Since we completed the living/dining room, I offered to host Chris' family our Christmas shindig this year last Sunday. In preparation for the event, I picked up and put away tools and laundry, cleaned bathrooms and floors, sewed Poang headrests back onto cushions (Chris' big muscles overpowered the seam when he tried to get the foam insert out of the slipcover to wash it), wrapped presents and set the table, which was the most fun, mixing the different things I've collected.
The meal was to be a soup *potluck* of sorts. So after the cleaning, I hunkered down in the kitchen to whip up some Desert Storm Chili.
Umm, problem. While washing dishes as I was cooking, I noticed the kitchen sinks were not draining. Now, to be honest, this was nothing new...they usually drain after a little bit but, this time, it didn't seem that the murky waters were receding at all. The sink plunger did absolutely nada.
Chris picked up some drain cleaner on his way home from work and tried it...no dice. I remember him saying "Man, I hope they are late" then hearing knocks on the front door 30 seconds later. I left him alone in the kitchen while I went to answer the door. As I walked back into the kitchen carrying my mother-in-law's soup, I heard water gushing into a bucket under the sink and saw Chris taking the sink plumbing apart.
Welcome to life in this old house...so glad I have a sense of humor along with my love of old homes. At this point, I just tried to keep everyone out of the kitchen...which didn't last long. Eventually, temporary plumbing solution in place (water turned off to sink and pipes disconnected), we ate dinner. It was delicious! Unfortuately, my pretty table settings made for a lot of dishes...which couldn't be washed...so we scrounged up some paper plates for dessert. We even got a nice family picture amidst the chaos in front of the tree (Chris, Keri, Grant, Carolyn, Craig, Shari, Kelly and Matt)!
Fast-forward to Wednesday morning. The plumber contracted through our home warranty company came and fixed the problem in a jiffy. He used a power auger to break up the clogs and said it was probably grease-buildup from over the years along with some food particles (we don't have a garbage disposal). He also gave us some helpful tips on what to use regularly so this blessed event doesn't happen again. After he left, I finally washed all the party dishes...only took about an hour.
Fast-forward to Wednesday afternoon. I threw a load of laundry in the washer, ran an errand and came back to water all over the basement floor. I immediately called the plumbing company back and told them the problem and made an appointment for them to come back out the following Monday due to the holiday and us being gone. As I was getting ready to run out in search of the product recommended by the plumber, I started thinking that it didn't make sense that the water from the washer would back up because the clog would have had to almost travel backwards. Also, the floor drain, where water would back up, was not wet. Hmmm. Something was not right. I put on my rubber boots and headed back down to the basement. Upon opening the clean-out on the pipes coming from the laundry sink, I heard water running freely, however, there was not very much water going through. This was weird since it was all new PVC pipes and just water ran in them. The laundry sink which the washer drains into was almost full and there were bubbles on the faucet...uh oh...the lint trap that slides over the end of the washer hose was missing. I peered into the murky, soapy water and spotted the trap plugging the sink's drain. Oops...my bad. I quickly called the plumbing company back to explain the issue, entertaining the guy on the other end. He laughed and said "I was just about to go and yell at a plumber." Ahh, a day in my life...not very boring lately.
