Three hundred and sixty-five dollars later* I can report that our plumber guessed that the chunk of powdered laundry soap and calcium that had clogged our outlet to the septic tank dated back to the 1980s, especially since we haven't used powdered laundry soap in years and years.
The world is an interesting place. When I woke up this morning, I had no idea that such a thing as a sewer-pipe plug formed from powdered laundry soap existed. And I certainly never expected that within hours I would get to see such a thing up close and personal, with aroma enhancement courtesy of the fragrant perfume wafting from our pumped and open septic tank.
If this seems to some of you reminiscent of an incident from last Summer, you would be correct. However, there are two major differences:
- We're pretty sure that this time we got rid of the genuine clog that caused the trouble ... this really weird plug of powdered soap and mineral deposits in the outlet pipe from the house into the septic tank. For those who want too much information, here's a tidbit for you. When finally pulled from the pipe, that stuff floated in the miasma of liquid in the bottom of the septic tank.
- Thanks to smarter and quicker intervention when the troubles started again, I didn't have to use the phrase "septic geyser" this time around. Rest assured that although such a thing is a true wonder of the world, if you've ever had to use that phrase in all seriousness, you would gladly pay $365 to not have to use it again.
*These kind of things are why the new-boat fund never seems to accumulate very much money.
I must tell you- I think $365 is an unexpensive amount when you combine plumber and septic tank in the same sentence.
ReplyDeleteDid I ever mention how much I love being on public water and public sewer in the Gettysburg house?