Domestic me. Never be me.

There are few things in this world that can succeed in getting my dander up like a clogged drain can. Ever since we've moved into our loft there has been one drain in particular that seems to enjoy making sport of me. The patio drain, the bane of my wretched existence. So far in the past two years this drain has clogged and threatened to flood our living space, not to mention making it damn impossible for the dogs to wander outside. At first I fought with primitive tools such as the plunger. It was time consuming and would allow a brief res bit from the clog but as soon as it rained or even if we sprayed off the patio with a hose the flood would return as if it was only lying in wait for it's next opportunity to once again wreak havoc. Eventually I invested in a pipe snake which I could connect to a power drill. It was heaven on Earth. I had found my Shangri La at last. The clog disappeared for about a year. Everything in life seemed to be perking up. From my relationship with my dogs to that promotion at the office everything was on the rise. Until, a couple of weeks ago when the clog had returned. This time all of the old standby methods seemed like they had been engineered by a three year old boy with a penchant for eating asbestos and lead paint, from the can mind you. So off I went to my local purveyor of hardware goods and that's when I found it, the first of two very fascinating examples of object d' plumbing. Oddly both of these items if taken out of context end up sounding like an inventory list from a porn shop. The first item I bought was the amazing Kinetic Water Ram. This little beauty consisted of a long tube and very much reminded me of a bicycle pump. It even comes with CO2 cartridges. The results were mixed and the worst part was the deluge of unsavory filthy liquid which ended up on my jeans. Next I ended up buying an item which looked like it should come in pink and live under girls beds. The drain bladder. The idea is attach this to hose then to jam this thing down the drain. Once you have it secure you simply turn on the water and the bladder fills up to seal the drain. The water is forced our through a tiny hole in the end with the notion that this high pressure phallus will force the clog down the line. To my great surprise it worked like a charm. A totally awesome charm. Since then the drain has remained clog free. OMG! I just realized I dedicated an entire post to simple house work.