somewhat piggishJoined: 05 Aug 2005Posts: 5415Location: on porch with shotgun
So my toilet is clogged somthin' fierce. It's not poop, it's paper towels (cleaning up cat residue...).
Anyway the shit (which isn't shit at all, it's paper towels) is stuck somewhere way the fuck back there. I plunged like crazy for like two hours last night to no avail.
This morning i went and bought a plumbers snake, but it seems to jam in the pipes before i can get it to wherever the clog is.
How can i get that shit out of there without calling a plumber? I'm already in the position of leaving for SF for nine days with about $200 in my bank account, no way i can afford to pay a fat dude to show me his butt for ten minutes while telling me what a dumbass i am.
I don't like to use chemical thigns if i don't have to, and in this instance i'm not even sure that it would do any good.
1337Joined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 6705Location: right over
if it's really that clogged in the toilet, turn the water off, unbolt the toilet, and lift it up... you should be able to clean it out that way. if it's clogged past the toilet then you should have a straight shot down the drainpipe with the snake.
yes, i once dropped the wooden toilet paper bar down the toilet when i was trying to take a leak and change the toilet paper roll at the same time. my housemates no longer allow me to multitask in the bathroom.
josh m
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:34 am
Joined: 09 Jan 2006Posts: 448Location: portland
get a pet rat, shut off the water and send it down.
those little bastards love to eat paper.
or well.. chemicals... the draino stuff is an amazing work of art.
joby
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:36 am
goes to elevenJoined: 25 Jul 2005Posts: 3899Location: The Cloud
Yep, pulling the toilet is probably the best thing to try. If do this, make sure to replace the wax ring. Otherwise you're likely to have a leak when you're done.
There is a significant chance that the paper towel passed through the toilet and is now stuck in the waste pipes, but once you’ve got the toilet pulled you'll be able to get the snake down in to the waste pipe a bit.
If it comes to the point where you have to hire somebody, call a clogged pipe specialist, not a regular plumber. They’re cheaper and faster. I like “Jim Dandy Sewer” in Seattle.
How does your condo work WRT maintenance? At what point do the pipes become communal property?
Not to rub it in, but Don't flush Paper towel. Toilet paper is designed to disintegrate in water, so that even if you do get a temporary blockage, it will break up on its own. Paper towel is specifically designed NOT to break up in water.
Torch
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:36 am
TerranceJoined: 24 Jul 2005Posts: 1637Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
yeah, go to your local hardward store and find the plumbing section. there's shit you can buy that requires industrial-thickness rubber gloves and a dust mask to use. i had a problem in an old house i lived in with tree roots in the backyard blocking pipes, but dumping a can of that junk down the toilet and then leaving the house for 8 hours did the trick.
_________________ "the only difference between me and a madman is that i am not mad."
- Salvador Dali
Torch
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:37 am
TerranceJoined: 24 Jul 2005Posts: 1637Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
also, what jobias said. flushing paper towel is retarded.
_________________ "the only difference between me and a madman is that i am not mad."
- Salvador Dali
Alastair
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:38 am
Joined: 12 Jan 2006Posts: 475Location: U-district/Ravenna
Drano is the way to go here. Don't think of it so much as chemicals, think of it as many many hydrogen protons doing god's work.
joby
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:39 am
goes to elevenJoined: 25 Jul 2005Posts: 3899Location: The Cloud
Torch wrote:
yeah, go to your local hardward store and find the plumbing section. there's shit you can buy that requires industrial-thickness rubber gloves and a dust mask to use. i had a problem in an old house i lived in with tree roots in the backyard blocking pipes, but dumping a can of that junk down the toilet and then leaving the house for 8 hours did the trick.
The tricky thing about using the bad-ass chemicals is what to do if they don't work. Then you're stuck pulling the toilet and dumping powerful acid all over your self and the floor.
