A Draining Experience

Late Saturday afternoon, I was greeted with a clogged kitchen drain. The source of my misery is usually the garbage disposal, so I tried plunging the thing. This is no easy feat with a double sink, because you have to keep one drain plugged shut while plunging the other side.

The plunger didn't work. Out came the Drano.

I poured half a bottle down both drains and waited. It still didn't clear. I ran out and bought a second bottle and dumped a good portion of that down the drain as well. I got sidetracked and sleepy and woke up the next morning to a sink that was still full of slimy water.

Crap.

Double Crap. The dishwasher is full of skanky water too.

Here's the part where The Oracle and I know next to nothing. I bought a snake years ago when our bathtub clogged, and I ended up calling the House Fairy. Our galvanized pipes are ancient and I was afraid of busting through the pipe instead of the clog, so I chickened, put the snake away, and called the House Fairy.

Well, pride got the better of me. I kept thinking that, dagnabbit, we're grownups and we should be able to handle this ourselves without calling The Oracle's dad to come bail us out. It also helps that the pipe draining from the kitchen is in much sturdier condition than the one under the tub.

Without getting into all the gory details, the most interesting part was when I took the PVC piping apart beneath the sink. (PVC piping rocks! It's easy-peasy girly plumbing!!! Nothing at all like the time I got pissed off at our drippy bathroom sink and replaced the taps myself. What a pain in the butt.) Out poured what appeared to be almost pure Drano. Hmph. Where the heck was the clog? We took turns between snaking the drain and more drano and a futile trip to Home Depot to see I could find something a little more heavy-duty to clear the clog (impossible without spending over $200). By the time I returned from Home Depot, the Drano finally did the trick and the drain cleared. I happily reassembled the PVC, said a prayer, and emptied the sinks.

And my sink! Ooooh, my sink and garbage disposal are S-H-I-N-Y.

I had to cycle the diswasher at least a half dozen times to clear that out. The drano kept foaming out the bottom an I was worried that it ate through some vital gasket or something, but it's okay. It looks really nice inside, too.