Drain Cleaning Tip
Saturday morning while Robin was in the garage working on our new door (never attempt to paint and install your own front door. It's not worth it) he called me downstairs in a hurry.
I gasped when I saw the garage wall - the one with dozens of electrical wires poking out of it - dripping water like blood in a gratuitously gruesome horror flick. Slowly oozing in some spots, dropping rapidly in others. Fuck.
I called our plumber, but since these things always happen on a Saturday morning, I knew we wouldn't get a return call until Monday morning (he called at 7:09am this morning, and despite not working weekends, he is honest and reliable).
In the meantime, Handy Robin installed a rain gutter directly beneath the leak to divert the water into a bucket instead of into the wiring. This story could've gotten worse, and we fully expected to be $1,000 in the hole by Monday afternoon. But I thought I'd try something in case it helped.
Whenever one of our drains is slow or clogged, I use a technique I learned years ago when I was researching how to maintain a non-toxic household. It works every time. Here it is:
1. Shake a cup or two of baking soda in and around the clogged drain.
2. Pour a generous amount (3-5 cups) of white vinegar in and around the drain.
3. Marvel with satisfaction the smoking, bubbling science experiment in action.
4. Boil a large kettle of water.
5. Pour the large kettle of water in and around the drain.
These three simple ingredients work to strip the pipe of grease, thereby loosening whatever was stuck to the grease. Sort of like treating Atherosclerosis.
Sure enough, the method worked and the leak vanished. High fives all around.
I gasped when I saw the garage wall - the one with dozens of electrical wires poking out of it - dripping water like blood in a gratuitously gruesome horror flick. Slowly oozing in some spots, dropping rapidly in others. Fuck.
I called our plumber, but since these things always happen on a Saturday morning, I knew we wouldn't get a return call until Monday morning (he called at 7:09am this morning, and despite not working weekends, he is honest and reliable).
In the meantime, Handy Robin installed a rain gutter directly beneath the leak to divert the water into a bucket instead of into the wiring. This story could've gotten worse, and we fully expected to be $1,000 in the hole by Monday afternoon. But I thought I'd try something in case it helped.
Whenever one of our drains is slow or clogged, I use a technique I learned years ago when I was researching how to maintain a non-toxic household. It works every time. Here it is:
1. Shake a cup or two of baking soda in and around the clogged drain.
2. Pour a generous amount (3-5 cups) of white vinegar in and around the drain.
3. Marvel with satisfaction the smoking, bubbling science experiment in action.
4. Boil a large kettle of water.
5. Pour the large kettle of water in and around the drain.
These three simple ingredients work to strip the pipe of grease, thereby loosening whatever was stuck to the grease. Sort of like treating Atherosclerosis.
Sure enough, the method worked and the leak vanished. High fives all around.
posted by Anne at 8:20 AM
3 Comments:
Sweet - you should create the world's largest volcano science experiment project in your backyard. The kids will be wowed :)
Or do the mentos and diet coke thing. both work I guess.
What's the Mentos and Diet Coke thing? Is that like Pop Rocks and Coke?
Aha - it's much cooler and your kids will love it.
See here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diet_Coke_and_Mentos_eruption
And watch here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKoB0MHVBvM
Now go do.
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