“Remoted” Day 344 (Tuesday)

I was at the kitchen sink washing some dishes and the dogs were wandering the room, when a sound like a belch or a fart erupted from the bathroom. All the creatures of the house were present and accounted for in the kitchen. Winston paused and looked around.

I went to the bathroom, nervous about what might be found. An exploded toilet was imagined, but the  porcelain star of the room and reason for its existence was calm with the water in the bowl smooth as glass. The shower was dry and empty. The sink, which had been used a few minutes earlier, was not actively engaged in any visible activity, but had water shimmering in the drain pipe.

Back in the kitchen, the dogs were on high alert with heads cocked. The handwashing of things not allowed in the dishwasher resumed. The bathroom belched again. The best uneducated non-plumber guess was a drain clog in the sink, the most recently used fixture. The drain tends to accumulate a black sludgey substance composed of the toothpaste and soap suds that comprise most of its diet. The drain snake was fetched and run down the drain where it met firm resistance, yet yielded nothing upon resurfacing. No hair clog, no sludge. The bathroom closet was searched for drain cleaner and also yielded nothing. 

The Internet, my favorite research friend since the demise of the old, wooden library card catalog was consulted. It yielded a drain cleaner recipe using common ingredients stocked in the pantry – baking soda and vinegar, plus water. 

Drain cleaner recipe.

Following the instructions, water was boiled and poured down the drain. A cup of baking soda, which felt like way too much, but is what the instructions called for, was poured down the drain. Or more accurately shoved down the drain, because it didn’t all want to pour down. The snake was used to try to jam it down, and the baking soda seemed to pack the drain. It was too late to turn back now.

One cup of vinegar mixed with one of water was poured in next, but had nowhere to go. The snake was used to try and move it down. Because the baking soda was blocking the drain, the fuzzing, fizzling, frothing reaction began in the sink, making the next step of putting in the sink stopper really tricky. Once stopped, the sink was to be left for five to ten minutes. Additional water was boiled. Soup was consumed while researching actual plumbers just in case a professional was needed. Finally, ten minutes was up.

After ten minutes, the second pan of boiling water was poured down the drain. The sink became a white frothy mess of baking soda, vinegar, and water accented with the the occasional fleck of black gunk from the drain. And then it was empty. The mess in the sink, like many of life’s messes, had moved on.

A day later, another drain cleaner recipe was found that uses half the measures of baking soda and vinegar. This seems much more appropriate for the small drain in the bathroom sink. Although it didn't specify, the original measure was probably for a kitchen sink with a larger opening, Next time I’ll know.