The Great Sink Meltdown
I hadn’t even left San Jose yet, and I’d already managed to destroy the sink. That’s right—my grand two-year road trip began with a bang, or at least with a suspicious chemical fizz.
Here’s the thing: The sink looked sturdy enough. Gray. Shiny. Innocent. But, as it turns out, it was plastic. Plastic. Like a toy for grownups who should know better. Sure, there was a label warning against “solvents,” but it was pasted discreetly on the bottom, the way fine print hides on your worst contracts and yogurt lids.
The trouble started with a leftover gel manicure—a remnant from a date a couple weekends back. (Spoiler: the nails were more memorable than the date.) Determined to get the gels off, I unleashed a small arsenal of nail polish remover, my only real weapon. It worked on the polish, sure. And it also worked on the sink, melting it into what can only be described as abstract art.
I noticed the problem right after the chemical scent got even weirder. Not just the usual nasal assault, but something darker. I looked down to see the basin pockmarked and bubbling, like an evil science fair volcano. Instantly, I panicked: had I just killed the pipes? Or worse, the hoses (which, by the way, are what pass for “pipes” in RV land)? For hours, I compulsively crawled under the cabinet and prodded everything for leaks, picturing my first real adventure as a tragic story about water damage.
Thankfully, the hoses were fine. But the sink? Not so much. The whole incident taught me my first hard-earned rule of RV life: Nothing is what you think it is. If it looks like a normal sink, assume it’s made of recycled yogurt cups and can’t be trusted around basic chemicals.
And yes, there probably was (I'm pretty sure) a manual for this sort of thing. A friendly, “Welcome to your new travel trailer, here’s how not to be a disaster” manual. But I’m a “figure it out myself first” kind of person. Why read instructions when you can create content?
Eventually, after spending an embarrassing number of hours Googling sink dimensions and learning about the mysterious world of bar sinks, I upgraded to a shiny new stainless-steel basin and a faucet that, so far, is solvent-resistant. Lesson learned: next time, remove the nails outside. Or just let them grow out and start a trend.
