Case of the Plumber's Bread

The last time I had my heating and cooling system serviced, the plumber noticed the water pipes above my hot water heater were getting old. They had turned green in some spots. And some joints had something collecting around them. The plumber said I should get them replaced before I had a leak.

I asked my handyman team to schedule it up. It took a while for them to come by. They have a busy schedule. Today they arrived early to replaces the pipes as well as my hot water heater. The heater itself was getting old and rusty. I figure it was best to get everything new.

It was good the handyman team came by. I always have a list of things for them to do. They are doing my miscellaneous tasks, as well as taking care of the pipes and hot water heater. I was in a call for work. My handyman came and asked if I had any bread. I showed him where we kept the loaves of sandwich bread.

Later my handyman explained that water stays in the pipes. And when he tries to solder two pipes together, the water steams up and prevents the solder from sticking. He puts a piece of bread or two in the pipe. The bread soaks up the water and allows the solder to stick. He says the bread dissolves so there is nothing to clean up. Aha.