Thinking of a career in plumbing

A couple of weeks ago I had water coming from underneath the bath and through the kitchen ceiling lights. Anyway off I took off the cover of the plughole, shoved a thingy I'd bought ages ago which was basically a wire with a brush on the end down the plughole and brought out a huge clog of hair/soap. That cleared the pipe but there was still water coming from underneath the bath, so I popped to B&Q, bought some plumbery bits, replaced some bits and tightened everything with my favourite new toy, a massive plumbing spanner type thing, and hey presto, problem solved.

On top of that, my downstairs toilet has been blocked on and off for months. I've had someone round to sort it but he gave it a quick swoosh with the plunger which cleared it temporarily and then the water level rose again. Anyway I've tried allsorts to try and sort it. I even invested in one of these bad boys - a toilet auger (which wasn't cheap) but that was my final attempt to sort it myself and despite it being a brilliant tool, it appeared that the blockage was further down the pipe as it wasn't in the loo.

Anyway, I'm a stubborn old mare so thought I'd have a go at seeing if I could clear the soil pipe. Did a bit of Googling, found an entry point into the soil pipe and took the cover off. As soon as I did the driveway was flooded with tons of bits of minging bog roll, which had obviously been backing up for ages Once I'd cleared it all up followed by copious amounts of Jeyes fluid and bleach, I flushed the loo a couple of times and it was all clear. I wanted to be sure it was sorted so I poured water down the toilet but it filled up again. The access valve thingy was at ground level and when I took it off, more gunk came out but not enough to be clogging the pipe. Sussed out that the problem was below ground level as I could see the water level was sitting just below the opening and presumably this should be clear given that the water runs straight down into the sewer. So I had a go with the toilet auger which was the perfect angle for the job. I shoved that through the pipe a few times and brought more gunk out until the water level dropped. I've poured more water down the loo and it seems to be clear but if it becomes clogged again then I'll have another go. I've been thoroughly scrubbed several times (having splashback on your face is soooo not good ) and my hands have been bleached to within an inch of their lives.

I'm feeling quite proud of myself and relieved because as I said it's been bugging me for months. Maybe I should sell my sh** clearing services Then again maybe not because it's a disgusting job

 

it is surelly rewarding to know a lot about plumbing as well as electrics and car engine related stuff - life teaches me. But: to take it on as a job requires dedication and passion. In the case of plumbing a lot of sitting on your knees and bending in tiny spaces would be frequent. If you are fit enough for that, great.

 

My comment was tongue in cheek Java

I am far too long in the tooth to start a new career and nor would I want one clearing up other people's 'mess'

 

A plummer makes good money. Over here anyway.

 

Well done @merleworld , it's amazing how many DIY jobs we can achieve even tho we are female and perhaps slightly past our sell by dates (me anyway). We too have 1 drain that is prone to blocking and can't say it's my favourite job either unblocking it, but at least the cause is "home grown"!
Think of all the £££££££s you've saved not getting the likes of Dynarod out. Do I sense a purchase from Crocus to celebrate being on the cards?

 

Nice one Merle

Next time you do it, if you find one of the fatty deposits that build up in sewers, you can boil that up with an alkali such as wood ash, to make soap

 

Definitely not I have far too many plants as it is - need to get rid of some given that I've bought a gazillion Hydrangeas over the past year or so (including four or five so far this year) Although I have got my eye on one or two plants if I ever get the space

 

Bravo!!! And so you should feel proud of yourself (I wouldn't know where to begin!) Kudos to you

Here you go ...

 

such a refined piece of information...

 

Where did you think soap came from?

 

That's the problem I find with cowboy plumbers, they just go through the motions.