Old Faithful

It’s been cold, so responsible home owner that I am, I went in and turned on the space heater in the bathroom to be sure the pipes didn’t freeze.

About twenty minutes later Kate and I heard a loud thump. Uh-oh. I go in expecting the pipes to be leaking. Instead it appears that the toilet turned into a geyser briefly. Weird, but I figured it was because I heated it up.

I sneak upstairs to get cleaner and paper towels (the baby was napping—miracles never cease). When I get back down, I hear a sound that I can only describe as a mix between a growl and the noise of a garbage disposal. Then the shower erupted!

I did what any self respecting house wife would do, and I called my husband. He listened to the growling and the water undulating in the toilet over the phone. He told me to turn on the shower, hopefully melting this “ice.” He’d be right home.

Meanwhile I start to search the internet for what having Old Faithful in our downstairs bathroom could mean.

When he came in the door he announced he’d found the problem. I knew he was good (he did learn from my Daddy), but he hadn't even seen the bathroom. As he drove up, he saw that Rotorooter is up the street. Turns out they were pulling negative pressure to clear a grease clog and it caused sewage to be forcefully expelled into our house.

The guy Justin talked to shared this little gem of wisdom: “I wouldn’t sit on the can, if I were you.” Wow.

At least it’s not our pipes. I’ll be thankful for small favors. It’s all cleaned up now.

So, when your toilet is expelling sewage forcefully don't take a seat. That's my public service announcement for today.