My daughter, my wife, and my 3 month old grandson show up last night. Henry's first visit here. I run the dishwasher just before they show up and notice a strange gurgling in the sink drain. My daughter is here about 5 minutes and tells me the toilet is stopped. Great, I'm already a half hour late to my 45th high school reunion.

Since I've been home alone for a week, why didn't I notice the drain was clogged and already have it fixed? No indicators of a clog since I barely used water. Turned out it was clogged the week before when my wife had 4 friends over and one flushed baby wipes down the toilet.

Pull toilet, run snake down 3 times without clearing drain. Offending material I later conclude was wet wipe wrapped around snake when I pulled it out.

Decide to run garden hose down drain to blast out restriction. It worked, but I was greeted by a geyser of less than sanitary water to the face, walls and covered the floor.

Only 2.5 hours late to my reunion gathering after resetting the toilet and cleaning the bathroom.

A classmate says there was a surprising number of classmates who hadn't come to previous reunions that had already left. Nobody said "You smell like shit!" Which may have been better, since I wouldn't wonder if I did.

ninnies who put baby wipes down the toilet should be sent to a gulag where they have to bail out septic tanks with a bucket.

quote:

Turned out it was clogged the week before when my wife had 4 friends over and one flushed baby wipes down the toilet.

It's always the women...
And they usually don't have to deal with the consequences.

quote:

Originally posted by arfmel:
ninnies who put baby wipes down the toilet should be sent to a gulag where they have to bail out septic tanks with a bucket.

No kidding. I don't even care if they flushable on them. They go in the trash, not the toilet.

I have a plumber friend. The stories he could tell. The odd things that people flush down the commode. I am not talking preschool kids here. Use your imagination.

I solved the problem at my office with stopped up toilets. I went to a big box retailer and bought one of those toilets advertised to flush golf balls. It was worth the investment. I got the handicapped kind which sit higher and are easier on the knees. Some short people and kids complain their feet do not touch the ground. Cannot please everyone I guess.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:
It's always the women...

Sewer mice, that's what I would call them when I was in the business and they'd come back on the cable. The customer would ask if I knew what the blockage was and I'd say "swear mice", which was usually met with a confused look. I'd say "You know, they're white and have a long tail..."

I'm a yacht captain, and if anything is put down the toilets aside from human waste or toilet paper, it clogs the toilet instantly and every single time. You then have to take the entire system apart....A snake is easy compared to this and a heck of a lot cleaner.