A butcher, a baker, a ... plumber?

That's an emergency plumber by the way

Great: Not this again...

So I must admit I am having trouble with the realization that we have been back from Calgary for a week. This is related to the amount of extra stuff I have been doing as I have filled a lot of roles this week.

This week I have been a computer technician (this was a stretch), a washing machine repair man, a vet and most recently a plumber. Big job plumbing, not a small job like installing a new bath tub or anything.

Did I mention I was a emergency plumber or did I leave that out? I did mention it? Good.

Previously I had to repair my Hackintosh which meant installing from scratch several times. It did not like the 10.6.7 update and 10.6.8 finished it off. Also when we arrived back from Calgary we dumped many loads of laundry in front of the washer which promptly stopped working. Two separate trips to the parts depot and installing a new pump and an new pressure switch and the laundry monster is now tamed. The vet part came from adopting a new cat. More on that later.

Back to the emergency plumbing.

So this flood was not the furnace again, it was not Moricerevek's fault again, and technically it was not the sewer's backing up. Technically.

What was happening was water was not draining out of the house and a long enough shower (or other water use) would cause water to backup out of the downstairs drain and downstairs shower (both just inside the door in the above picture). Clean water thank god. It did drain a small amount so we could survive flushing the toilets. Thankfully.

So we called the city of Ottawa who proved to be quite useful for a Sunday.

Their plumber showed up and had us dig out pipe access. Something called a house trap(?) next to the water meter. Here is a picture:

It seems so innocent

This pipe opening is capped with a brass "clean out plug" which while it doesn't corrode, doesn't open either.

The City of Ottawa plumber arrived with a steel chisel and large hammer. He then proceeded to hammer out the brass plug. Hammer out.

Needless to say, it took a while.

Any problem or blockage after this main pipe is the City's problem. Anything before the main pipe is the homeowner's problem. Guess which this was?

We could run all the water we wanted, very little got to the main plug. Our problem. "Glad to help" said the plumber at he left.

Okay, well a little more than that.

All sealed again: Problem not fixed

He capped the main drain out with a plastic plug and left us a spare plug so that we could replace the one from the main clean out. he did include some unofficial advice but he did choose his words carefully.

So a trip to Home Depot for a drain auger and I was set to go. I already owned a steel chisel (I thought it was a pry bar, who knew?) and a large sledge hammer. How bad could this be.

Fortunately Rolly and Guba chose to leave the house before I started this. Smart thinking.

Remember when I said it took a while for him to chisel out the brass plug? It took me longer. A lot longer. It didn't take very long for me to get to the part where I could not turn back. Unfortunately. From then on I was pounding for a while. Pounding a steel prybar with a steel hammer onto a metal plug. My whole body was vibrating. Maybe I could have used Betsy or Veronica. Or even Aku.

But I did it and I got the now totally mangled brass plug off the "main clean out" and I shined a flashlight down the pipe and I saw water. Note for the future: you are not supposed to see water. I originally thought it was like a U pipe for a drain where a water seal is maintained. That is not the case.

So I got out the auger and miracle of miracles, read the instructions before using. This is how I learned to run the auger cable through the pipe by hand and hook up the power drill after. Which is what I did.

And I spun that auger for a while let me tell you. To little effect.

So I pulled the auger cable out to see what I got. I will minimize my description by saying that there were clumps of stuff on the end of the auger cable. Two significant clumps. Of stuff. Not stuff stuff. But stuff.

I threw them out. Since I missed Stormblade's birthday there was no reason to keep them.

And then, as an experiment, I turned on the water.

And promptly got distracted. What can I say. It's me.

Very fortunately I happened to glance down the pipe a few minutes later to see the water rising significantly. I looked at the drain in the floor and saw that the backflow mechanism was raised and doing its best to hold back the water.

Right! water! I ran into the other room and turned off the tap.

I then returned to the "main clean out" and looked forlornly at the water that was not going where it was supposed to. I picked up the auger cable and got ready to run it down the pipe again.

I then looked down the pipe with a flashlight and was greeted with a quiet "gurgle." Followed by bubbles. I ducked and covered to the accompanying sound of a loud "FWOOSH" as the pipe drained completely in one fell swoop.

Whatever I had dug out had loosened the blockage enough that it had released under the load of water draining.

I looked down the pipe again and saw pipe. Clear pipe. No water. Which is how I learned that you are not supposed to see water when you look down the "main clean out."

Out of spite I then went and had a twenty minute shower. So there.

I retrieved the plastic plug that the city plumber had left me and replaced it onto the main clean out.

All sealed again: And working this time

I was a proud home owner who fixed his own drain blockage and now had a working drain. No idea how long the drain had been partially blocked but I must admit that everything in the house does appear to be draining better. Although it could be my imagination.

So there you have it. My adventure in emergency plumbing.

So if (when) you ever have a problem with your house's drain, your main clean out, be sure to NOT CALL ME, because frankly I've had enough.