vikingshadow
06-08-2007, 03:19 PM
dang it!
Back in the mid 80's, I started getting into this computer craze thing in college. Everyone swore up and down that to make money in the future, you need to get into computer programming...see prior to Bill Gates and the Windows OS....So I took several computer language/programming classes and hated them all - sucking at more than one of them.
My dad tells me one day, "Get out of that stuff. Everyone's doing it and the world's going to need more plumbers than computer programmers." He wasn't telling me to get into plumbing, but to find something else.
Flash forward to June 6th, 2007...so I thought it'd be cool to send a bunch of spaghetti down the garbage disposal instead of dumping it into my already overflowing trash can in the kitchen (I was cleaning the kitchen, duh!) I turn on the cold water, turn on the disposal and start dumping the s'gehti. Hmmmmmm, the disposal is chewing it up, but it seems to not be going down so well.....oh well. It'll be fine. No worries!
Jump to 11:00 am, June 8th, 2007. Wife comes in and says, "The sink is clogged. We need to get it unplugged so I can do dishes." (Tip to the unmarried - by "we", she means me!) Sigh. Get out the Liquid Plumber Gel and pour it down the sink and wait. And wait. And wait. Annnnnnnddddddd wait. Finally, about an hour later, I go back in and run water into the sink, and it's still clogged.
Sigh, again. Ok, so I clean out the cabinet under the sink - dozens of cleaning products that DON'T get used and other things that I have no idea what they're for - and I tear into the plumbing - disconnecting the trap, the extention line from the disposal, etc, all expecting to find a clump of spaghetti hiding in the trap. Nope, nothing. Clean as a whistle and actually, I'm a bit impressed, however this isn't getting rid of the clog.
BIG sigh. Tear into the back pipe, fully expecting nothing to be showing because that would be WAY too easy. And I was right. In the meantime, my wife is telling me what I'm doing wrong, and I'm trying very hard NOT to get upset with her and tell her to go to her mother's....I want to call the plumber but my wife (and my dad, who's visiting us, btw) say we should rent a snake first to save some money. This is crucial, my WIFE and DAD suggest this - remember this!
So, at 2:00, I head out to the local equipment rental store and rent a pipe snake from them for 24 bucks (for two hours.) Take it home, run it though the pipe 3 times and get into some major stinky crap. NEVER under-estimate what you think will be in your pipes - it's the most vile stuff you've ever seen and SMELLED. Put all the pipes back together and run water - and it starts backing up again.
Sigh crap sigh. Ok, so there went a waste of 24 bucks and the cost of my brand new leather work gloves - with all that vile crap all over them! So a friend of ours says, "Get this stuff from the hardware store called 'Big Nasty Drain Cleaner.' It works great!" So off we go to the hardware store - spend 17 bucks on plastic jug wrapped in plastic (which gets my radar going - what's up with this stuff?)
Get it home and it's Sulfuric Acid with warnings ALL OVER it saying, "Be careful! Don't let it get in the sink, don't let it splash on you, watch out for reaction with water and don't stand over the sink while you pour it," etc etc etc. Get the rubber finishing gloves out, and finally pour it down the sink, let it sit the recommended amount of time, pour the rest of it in, sit and then run cold water into the drain as instructed - and it's STILL clogged up!
SIGH sigh about to cry sigh - Ok, 4:00, Friday afternoon, youngest child has friends coming over to spend the night for her birthday party. Only NOW, we start noticing this majorly vile sewer odor coming FROM THE DRAINS in our house! Apparently, the chemical I used wasn't so much to unclog the drain, but to react with whatever is in it and make the nastiest smell in the house you can imagine! When I was in college, I worked in construction and was roofing a church once - and had to work around the sewer pipe on top - it was very much like that odor! Not a poo smell, nor a pee smell, but a sewer smell.
Now, I'm getting concerned thinking that this is dangerous. I mean, if the odor is backing into the house, we might get sick. As I said, it's 4:00, on Friday, and if there's anything you young guys learn, learn this...the service sector, ie electricians, bricklayers, concrete people and PLUMBERS all don't like working Friday afternoons. In fact, you're lucky to find ANYONE on a Friday afternoon to make an emergency run to the house!
Sure enough, we call our plumber and they JUST sent their last guy to unclog a washer and he PROBABLY won't make it today, but they can come Monday. MONDAY! I reminded the guy that our house was smelling like the City Lagoons, and he reminded me it was 4:00 on Friday. So, here we go - time to start calling EVERY plumber in the Yellow Pages.
We finally get one that says they may come today, or can come tomorrow. However, their normal charge is 75 bucks an hour (hour minimum) PLUS parts/chemicals, etc. That's on a FRIDAY - if they come on Saturday, it'll be more, of course. Sigh.
24 bucks for pipe snake rental
17+ tax for drain chemicals
75 + for plumber....who MAY or MAY NOT show up today.
Total (figure it up, I'm on vacation and this is way too much money to be spending on a blessed drain!)
6:15, no plumber, house is stinking, so we opened the house up (thank goodness for the cold front that went through last night - all of 77 degrees with a breeze, so at least we won't be hot while we stink!) Party is called off - wouldn't be good to get the little girls sick now, would it? Youngest daughter is understandably upset, and my wife is still getting on my nerves, reminding me we SHOULD have called earlier in the day....sigh sigh sigh..,.
