We have had quite a time dealing with the clogged tub and bathroom sink drain! It has been exhausting. The day before yesterday it ceased to function, full stop. The tub was full of water from my last shower, and there it sat. All that water would have to be bailed out of the tub to work on the replacing the pipes.
Attila spent yesterday preparing the basement, getting ready to replace the old galvanized steel pipes. Preparation was a big job.
I spent hours and hours finding whatever I could about unclogging drains. On facebook I found posts about people having problems with clogged drains, with hundreds and hundreds of helpful comments. I waded through those for days. We had already tried most of the techniques mentioned in all those comments. Two that we had not tried were an auger (as opposed to a snake), and using a plunger while plugging the overflow drains on the tub and sink. We had previously tried the plunger, but hadn’t thought of plugging the overflow drains.
Attila was done with trying, and flat out refused to purchase another device for the project, so no auger. I did manage to talk him into trying the plunger again, with the overflow drains plugged with plastic bags.
Yesterday was a busy day with appointments, so Attila worked on the drain issue off and on through the day. This evening he suddenly called to me from the bathroom, bidding me to come and see. The tub was empty! The plunger worked.
Attila said the plug gave out suddenly on the second plunge. He was worried that the pipes might have been damaged and had run to the basement to check for leaks. No leaks! The tub is draining like it has never drained before. What a relief.
We decided to postpone replacing the drain pipes until the weather turns warm in the spring, when the windows can all be open.
In the meantime, we purchased a drain cover for the tub, to catch hair, hopefully that will prevent further issues from developing before we replace the pipes. We also plan to use a product such as Draino to clean the pipes, at least annually.
What a relief!!
Attila celebrated by having a hot bath.
I love that this was our biggest problem.
Worldly
Weather
Updated on Tue, Mar 12 at 2:27 AM
1°C
FEELS LIKE 1
Partly cloudy
Wind 2 N km/h
Humidity 74%
Visibility 17 km
Sunrise 7:24 AM
Wind gust 2 km/h
Pressure 101 kPa
Ceiling 9100 m
Sunset 7:10 PM
Quote
“She is a friend of my mind… The pieces I am, she gather them and give them back to me in all the right order.”
Toni Morrison
1931 – 2019
Note: You may notice this entry was written in the early hours of the day, currently it is 3:10 a.m. on the Tuesday morning. I am unable to sleep, having become overwhelmed and overexcited by the good fortune of a free flowing drain.
I’m glad the plunger worked! Drain covers save a lot of trouble, our strainer in the tub collects a LOT of hair (mostly mine, as evidenced by the fine blondish hairs (as opposed to Julia’s gray coarse hairs.) She doesn’t shed like I do!
“I am unable to sleep, having become overwhelmed and overexcited by the good fortune of a free flowing drain.”
I had to smile at this.
It’s good when we appreciate our luxuries that much!
-Kate
Joan, it was a wonderful surprise that the plunger worked! Attila had given up, it was a last ditch attempt. I am afraid most of the hair issue is a result of my hair, I too shed a lot of fine hair. Attila hasn’t all that much left, and what is there is cut short.
Kate, fresh running and draining water is a luxury! My Grandparents lived without it most of their lives, right up until I was an adult, when they had a well drilled. Before that they took large milk cans down to the spring to fill. I have fond memories of that, it was magical to go with Grandpa and drink from the spring with the dipper that hung from the branches around it.
On our farm we had a dry well, the water had to be hauled in by the truckload. Water was a precious commodity throughout my formative years.
Lol! You’re as bad as me, one excitement or another that comes along and keeps us awake.
Hooray, at getting the drain unplugged!! Talk about luck!
Yes indeed Teri, it is always something isn’t it!
It was excellent luck that the drain unplugged, and such a relief to be able to wait until spring weather really arrives to tackle the project, because once the project begins it has to be finished, even if the weather turned bad! Now we can wait, and shower 🙂