Max Riffner
The Parlor
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The House Always Wins
My house has beaten me yet again. I could not get my bathroom drain fixed at all. I snaked it and pulled out a hair clip, dumped some more chemicals down it, and it was all for nothing. That damn sink still wouldn’t drain. So, I did what sane people usually did and called a plumber.
They arrived quickly for a Saturday. I explained the situation and the guy promptly got to work with his motor-driven auger. About halfway through, he asks if I dumped any chemicals down the pipe. I told him I had. He then says”...yeah, it’s burning my hands.”
As in chemical burn. Damn. I really felt bad then.
Long story short, when I was snaking, I went to a certain point and got sidetracked into a vent instead of the drain apparently. The thing works like a charm now. He sold me on a gallon of an enzyme-eating drain cleaner; it is all-natural and kid/pet safe. I just need to pour a little bit down the drain once a month and I’m set.
Hefty bill, but the sink worked for the Chief when she got home last night from RAGBRAI at three in the morning. You can bet she would have freaked when she saw a sink full of grey biohazard water greeting her when she got ready for bed.
Tim – I almost shared a similar fate if I had purchased what I wanted to – a CO2 powered clog buster. It shoots a high-powered burst of air down the drain. That would have been a mess.
Bronson – go over to Christian’s blog to read some of his woes, but the main problem with a house is that everyone thinks they are an investment, when that really isn’t what it is. Sure, you own it when you are done, but you are constantly dumping money into it. Not a very sound investment. If you want to invest, I recommend growth stock mutual funds.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad I’m not throwing money away on rent, because I can get my money out of this house, but you’ll start thinking about moving back to an apartment after you spend several thousand dollars that first year just for supplies, not to mention the money you spend fixing problems you can’t fix yourself.
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Aug 3, 06:39 AM
I had a similar experience but a little more embarrassing. I used one of those devices you put on the end of the hose that is sort of a balloon that swells up under pressure. It then seals itself to the pipe with the balloon, then the water pressure opens the leak.
I at the time was unaware of the presence of a vent and caused a geyser on my room. Then when I got angry and shut it off the entire volume of what was in the vent came back down the vent and out onto me. Unhappy was I.