Hey, I've got a theme for the .83 ride tonight! I call it "30 amateur plumbers"
dennyt
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:42 am
rocket mechanicJoined: 02 Aug 2005Posts: 2708
After a year of a slow shower drain (standing water for an hour after each shower), we finally got it fixed. Turns out, we found a 3/4" rubber bouncy ball in our 7/8" drain pipe.
I feel like a King now with a shower that drains...
Aah, the good life.
henry
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:42 am
somewhat piggishJoined: 05 Aug 2005Posts: 5415Location: on porch with shotgun
joby wrote:
The tricky thing about using the bad-ass chemicals is what to do if they don't work. Then you're stuck pulling the toilet and dumping powerful acid all over your self and the floor.
my old roomates fucked up a shower drain real bad. they finally decided to fix it the day we were having a huge party.
it didn't work so there was a bath tub full of nasty acid shit.
drunk girl fell in... third degree burns... it wasn't fun for anyone.
now with 50 percent more EVILJoined: 22 Jul 2005Posts: 10566
henry doing home plumbing. i wish we could all be there to taunt and point
take pictures!
josh m
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 11:56 am
Joined: 09 Jan 2006Posts: 448Location: portland
dennyt wrote:
After a year of a slow shower drain (standing water for an hour after each shower), we finally got it fixed. Turns out, we found a 3/4" rubber bouncy ball in our 7/8" drain pipe.
I feel like a King now with a shower that drains...
Aah, the good life.
I know how that goes.
The bathroom sink in my house was a slow drainer for the first couple months i lived there... then i got motivated and bought some drano. now I am all "WOO, LOOK AT THAT!"
henry
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 12:15 pm
somewhat piggishJoined: 05 Aug 2005Posts: 5415Location: on porch with shotgun
derrickito wrote:
henry doing home plumbing. i wish we could all be there to taunt and point
"uh, something is broken... you guys need to come fix this.. "
seaden
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 2:39 pm
Joined: 09 Dec 2005Posts: 397Location: CapHill
my upstairs neighbor is totally crazy and runs the shower all night to lull him to sleep. last weekend he forgot to turn it off and the drain got clogged somehow and a huge overflow happened going down to the first floor of a four floor apartment building. what a total retard!
TerranceJoined: 24 Jul 2005Posts: 1637Location: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
seaden wrote:
my upstairs neighbor is totally crazy and runs the shower all night to lull him to sleep.
how, um... "earth friendly."
_________________ "the only difference between me and a madman is that i am not mad."
- Salvador Dali
joby
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 2:53 pm
goes to elevenJoined: 25 Jul 2005Posts: 3899Location: The Cloud
seaden wrote:
my upstairs neighbor is totally crazy and runs the shower all night to lull him to sleep. last weekend he forgot to turn it off and the drain got clogged somehow and a huge overflow happened going down to the first floor of a four floor apartment building. what a total retard!
I am amazed how often we are touched by his noodly appendage.
_________________ Tony D.
There are some things you simply must do.
langston
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 3:07 pm
Joined: 25 Jul 2005Posts: 5547Location: Columbia City
in the time it takes to fix your shit, you can do what I did when I was experienceing plumbing difficulties this xmas.
you can poop in safeway bags and pee in beer bottles. Don't leave either laying around afterwards/
_________________ riders wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success.
josh m
Posted: Thu Mar 16, 2006 4:48 pm
Joined: 09 Jan 2006Posts: 448Location: portland
seaden wrote:
my upstairs neighbor is totally crazy and runs the shower all night to lull him to sleep. last weekend he forgot to turn it off and the drain got clogged somehow and a huge overflow happened going down to the first floor of a four floor apartment building. what a total retard!
My friend Ben, he woke up to water coming through his ceiling one night. Rushed up stairs and pounded on his upstairs' neighbor's door using just a pillow to cover his goods.
The neighbors denied that the water was from them... though it was.
fried out Ben's X-box, record player, and other goods. Luckly all his music equipment was 10ft in the clear.
(ben is kind of like spitting).
turns out the upstairs girl left the water running for a bath and fell asleep.
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