As many of you know, we have an older home. It is a lovely, well built home. But, nevertheless, older. So things tend to break down from time to time.
“Welcome to the joys of home ownership”, as dad would say. For the past few months, the floor drain near the washer would back up, and spill out onto the floor. Normally, this was minor. But lately, the problem has been getting worse.
2 weekends ago, it was to the point where I had to ask C to stop doing laundry, as the area was flooding (I have drywall to replace now). I talked to the local contractor fella (the Mack) and he suggested I go rent a “Jetter“. Now a jetter is a neat device. It’s a pressure washer with a long hose and a little tip, instead of the wand. The concept is to open up your cleanout, feed the hose to it, and it’ll break up the blockage with 2000 psi of water.
Finding one was the first problem. The store in town that had it before closed a few months back. Since that store had it, and it’s a very specific and expensive device that (I assume) isn’t regularly needed, it appeared that most other stores in the area chose not to get one. Surprisingly, the big box stores didn’t have it either. Ended up finding one at A to Z Rental in Bville (Thanks guys!).
So contraption in hand, I was ready to rock n roll about 830 pm last night. First up was to remove the cleanout on the stack. I was told by the Mack to get a “big ole wrench” and use that on the “nubbin” (my nickname for it). Sounds simple enough, so I begin.
“Pop” is normally a sound best reserved for champagne and popcorn. “Pop” should not be a sound that’s available in plumbing. Especially 60 year old sewer pipe plumbing. But lo and behold, I found a new place for that sound (right alongside knees and shoulders).
After a panicked call to the Mack, it was decided that I just need to now chip away at it until its open enough to feed the line through (Nubbinectomy). When I’m done, I can replace it (after removing all the bits of the old one).
So the hole is made, and I feed the line. I read the owners manual (thank you Internets!) and get things going. Knowing the line will dance, I feed it in before I start it up.
Things seemed to be going okay. Feed til I feel some resistance (so an inch?). Let it sit, pushing lightly until it feels like it pushes through. Repeat until … well they didn’t say. So I repeated until I felt I didn’t need to anymore.
After an hour of doing this, I back it out (still running) and clean it along the way. Things are feeling okay, but in the same, “off”. I didn’t feel the big “breakthrough”, and the line never really fought me like I thought 2000 psi should. So when I get it all the way backed out, I notice the problem. There’s no pressure. The pressure changes from a trickle to the power of the sink. Now we have nice sinks here, and decent water pressure. But not 2000 psi worth. So begins my advanced troubleshooting skills (i.e. RTFM).
After a bit of diagnosis, I determine that the extension they placed on the hose inlet was the problem. I remove it and take a look inside. the valve thingy that was in there has shifted, and wasn’t letting water pass. By 1130 pm, the contraption stops giving pressure altogether. The check valve stays checked. I give the washer a try about midnight, and the blockage is still there. Ugh.
So its now 5am. I slept in a little bit. I have this thing until 8am today. But to get it to its home by then, I have to leave the house by 630. Do I do that, and figure out some other way of fixing this damned thing? Or do I take the morning off, keep working on it, and go into work this afternoon?
I have a few minutes to decide…. Oh, the joys of home ownership…..
(EDIT)
My ever sensible wife and I talked (er well, she talked, I attempted to process) this morning. She had that last minute idea of getting dressed for work (as I’d committed to driving her up and then going back home), just in case. I truly did appreciate her thinking for me this morning, as I really couldn’t bear to.
So I brought the Jetter into A to Z Rental, and told them my saga. I asked if they could fix it today and I pick it up tonight to tackle it again. They’re going to fix it, then give it to me at no charge since it was mostly useless last night.
Now to try to make it through not only the day, but also another evening of plumbing. Oh, and I have to prime that guest bedroom still tonight since Zeke and The Mack come over at 7am tomorrow to cover our walls for us with stuff (popcorn, texture, paint).
At this point, I think I’m rambling…