Frugality In Practice: Don’t Call The Plumber

May 29, 2008 · Filed Under ·  

Last week my 3 year old daughter decided to see how much toilet paper could fit down the commode. We were made aware of the problem when I saw water coming out from under the bathroom door. I felt like I was in a bad episode of the Brady Bunch. Do you remember the washing machine episode?

I plunged and plunged that toilet to no avail! I refused to call a plumber as I knew I was staring at a $50 service call charge, plus probably another $25 in labor charges. Not going to happen! I was determined to fix the problem myself. So, the next day I went down to the hardware store and bought a toilet snake. I snaked and snaked to no avail! I could feel the blockage but it was as thick as a grapefruit. Did she actually flush down some citrus? I was starting to wonder!

I knew now I was going to have to pull the toilet. So back to the hardware store for a new wax toilet ring. So yesterday, I got all the water out of the toilet, disconnected the water line, unscrewed the two bolts holding down the crapper, and pulled that sucker from the floor. What happened next will amaze you! Well, not really. I just set the toilet on it’s side and went digging for some toilet paper.

Another problem. The TP was so thick and far enough down, that I couldn’t reach it from the hole on the bottom with my hand or any other improvised tool. So after a few choice words, I decided to carry the toilet onto the back porch and enlist the garden hose for some assistance. I lay the toilet on its back and I stuck the hose up the bottom and turned it on full blast. All the sudden, I had what resembled Old Faithful in my backyard. I had to prod and finagle that hose like a trained surgeon until I loosened up that citrus resembling wad of toilet paper. Success! I had finally fixed the clogged toilet. I celebrated by taking a well deserved break on the toilet, in the middle of the backyard. I officially have no pride, but I did save a ton of money!

Moral of the story: Even if you are not real handy, you can learn how to do stuff around the house, and by doing so, avoid calling in a professional! Unless of course, your daughter actually does try to make orange juice in the toilet. Professional help may then be required!

 

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Please Pass This Post Along and Comment Below!
  • Digg
  • del.icio.us
  • Furl
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
  • Technorati
  • YahooMyWeb

Comments

7 Responses to “Frugality In Practice: Don’t Call The Plumber”

  1. Jennifer on May 29th, 2008 11:54 am

    We ruined a toilet with a small snake when ours was clogged trying to unclog it ourselves. We had to replace the toilet and went through 3 wax seals trying to get it to install right (apparently the floor wasn’t quite level.) That all cost over $100. And then we still had to pay a plumber $75 because the clog was further down than our small snake could reach (the plumber used a power snake down the shower drain to find the clog, which was actually a “flushable” hygiene item.

    So $175 later we’ve learned to call someone who knows what they are doing, AND make sure you never ever flush anything extra down the toilet, even if the packaging claims it’s OK to flush.

    I hate toilet drama. And of course (for us anyway) it always happens on the weekend when you have house guests…

  2. Kyle on May 29th, 2008 12:24 pm

    Jennifer, ouch, sorry to hear about your bad toilet experience!!

    I guess I got lucky. Although I am curious (so I never do it) how you could ruin a toilet with a small snake. Especially since it sounds like your clog was in the main drain line not in the actual toilet. Hopefully you got a new low-flow toilet out of the deal.

  3. Kansas Mom on May 30th, 2008 6:14 am

    Well, there’s one benefit to renting. Something bad happens to the toilet and someone else has to pay! (Our landlords have been great the couple of times we’ve called them and have had someone on the way almost immediately. It makes a big difference to have such dependability.)

    Now, my husband did try to fix our washing machine…unsuccessfully.

    http://ourhomeontherange.blogspot.com/
    2008/05/dirge-for-washing-machine.html

  4. Jennifer on May 30th, 2008 9:26 am

    Somehow in the process of snaking the toilet, the entire toilet bowl cracked and we had a toilet in 2 halves when we were done. I wonder if maybe it was coming anyway (it does seem odd that snaking the toilet would break it in half!) but it was a gigantic nightmare.

  5. Ryan S.@uncommon-cents.net on May 30th, 2008 10:27 pm

    Interestingly, I have a drain unclogging thread to put up on my blog myself, although mine is not just about toilets… mostly about shower drains, actually.

  6. Aaron Stroud on May 31st, 2008 3:19 pm

    That’s why we have locks on the outside of our bathrooms’ doors!

  7. The Happy Housewife on June 2nd, 2008 3:24 pm

    Oh, I am laughing! I am sure you weren’t at the time, but how funny! Glad you were able to do it yourself!
    Toni

Leave a Reply




Bad Behavior has blocked 634 access attempts in the last 7 days.