Due to some changes in plumbing we had an opening about two by four inches in the block foundation of our pump’s crawlspace at our cabin. Big enough for critters like red squirrels to go through, and you don’t want red squirrels getting anywhere close to things on your house they can chew. Things like walls, floorboards, etc.
So my plan, executed perfectly, was to spread some adhesive, fill the opening with steel wool (critters don’t like steel wool), and then fill the gaps with expanding foam, called Great Stuff.
As I said it worked great. And I even read the instructions on the can of Great Stuff, which said to wear eye protection and to not, repeat not, get it on your skin. I did wear eye protection. I also figured, so what if I get a little on my skin, I’ll wash it off immediately with paint thinner.
I ended up dabbing a little Great Stuff to fill a small opening in the foam and found out:
- Paint thinner doesn’t remove the stuff, it spreads it.
- Soap and water doesn’t remove it, it spreads it.
- Goop hand cleaner doesn’t remove it, and you guessed it, it spreads it.
So my hands are covered with this sticky adhesive, which is acting like super glue whenever my fingers touch one another. I did figure out rubbing handfuls of sand in a hand washing motion removed the stickiness. But it didn’t get rid of the stuff. As some Internet research showed, nothing removes it; everything spreads it. Only time and rubbing it, picking it, or scrubbing it gets rid of it, over three days.
My lesson here is, winging it, ignoring instructions, or figuring proven methods “apply to others, not me” doesn’t cut it. My plug is business owners need to follow the plan in my book If They Can Sell Pet Rocks Why Can’t You Sell Your Business (For What You Want)? And business buyers need to pay attention to my strategies in Buying A Business That Makes You Rich.
Reading the instructions is good. Following them is much better.
“If you got it, flaunt it. If you don’t got it, flaunt it.” Mindy Kaling
