My Old Man Is Cheap; Did I Know This Already?

So when I use the shower in my bedroom, the upstairs bedroom, and when I pull up the plunger thingy to shunt the water from the faucet into the showerhead, it ... well, it's hard to explain, but it half-asses it, as in water comes out from half the holes in the head, but the rest of it still comes out through the faucet.  Once in a while I try to depress the plunger and pull it up again, thinking it was the plunger's fault (this has been going on for years), but that still happens.  At least it's no longer making this horrible sound after which all the water does shoot up through the pipe into the showerhead; I remember once that I just ignored it, and Father banged on the bathroom door to tell me to stop showering because my parents could hear the sound from downstairs in the master bedroom.

I remember that the upstairs bathroom was being remodeled some time ago.  The entire front wall of the shower/tub was torn off and/or being replaced.  I also remember, if I recall correctly, that there was talk about replacing the pipes.  But I don't think the pipes were replaced.  Instead, the walls of the bathroom were just redone.  It looks nice (well, I'm not Joanna Gaines), but apparently the surface is hiding the rot in its guts.

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Shortly after my parents left for Las Vegas, I wanted to clean some dishes I made dirty.  As you do if you don't have a dishwasher, you run the faucet in order to fill a bowl with water.  I did that, then I went downstairs because, I guess, I wanted to check on something in the laundry room.  When I got to the basement, though, I saw, and heard, water dripping down from the ceiling.  It wasn't bad, but it freaked me out enough that I do not wash dishes in the kitchen anymore.  Instead, I carry all my dirty dishes downstairs to the laundry/mud room and wash them there.  I have turned on the faucet for very quick rinses of cups I don't care to wash deeply.  But if I run it for any longer, I am scared as hell that that leak I saw running down into the basement will get worse.  Much worse.

I remember that the kitchen was being remodeled some time ago.  All the counters and cabinetry were being replaced.  Took out the sink, too, so I saw the pipes and stuff.  It wasn't as bad back then, but even then, after you shut off the sink, you could hear a drip-drip of water underneath the faucet, like an internal pipe is leaking.  That seemed like a good idea to look into that issue and even replace the pipes that appear to be leaking.  But I don't think the pipes were replaced.  Instead, just the cabinets and counters of the kitchen were redone.  It looks nice, but apparently the surface is hiding the rot in its guts.

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See a pattern here?  I don't know what My Father is thinking.  I want to give him the benefit of the doubt; maybe replacing the pipes in a house is a massive undertaking, and the price just doesn't make it worth it.  That being said, the pipes are not good now, and these problems tend to get worse.  How long can we tolerate it until it has to be dealt with?

My mind, however, unfortunately thinks that My Father has heard the internal dripping in the upstairs shower and the kitchen and didn't care.  It mattered more to him that the house looks nice than knowing that the functioning of the house is in ideal working condition -- leaks, loud noises, and potential for mold be damned.  That would make my old man look superficial as well as cheap, come to think of it ... and sorry, but I can't disagree.  He has had years and at least a couple signs that this pretty important problem needs to be fixed, and he didn't want to fix it.

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I haven't told him yet about the leak coming from the kitchen.  I will at some point, before they come home.  But I don't know if that will spur him into finally looking into the problem.  Maybe I need to Facetime him and show him how bad the leak is in the basement if I just run the water for a few minutes.  Or, maybe he does know and he really, really doesn't care.