My kitchen sink clogged up earlier this week. I used some Drano and that seemed to work.
Until 6:00 last night when I went in to start dinner.
As soon as I turned the faucet on, the sink would back up so it seemed obvious that the P-trap just under the sink must be clogged. Seemed simple enough to me - take the P-trap off, clean it out and then put it back.
I should have known that it wouldn't be that simple.
I took the stuff I have stored under that side of the sink out, got some towels and a bucket and then called the Island King in. He took the P-trap off and it wasn't clogged. He took the pipe leading from the garbage disposal off and it wasn't clogged either. Neither was the pipe going into the wall.
Like I said, nothing is ever simple here.
He stood there scratching his head for a minute and then decided to use the garden hose with a plumber's bladder on it to blow out the pipe going into the wall.
It sounded like a good idea at the time.
As soon as he put the hose into the wall and turned the water on, a geyser of the blackest, foulest smelling, chunk filled water blew the washing machine drain hose out of the pipe it drains into and that nasty water spewed ALL OVER THE LAUNDRY ROOM.
The smell was horrendous. And filled the entire front of the house.
The kids ran around opening doors and windows and the Island King took one look at the mess, went flying out the garage door and threw up all over the yard.
Good grief.
But... we must have cleared the clog, right? So he put the sink back together, turned on the faucet and expected the water to drain.
It didn't. The sink was still clogged.
After scratching his head for a minute he decided to put the hose into the pipe the washer drains into, leave the pipes off under the sink and let the water blow out into a bucket. All of this in hopes that whatever was clogging the pipe would come shooting out into the bucket.
It sounded like a good plan to me.
So he held a bucket in front of the pipe under the sink and I put the hose into the washer's drain pipe and turned it on.
I guess he underestimated the force that the water would have coming out of the pipe because it blew the bucket out of his hand and that same black, disgusting water came flying out of the pipe, covering him in black goo. And before I could get the hose turned off it covered everything else under the cabinet, the floor and most of the kitchen.
He screamed and ran outside, throwing up and trying to get his clothes off at the same time.
I can't imagine what the neighbors must have thought when they saw him throwing up and stripping in the driveway at the same time.
And I know they saw him because he was yelling and cussing at the top of his lungs.
It would have been funny if it hadn't been so damn nasty. And if I weren't going to have to clean it all up.
At least we've determined that the pipes running between the sink and the washing machine aren't clogged.
But that means that the pipe in the wall - or God forbid - under the slab is clogged.
And it's now 7:30 at night. There is black sludge covering everything in the laundry room and most of the kitchen and I'm positive that no dinner will be cooked here tonight.
"I'm going to take a shower and then go to McDonalds to get dinner. We'll have to figure this out tomorrow" the Island King tells me.
He headed for the shower and then came back down the hall - cussing some more.
It turns out that every time the water blew all over the place and we yelled for the kids to bring us more towels - we'd used EVERY SINGLE towel we own. Every one of them were laying in the kitchen and laundry room covered in black goo water.
I wish you could have seen the look on his face when I handed him a bathcloth and told him this was all he had to dry off with.
I'm calling a plumber first thing tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers that he can come early because we're almost out of bathcloths and if the Island King has to dry off with paper towels after his next shower I'm not sure what will happen LOLLabels: Staying