Requiem for a Hinge
It’s hard to believe, but there was a time when I didn’t have a baby gate across the basement doorway. I only had one child at the time, I think it was Abbie, and always knew her whereabouts. Usually those whereabouts involved being carried in my arms since she refused to risk being left to entertain herself for any extended period.
Even when her mobility increased and she agreed to be set down long enough to find trouble, she avoided the stairs to the basement. She might crawl up to the precipice, but that was as far as she’d venture. Instead she’d use Weebles as scouts, throwing them into the abyss, and waiting for them to report back to her.
Of course she eventually started trying to go down the basement stairs, and that’s when I knew we’d need that baby gate I’d been putting off. I tried closing the basement door when I thought she might scurry down the stairs while my back was turned, but I started closing the door more and more often as she moved faster and faster. I couldn’t leave the door closed all day because the cats needed basement access to do cat things, like eat cat food, use the litter box, and puke cat food.
We found a highest quality and lowest priced baby gate that attached to the wall, but could swivel open for adult access. Our model has a difficult-to-use handle, suitable for locking in place to confound the kids when we want to keep them upstairs, or confounding the building maintenance workers when we want to keep them downstairs.
Our baby gate served us well for over a year until last night when it broke. Specifically one of the hinges that attaches to the wall and lets the gate swing open snapped in half. Apparently I’d been leaning on it too heavily while pulling down rolls of paper towels that we leave perched above the steps. This broken part is consistent with the way that all children’s equipment breaks; it still mostly works, but one tiny part broke rendering the apparatus unusable. I see the same thing with sippy cups and leaky valves, electronic toys and one unresponsive button, and cats and grumpy dispositions.
My first instinct was to throw the whole thing away. I do that regularly with books that Abbie has defiled. Then I remembered the gate cost a lot more than a book, and hopped on the Internet to look for a replacement part. After a little searching, I found the company’s service phone number alongside several complaints about how bad their phone service was. Goodie.
I made the call, and found their customer service surprisingly competent. In fact, considering that I didn’t know a) the gate model number, b) when I bought it, c) where I bought it, and d) could only give a rough description of the piece that broke, my customer service representative did a good job helping me through the process.
I now have a new hinge on the way to my mailbox. Two hinges, actually, since they’re sold in sets of two; that way I’ll have the replacement ready when the new one breaks. It only cost $3.95 with shipping; that made me happy since it was about one-tenth the cost of a new gate. At least it’ll make me happy until I discover I ordered the wrong part.
I’m still using the gate as-is until the part arrives. Friction keeps the gate in place; I just can’t let multiple children simultaneously lean on the gate until we get it fixed. Until then I need to watch the kids closely, close the door if needed, and make sure the only things tumbling down the steps are Weebles. Or shoes; Abbie likes throwing shoes down the steps too.
Even when her mobility increased and she agreed to be set down long enough to find trouble, she avoided the stairs to the basement. She might crawl up to the precipice, but that was as far as she’d venture. Instead she’d use Weebles as scouts, throwing them into the abyss, and waiting for them to report back to her.
Of course she eventually started trying to go down the basement stairs, and that’s when I knew we’d need that baby gate I’d been putting off. I tried closing the basement door when I thought she might scurry down the stairs while my back was turned, but I started closing the door more and more often as she moved faster and faster. I couldn’t leave the door closed all day because the cats needed basement access to do cat things, like eat cat food, use the litter box, and puke cat food.
We found a highest quality and lowest priced baby gate that attached to the wall, but could swivel open for adult access. Our model has a difficult-to-use handle, suitable for locking in place to confound the kids when we want to keep them upstairs, or confounding the building maintenance workers when we want to keep them downstairs.
Our baby gate served us well for over a year until last night when it broke. Specifically one of the hinges that attaches to the wall and lets the gate swing open snapped in half. Apparently I’d been leaning on it too heavily while pulling down rolls of paper towels that we leave perched above the steps. This broken part is consistent with the way that all children’s equipment breaks; it still mostly works, but one tiny part broke rendering the apparatus unusable. I see the same thing with sippy cups and leaky valves, electronic toys and one unresponsive button, and cats and grumpy dispositions.
My first instinct was to throw the whole thing away. I do that regularly with books that Abbie has defiled. Then I remembered the gate cost a lot more than a book, and hopped on the Internet to look for a replacement part. After a little searching, I found the company’s service phone number alongside several complaints about how bad their phone service was. Goodie.
I made the call, and found their customer service surprisingly competent. In fact, considering that I didn’t know a) the gate model number, b) when I bought it, c) where I bought it, and d) could only give a rough description of the piece that broke, my customer service representative did a good job helping me through the process.
I now have a new hinge on the way to my mailbox. Two hinges, actually, since they’re sold in sets of two; that way I’ll have the replacement ready when the new one breaks. It only cost $3.95 with shipping; that made me happy since it was about one-tenth the cost of a new gate. At least it’ll make me happy until I discover I ordered the wrong part.
I’m still using the gate as-is until the part arrives. Friction keeps the gate in place; I just can’t let multiple children simultaneously lean on the gate until we get it fixed. Until then I need to watch the kids closely, close the door if needed, and make sure the only things tumbling down the steps are Weebles. Or shoes; Abbie likes throwing shoes down the steps too.
posted by Matt at
10:55 PM
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