Oh Sh...! The joys of home ownership

I have lived in a building for most of my life. The waste disposal pipes in buildings are big enough for a roll of paper towels. Last night was a reality check for me. While doing the laundry in the basement I heard a faint gurgle from the bathroom in the basement. I tried to ignore it, but since the gurgle got louder with the sudden flush of a toilet on the first floor I was forced to investigate.*
The half bath was flooded in the basement and all sorts of "stuff" was all over the otherwise clean bathroom floor. So, Uncle John,Alexandra and I began to assess the damage. The pipes were backed up, that was pretty obvious-- Now for some professional help! Alexandra called her father, my father in law, and our contractor- Kaz. Luckily Kaz was on his way back from a party. If he was in bed we might not have received such stellar service. In a flash, the following happened:

- trap (sewer) door removed
- Kaz and John knock off first sewer line cap- nothing
- Kaz notes, " Most people think you twist these off, you knock the cap off."
- I note in my head that I am not "most people" and one of those people to would endlessly twist. I just call someone.
- Kaz knocks off cap number 2 and it's like a geyser. As bad as the bathroom looked- the "stuff" coming out of that hole looked worse
- Pipe Number One handled the run off, now if we only had a snake to find the clog.
- Well, Uncle John not only has an industrial juicer in his car, but also a whole host of tools- including a snake.
- After the hand powered snake was sent into the pipe a few times- out came "unidentifiable rag".

The water all drained out. Kaz and Uncle John made sure the pipe was clear and the clean up began. Alexandra, Uncle John, and I all cleaned up the bathroom. Estimated time from disaster and back to bed; 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Special Thanks
Kaz for coming over after a party and educating me on what to do.
Uncle John for helping with the line, cleaning up, and the tools-- They guy demonstrates on a daily basis what a great guy he is.
Alexandra for making the effort to let me sleep, calling her father, and cleaning up.
Kelly for "discovering" the problem giving us the heads up.

There was some upside:

- next time it happens I know what to do**
- Joanne got to see the basement finally

This definitely rates as one of the "crappiest" things that come up when you own a house. Also, we are now learning how to communicate things they should not flush down the toilet without pointing the finger. As Alexandra said, "It could have been one of our kids". We certainly were not going to examine the offending "unidentifiable rag".

* I am completely lying, my wife found it as I lay asleep in the bed. Realizing the gravity of the situation I got my lazy butt out of bed.
** there better not be a next time.