What's this got to do with my dad being right? Plumbers get paid WAY too much money for never being available when you need them!
tl:dr??? Short version...
read the damn thing - it's a story and you don't need to be so fricking lazy! Kids these days! Sheesh....:rolleyes:
Back in the mid 80's, I started getting into this computer craze thing in college. Everyone swore up and down that to make money in the future, you need to get into computer programming...see prior to Bill Gates and the Windows OS....So I took several computer language/programming classes and hated them all - sucking at more than one of them.
My dad tells me one day, "Get out of that stuff. Everyone's doing it and the world's going to need more plumbers than computer programmers." He wasn't telling me to get into plumbing, but to find something else.
Flash forward to June 6th, 2007...so I thought it'd be cool to send a bunch of spaghetti down the garbage disposal instead of dumping it into my already overflowing trash can in the kitchen (I was cleaning the kitchen, duh!) I turn on the cold water, turn on the disposal and start dumping the s'gehti. Hmmmmmm, the disposal is chewing it up, but it seems to not be going down so well.....oh well. It'll be fine. No worries!
Jump to 11:00 am, June 8th, 2007. Wife comes in and says, "The sink is clogged. We need to get it unplugged so I can do dishes." (Tip to the unmarried - by "we", she means me!) Sigh. Get out the Liquid Plumber Gel and pour it down the sink and wait. And wait. And wait. Annnnnnnddddddd wait. Finally, about an hour later, I go back in and run water into the sink, and it's still clogged.
Sigh, again. Ok, so I clean out the cabinet under the sink - dozens of cleaning products that DON'T get used and other things that I have no idea what they're for - and I tear into the plumbing - disconnecting the trap, the extention line from the disposal, etc, all expecting to find a clump of spaghetti hiding in the trap. Nope, nothing. Clean as a whistle and actually, I'm a bit impressed, however this isn't getting rid of the clog.
BIG sigh. Tear into the back pipe, fully expecting nothing to be showing because that would be WAY too easy. And I was right. In the meantime, my wife is telling me what I'm doing wrong, and I'm trying very hard NOT to get upset with her and tell her to go to her mother's....I want to call the plumber but my wife (and my dad, who's visiting us, btw) say we should rent a snake first to save some money. This is crucial, my WIFE and DAD suggest this - remember this!
So, at 2:00, I head out to the local equipment rental store and rent a pipe snake from them for 24 bucks (for two hours.) Take it home, run it though the pipe 3 times and get into some major stinky crap. NEVER under-estimate what you think will be in your pipes - it's the most vile stuff you've ever seen and SMELLED. Put all the pipes back together and run water - and it starts backing up again.
Sigh crap sigh. Ok, so there went a waste of 24 bucks and the cost of my brand new leather work gloves - with all that vile crap all over them! So a friend of ours says, "Get this stuff from the hardware store called 'Big Nasty Drain Cleaner.' It works great!" So off we go to the hardware store - spend 17 bucks on plastic jug wrapped in plastic (which gets my radar going - what's up with this stuff?)
Get it home and it's Sulfuric Acid with warnings ALL OVER it saying, "Be careful! Don't let it get in the sink, don't let it splash on you, watch out for reaction with water and don't stand over the sink while you pour it," etc etc etc. Get the rubber finishing gloves out, and finally pour it down the sink, let it sit the recommended amount of time, pour the rest of it in, sit and then run cold water into the drain as instructed - and it's STILL clogged up!
SIGH sigh about to cry sigh - Ok, 4:00, Friday afternoon, youngest child has friends coming over to spend the night for her birthday party. Only NOW, we start noticing this majorly vile sewer odor coming FROM THE DRAINS in our house! Apparently, the chemical I used wasn't so much to unclog the drain, but to react with whatever is in it and make the nastiest smell in the house you can imagine! When I was in college, I worked in construction and was roofing a church once - and had to work around the sewer pipe on top - it was very much like that odor! Not a poo smell, nor a pee smell, but a sewer smell.
Now, I'm getting concerned thinking that this is dangerous. I mean, if the odor is backing into the house, we might get sick. As I said, it's 4:00, on Friday, and if there's anything you young guys learn, learn this...the service sector, ie electricians, bricklayers, concrete people and PLUMBERS all don't like working Friday afternoons. In fact, you're lucky to find ANYONE on a Friday afternoon to make an emergency run to the house!
Sure enough, we call our plumber and they JUST sent their last guy to unclog a washer and he PROBABLY won't make it today, but they can come Monday. MONDAY! I reminded the guy that our house was smelling like the City Lagoons, and he reminded me it was 4:00 on Friday. So, here we go - time to start calling EVERY plumber in the Yellow Pages.
We finally get one that says they may come today, or can come tomorrow. However, their normal charge is 75 bucks an hour (hour minimum) PLUS parts/chemicals, etc. That's on a FRIDAY - if they come on Saturday, it'll be more, of course. Sigh.
24 bucks for pipe snake rental
17+ tax for drain chemicals
75 + for plumber....who MAY or MAY NOT show up today.
Total (figure it up, I'm on vacation and this is way too much money to be spending on a blessed drain!)
6:15, no plumber, house is stinking, so we opened the house up (thank goodness for the cold front that went through last night - all of 77 degrees with a breeze, so at least we won't be hot while we stink!) Party is called off - wouldn't be good to get the little girls sick now, would it? Youngest daughter is understandably upset, and my wife is still getting on my nerves, reminding me we SHOULD have called earlier in the day....sigh sigh sigh..,.
What's this got to do with my dad being right? Plumbers get paid WAY too much money for never being available when you need them!
tl:dr??? Short version...
read the damn thing - it's a story and you don't need to be so fricking lazy! Kids these days! Sheesh....:rolleyes: