Fix it Yourself

Sorry, I got a little trigger-happy with the dog photos. But they're just so darned cute, how can I narrow it down?

Our robo-pool vacuum crapped out at the worst possible time about a week ago. It's never a good time, but in the first couple of weeks after opening the pool and there is a ton of algae carcasses and other crud to pick up is definitely the worst time. It was driving around but it lost suction. I was busy with work and a million other things, and it was kind of old anyway, and, of course, the maker discontinued this line several years ago so there are no parts available, so I defaulted to thinking it was done. Since I needed a working vacuum STAT I bought a new one and set "Billy Bot" aside thinking I might fix it at a later date to use as a backup. Well, the new one sucked. Rather, it didn't, so I sent it back. Finally, today before going back to the everything store to pour over more product reviews, I decided to crack open the old one. Turns out, it was an easy fix. After popping off the impeller guard, I could see a little splinter of wood that looked like it had been chewed up by a certain fluffy dog (it's a good thing he's cute) that had wedged itself between the impeller and the outlet, preventing it from spinning. Splinter removed, blade guard re-attached, and boom, Bob's your uncle.

When something isn't working, sometimes the fix is easier than you think. This goes for our bodies, too. All you need is a little patience to take a quick look.