love home repairs.