I Admit Defeat. Send In Jeff With The Snake!

It started with putting some leftover chicken and rice in the garbage disposal. The next thing I know the sink is backed up and water is rising up. That was probably 2 weeks or so ago. Luckily I can take most of the pipes apart easily. They're plastic and simply screw together. Draino wasn't working so after the disassembly I noted nothing was in the pipes. Hummmmm.

Since it seemed okay I put the sink pipes together and had to run the dishwasher. Upon my return from a quick grocery shopping trip I had water flowing out of the sink, onto the counter and into my family room. That was last two Sundays ago.

Ater more Drano I finally took all the piping apart and shoved a snake down the line where it meets the wall. The hole in the wall takes a sharp left, then eventually goes down and I think hits a bend that comes back into the sink cabinet. The snake didn't seem to hit anything, but I shook the wire real good. Upon putting the pipes back together I had water clogged up in the sink yet again.

What's a guy to do? Go to The Home Deport! I bought a power snake that attaches to a drill and a water blaster. The water blaster is a piece of rubber that attaches to a garden hose. You slip the hose into the pipes. The blaster will swell to fit the pipe and it has a hole on the end to eject a jet of water into the pipe. In theory this pressurized water will blow the obstruction out of the pipes. Yes I realize this sounds like a leaky condom, but get your pornographic minds out of the gutter. Problem one, the blaster couldn't get shoved into the pipe because it takes such a sharp left turn. No jokes about putting it in the hole. Problem two, I had to attach a second section of hose so I had enough length and the water leaked out the connection, the blaster didn't swell to fit the pipe and I had a flood of water all over the place before I shut the whole operation down. Oh that sounds so wrong. My kitchen looked like something out of Home Improvement. Where's Al when I need him?

After mopping up the mess came the power snake. I couldn't get that thing extended more than 8 feet. To many kinks in the pipes. The drill twisted it around in the pipe, but I swear it didn't hit anything. After a few tries I finally retracted the snake the last time. I swear it was dripping heavy crude oil. What a mess. Guess what, my drain was still clogged!

You remember in Armageddon where they picked up the crazy Russian cosmonaut? You remember when they're trying to get off the asteroid Bruce Willis is about to blow up? "Russian part, American parts, they're all made in Taiwan!" Then hit beats the crap out of everything to get the shuttle to launch. Yeah that was me under the sink at this point. It didn't work.

It was time to call a professional. I'm waiting by the door looking for the van to arrive. I'm sure I looked like a mournful dog. I was really waiting to guide the Roto-Rooter guy to my place. No signs are here so people get lost all the time. Jeff arrived a $2,000 power snake on a dolly. The motor roared as he continued to feed the snake into the pipe. Jeff said he hit something and kept on going. After retraction I had to put the pipes back together myself. Since I took them apart I had to put them back together. Next time I won't be so nice and considerate.

I ran the water for a few minutes and the drain didn't clog. I filled the sink full, then let it drain. I hadn't heard such a great sucking sound since NAFTA. I even had a little whirlpool in my sink. Jeff spent more time waiting for my credit card to go through than he did actually working on the problem. After the fact now I wish I called in the professionals sooner. Like Tim "The Tool Man" Taylor says sometimes you need a more powerful tool.

My grumpy-meter fell significantly after this. A broken furnace for a month, a water leak in my bathroom, and clogged sink for 2 weeks. I wonder what else will go wrong with this place soon? Oh well I have to do the dishes now.