A messy situation the secret to clogged drains.

Yesterday night after dinner I discovered that my kitchen drain was clogged. Now granted it could possibly be the remnants of my greasy meal, but I was also concerned as I am a felter. If you have ever felted in a washing machine you will understand the amount of fiber that comes off wool. Normally when such things happen I rely on my husband. (I'm not much of fixer unless it involves duct tape). Unfortunately said husband is in Germany at the Frankfurt book fair.

So I do what any normal person would do and I buy some draino. I pour it down and wait and wait and wait. Being of the school that more is better, I decide to buy 2 more bottles of draino to add to the mix. When this fails to fix the problem. I call the landlord, who informs me that he would have used draino too but that I should leave it overnight and call a plumber in the morning. I'm a bit dismayed at the prospect of spending the night with toxic soup in my kitchen, but understand that emergency plumbers do not come cheap.

After waking, I peer into the kitchen to find toxic soup still there. So I call the plumber my landlord told me to call. The plumber calls me back 2 hours later. He does not speak English very well but I think he gets the gyst of the problem. He asks when I would like him come. I say now. He says he cannot because it is raining. "I'm sorry because it's raining??" I say. "Yes, the trap to your sink is outside and it is raining. I'll call you back when it stops raining."

Ok I'm not a plumber and don't want to insult any of you plumbers out there, but don't they have to deal with things much worse than rain. Like poop for example. Granted we are having quite a rainstorm right now but really???

At this point, I take matters into my own hands and go on-line to discover the mysteries of drain clogs. After a quick trip to the hardware store for a plunger I boil water. After pouring the water into the sink I very carefully (remember this is draino here) start plunging. Well that managed to get the toxic soup out of the sink, but the drain still clogged.

Ok here is the cool part/secret ingredient. Remember when you made volcanoes as science projects..... Yes the secret ingredient is baking soda which I funnel down the drain. I then add vinegar and put the plunger over so the pressure goes down not up. Add hot water et voila.

Who needs plumbers (Ok I may live to regret that last line.)