Yesterday we had a repeat of the gurgling except this time the toilet threatened to overflow. I left k-ster a voicemail about not using the toilet and he got it too late and had to mop everything up. Then I just couldn't resist, so I flushed last night and all was well. All was not well this morning, so I called the guy to come pump. They come in a truck like this:
Yep, just a shovel and a hook. The hook lifts the cement cover(you didn't think we just had these gaping holes, did you?) This was extra fun because though 2 covers are right at ground level and easy to find, the main cover is buried so then it becomes like an easter egg hunt. Only dirty. They have a marvelous pipe you stick in the ground until you hit what sounds like cement and then you dig. Now that this will forever live in the blogosphere, I will only have to look here to remember the exact location so it won't be a needle in a haystack, or a cesspool in the lawn, as I call it.
Once he started pumping, he realized that the pipe was glogged so he needed his snake. I don't know about real snakes, but I do hate the metal kind that you have to use when snaking a drain that is clogged. I hate them because a) I think they are just so gross as they are LOADED with bacteria and b) they are completely unmanageable beasts because they are long, thin and metal. He wresteld with this for a long time but managed to stick it into the pipe, without losing his sunglasses which is a feat, and eventually unplugged it. To the tune of some kind of ridiculous money.
It's been 5 years since we've had it pumped and I remember because a friend of mine was visiting and as we were departing for the bus station, the washer backed up all over the laundry room. This guy claims we have to do this every year and when I said 5 years he was alarmed. I claim we only have to do this when there's a problem. Most people claim that pumping them regularly prevents the problems. I am all for preventive maintenance but I am also Thrifty Cheap Frugal and therefore cannot stomach paying to pump something that isn't full every year or two. If they charge whether it's full or halfway full, I say let's wait until it's full. Until everyone has arrived and is lined up to use the bathroom and now the toilet is flowing into the living room.
We live on a well, therefore on our own version of a cesspool. In 5 years, we've needed it pumped once, which I hear is pretty good odds. :-)
ReplyDeleteStinky job, that.