Just discovered my garage flood was from a $2 gasket I ignored for 6 months

Found a puddle in my garage back in March. Spent hours checking gutters, grading the driveway, even bought a $50 moisture meter. Had a buddy come look and he spotted it in 2 minutes. Tiny rubber gasket under the garage door had cracked. Replaced it for $2 at the hardware store. Water was coming in through a gap I couldn't even see. That was 6 months of stress over a part I could've fixed with a screwdriver. Has anyone else spent way too long on a problem that turned out to be simple?

2 comments

2 Comments

milarodriguez4d ago

My dad had the same thing happen with his washing machine leak, he replaced the entire drain pump before realizing it was a loose hose clamp worth like 50 cents. You really start to question your life choices when you think back on all the time wasted walking in circles over something that small. At least now you can laugh about it, hopefully sooner than later.

parkerbrown4d agoTop Commenter

Friend of mine did almost the exact same thing with his dishwasher. He spent a whole weekend taking it apart, swapping out the inlet valve, even replaced a control board he found on eBay for like 40 bucks. Turns out a tiny piece of plastic from a broken cup had jammed the drain filter, took him maybe ten minutes to fish it out after all that. He was so mad he just sat there staring at the pile of old parts for a solid five minutes. Now he jokes it's his 'tuition fee' for learning how to fix a dishwasher.