Did you ever get...
...to a point where all the rotten things that keep happening to you start to make you giggle instead of get upset? I've been there for close to 5 years now and I must say, when really bad stuff starts happening now...I can get into one of those laughing jags that has me in tears and I just can't stop. I enjoy those so there's a silver lining.
I had to go to the hospital and that was no fun. I hate hospitals, I really, really do.
You know, I have no business in charge of a house. One of my bathroom sinks backed up and wouldn't drain AT ALL. I bought some Drain-O and it didn't work. But I used the entire bottle trying.
After 4 years of looking, I finally found a contractor for a friend! (I'll be trying to make it more than that soon. I'm too busy to do it now.) He happened to stop by my place with his crew in the middle of the day so he looked at the sink and told me to get something called Liquid Fire. I did, wouldn't you?
I read the bottle thinking it would tell me what was in it but it didn't. I was just curious. But I did read the rest of the bottle which was pretty much just a bunch of warnings. I figured it had to be acid of some sort. It warned about mixing with other chemicals ("especially bleach"...how dumb is that? Don't mix it with Drain-O...but REALLY don't mix it with bleach!) and toxic fumes, all sort of warnings.
It said that I should wear a face guard but all I have it a ski cap that I could pull over my eyes but if I splashed acid on that, it would just hold the stuff closer to my eyes. So, I just marched into that bathroom with my acid and poured twice the recommended amount down into my drain. I didn't bother following it with 8 oz. of cold water, there was already water in the sink. Besides, the acid mixed with the Drain-O crap that was already down there, started bubbling furiously and began producing a gas that you could see. I walked away quickly. Then I went to bed.
I woke up at about 2 AM and checked. Nothing had happened. So, I did what any other woman would do, I poured more stuff down there. This time I knew what to expect so I watched the chemical reaction until the gas started coming up again. Then I went back to bed.
In the morning I checked AGAIN. Nada, bupkis, zilch. So, this time I decided to go American on that clog and I dumped the entire bottle in the sink. It occurred to me that the last time I had seen such a violent chemical reaction I used water and potassium with a fume hood and a blast shield. So, I shut the door behind me after I emptied the entire bottle into the sink.
About an hour later, I went to check. The gas had dissipated and I could barely smell the fumes anymore. I had to use something to get the water/acid/Drain-O mixture out of the sink. I used Rick's old hot chocolate mug and I sopped the rest up with a pair of his old jeans that were hanging in my son's room.
Now, I'm not sure...it was either the acid or the rankness of Rick's old clothes...but something ate away the bottom of my sink. When I finally DO get the dumb thing fixed, it'll be black instead of white. I don't know why the acid stopped at the black. Maybe it would have eventually gone through the entire sink, who knows?
I was truly perplexed by that time. Perhaps there was something caught in the pipes. So, I did what any smart chimpanzee would have done, I took the pipes apart. More chemical reactions...but this time there was no gas. At least there wasn't any that I could see or smell. But something did happen because now there's a huge hole in my contact paper under the sink and I just put that down a couple of months ago. I sure hope it stops there. I'd hate to have an entrance to the crawl space that close to my bathtub. Could you imagine having a raccoon pop his head up when you opened the cabinet to get Mr. Bubble?
Anyway, I finally called my friend again. I explained to him what happened and after he told me how stupid it was, I said, "There! You proved my next point. YOU have to fix it. I can't call my landlord and tell him how stupid I am...one man per fuck up is my limit."
So, my friend and his snake should be coming by soon.
:)
...to a point where all the rotten things that keep happening to you start to make you giggle instead of get upset? I've been there for close to 5 years now and I must say, when really bad stuff starts happening now...I can get into one of those laughing jags that has me in tears and I just can't stop. I enjoy those so there's a silver lining.
I had to go to the hospital and that was no fun. I hate hospitals, I really, really do.
You know, I have no business in charge of a house. One of my bathroom sinks backed up and wouldn't drain AT ALL. I bought some Drain-O and it didn't work. But I used the entire bottle trying.
After 4 years of looking, I finally found a contractor for a friend! (I'll be trying to make it more than that soon. I'm too busy to do it now.) He happened to stop by my place with his crew in the middle of the day so he looked at the sink and told me to get something called Liquid Fire. I did, wouldn't you?
I read the bottle thinking it would tell me what was in it but it didn't. I was just curious. But I did read the rest of the bottle which was pretty much just a bunch of warnings. I figured it had to be acid of some sort. It warned about mixing with other chemicals ("especially bleach"...how dumb is that? Don't mix it with Drain-O...but REALLY don't mix it with bleach!) and toxic fumes, all sort of warnings.
It said that I should wear a face guard but all I have it a ski cap that I could pull over my eyes but if I splashed acid on that, it would just hold the stuff closer to my eyes. So, I just marched into that bathroom with my acid and poured twice the recommended amount down into my drain. I didn't bother following it with 8 oz. of cold water, there was already water in the sink. Besides, the acid mixed with the Drain-O crap that was already down there, started bubbling furiously and began producing a gas that you could see. I walked away quickly. Then I went to bed.
I woke up at about 2 AM and checked. Nothing had happened. So, I did what any other woman would do, I poured more stuff down there. This time I knew what to expect so I watched the chemical reaction until the gas started coming up again. Then I went back to bed.
In the morning I checked AGAIN. Nada, bupkis, zilch. So, this time I decided to go American on that clog and I dumped the entire bottle in the sink. It occurred to me that the last time I had seen such a violent chemical reaction I used water and potassium with a fume hood and a blast shield. So, I shut the door behind me after I emptied the entire bottle into the sink.
About an hour later, I went to check. The gas had dissipated and I could barely smell the fumes anymore. I had to use something to get the water/acid/Drain-O mixture out of the sink. I used Rick's old hot chocolate mug and I sopped the rest up with a pair of his old jeans that were hanging in my son's room.
Now, I'm not sure...it was either the acid or the rankness of Rick's old clothes...but something ate away the bottom of my sink. When I finally DO get the dumb thing fixed, it'll be black instead of white. I don't know why the acid stopped at the black. Maybe it would have eventually gone through the entire sink, who knows?
I was truly perplexed by that time. Perhaps there was something caught in the pipes. So, I did what any smart chimpanzee would have done, I took the pipes apart. More chemical reactions...but this time there was no gas. At least there wasn't any that I could see or smell. But something did happen because now there's a huge hole in my contact paper under the sink and I just put that down a couple of months ago. I sure hope it stops there. I'd hate to have an entrance to the crawl space that close to my bathtub. Could you imagine having a raccoon pop his head up when you opened the cabinet to get Mr. Bubble?
Anyway, I finally called my friend again. I explained to him what happened and after he told me how stupid it was, I said, "There! You proved my next point. YOU have to fix it. I can't call my landlord and tell him how stupid I am...one man per fuck up is my limit."
So, my friend and his snake should be coming by soon.
:)
posted by Meg Kelso | 4:18 AM
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