Munchkins watching TV.
Monday morning, the munchkins either had a cold relapse, or came down with an all-new bug. They had been well for about a week. One blessed week of no drippy noses and no coughing.
Now we're back to all of the above, and what's worse, my husband has finally come down with it, too. So we have a houseful of grumpy, fussy people all getting on each other's nerves.
But that's not even the kicker!
Monday night I made mashed potatoes and baked chicken. I forgot that it's unwise to put potato skins down the garbage disposal, and did just that. My sink promptly backed up. No amount of plunging or running the disposal could clear it up. It did drain, very slowly, so I had to wash dishes in slow stages, waiting for the water to drain in between. I figured that I would put in a maintenance request on Tuesday morning and put it out of my mind.
And I thoughtlessly turned on the dishwasher as I was going to bed.
The dishwasher drains into the garbage disposal.
Also, we have this little deal up by the faucet called an air gap (I think is what it's called). For months now, whenever the dishwasher drains, that little air vent turns into a six-inch-high fountain that squirts into the sink. It's a bit messy, but since I run the dishwasher at night, it's generally not something I deal with.
So I'm lying in bed, listening to the dishwasher drain, and it sounds awfully splashy. With the sink not draining, I can just bet that the sink is filling up.
After two cycles of draining, I got up to check.
Anyone who says that dishwashers use less water than hand-washing must never have had a dishwasher like this one. I don't use this much water hand-washing on my worst day.
I bailed the sink with a bucket, dumping the bucket down the toilet, and watched warily until the dishwasher was finally on its drying cycle.
When we got up Tuesday morning, my sink was encrusted with grime from the settling water, and the apartment reeked of stopped-up drain. I've had the door open all day, trying to air it out.
The maintenance guy came and made short work of opening the trap at the bottom of the sink. It was full of--just guess!--potato skins. He also fixed the blockage that made the fountain into my sink whenever the dishwasher drained.
So that was my trial for the day. Somehow the plumbing just always backs up in November. Not October, not December. Just November.
4 comments:
Oooooh no! That's horrible. I did that once when we first got married - potato skins in garbage disposal - and never did it again. It was awful. I'm so sorry you had to go through that! I agree, Tuesdays really are worse than Mondays.
Hope you guys are all feeling better soon. Poor babies. :(
I'm of the firm belief that even just writing about how awful your life is helps relieve some of the awfulness.
I hope you guys get better!
Well, now you know NO potato skins in the garbage disposal. See you learned a valuable lesson. I learned that one just like you. That is amazing that much water in the sink, I had no idea that it would do that. But now we are at Wednesday. I loved all of the pictures. I do think it helps a bunch to write about it.
I hope Wednesday is better. See and you had something to write about.
Meg: Yep, I've learned my lesson!
Will: And somehow, writing about the awfulness in a humorous way makes it that much easier to bear.
Mom: I guess everybody puts potato skins down the disposal at least once. And by default, Wednesday is better than Tuesday because it's not Tuesday! Hooray!
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