So, yesterday afternoon, after I get back from a crazy day taking the children to the dentist- so not fun - especially for Celeste- but not really part of the main story....okay, so as I switch the last load of laundry into the dryer, I notice in my basement a lot of water coming up from my floor drain...did I mention it is black water? Yeah...black water, you read right...BUT, I am on my way out the door to pick up the older 2 for the dentist, SO, I can't clean it up...I have to leave it!! I am spastic all the way to the dentist and irritable with the kids...freaking out that I need to find a plumber tonight!! Seriously, it is not good...thankfully I have most things in plastic totes, so any water damage won't hurt it all...I get a hold of a phone book and start calling around for places to clean SEWER pipes!! Yuck! I find a place that can do it in the morning for $100- the best price, because all the others I called charged $200 for the first hour!!! (I am tellin ya- there is money in plumbing!) I call Dana and he gets it cleaned up before I even get home- a godsend was the shop vac my parents gave me a few months ago- never thought I'd need that! He didn't even complain- love him! Problem: No water can be run- or else it will just come right back up- meaning NO FLUSHING TOILETS!! This is a problem!! I tell the children they can pee, but nothing else, and no flushing! Gross, I know...
I get up this morning and my sweet sweet friend, Suzanne offers to pick Celeste up and take her to her house while I deal with this problem: this gross problem- Here's where it goes from bad to worse- ready?
The plumber shows up- very nice guy right on time- 9am. We look all over and all around my house for the main drain....WE CAN'T FIND IT!! What?! There has to be a drain, right?! It is not where the stuff (uh, crap) is coming up out of the floor, it is a completely different pipe that follows to that one...it is NOWHERE TO BE FOUND! We search all over my house, inside and out...no pipe, anywhere! Panic? Yes, you can say that...
Remember, I am here alone with this guy who now starts to tell me that we might have to cut a hole in a wall to find the pipe- and if it's not there, another wall, or pull up carpet in case it is under there....WHAT?!
Now panic...now tears...now breakdown...this is not good...
I don't know what to do...I run upstairs, sobbing, of course, and plead with Heavenly Father to help me figure this out...I just wanted it all to be manageable. I get on the phone and call Dana at school. He happened to be in his classroom and his class was watching a movie. He calms me down while the guy proceeds to cut a whole in the drywall in my bathroom...did you read that? CUT A WHOLE!! A whole in my wall!! I am sobbing more when he says he can't find the pipe- WAIT...he cuts a larger hole and VIOLA- there it is! Hidden from the world...Here is what it looks like:
The larger whole is about 2 foot by 2 foot- and I now have to get a cover for it- since repairing it is out of the question, and heaven forbid I ever need to access it again! I also have to replace the molding around the baseboard. If it wasn't there, he would have to keep searching...this was not looking good..but a silent prayer was answered at that time...the first of many this day.
SO, he takes off the cap, and I can't even explain how gross it is- filled with sludge and who even knows what else...disgusting. He starts to snake it out with his super machine, and it is going, I can hear it digging in the pipe drain below in the basement. He proceeds to fill my washer with water and drain it to make sure it has worked...
YEAH, it doesn't!! Dana gets here about this time, such a wonderful man to come home to his wife who is about to lose it altogether- he got a friend to cover his class for an hour so he could come rescue me...he has no idea what is about to happen!
The washer drains, and CRAP starts filling my basement----seriously, sewer backup- yes, you imagined it- it was there- see, told ya it was not a fun thing to read- I warned you! Pure black with floaties, sorry, no pic of that- the shop vac again saved the day, and we cleaned it up entirely. Thank the Lord for bleach- it cleans like no other- it looks like this NOW:
About 30 minutes later, as he is un-snaking the drain, the machine makes a terrible sound, and I walk up to see that it has splattered CRAP and sludge all over my walls in my family room- yeah, really that is what went down...here is a small portion of what won't come off my wall and ceiling for that matter:
Mind you, I really hate this wallpaper, but I don't want to pay to replace it and tear it down- it would be a huge undertaking, and the whole room is in this paper- yeah...it is not good...he feels bad, and gives me the name of his insurance agent- am I going to call him? Heck yeah I am! First thing in the morning...my walls are ruined- BUT....there is so much to be thankful for:
1- Celeste wasn't here in the mess- Suzanne kept her all day and fed her lunch, and brought her home- so thankful for her!!
2- A sweet husband who left his job to come comfort me- I would've not made it otherwise!
3- Money from savings to pay for this disaster- no, it was not cheap- here's just a clue: in this year alone, I have paid nearly $900 to plumbers! No, I am not kidding, and no, none is for re-modeling! This alone was a third of that!
4- My drain is fixed, and nothing of too importance was ruined- the girls' princess tent didn't survive, and I didn't keep any of the towels we used to clean with, but everything else just needed cleaning.
5- My prayers were answered- it all became manageable, and we are all okay-I have a heck of a mess to clean and repair, but I am okay. I felt comfort along the way, and am so grateful for that!
I teared up every time I told the story today...but tomorrow I will hopefully be better...I think I just don't do well with things that are out of my control, and this was soooo out of my control. I just couldn't deal with it all at once. I felt helpless and didn't know what to do...what could I do? But let him do his job and repair my mess...
So there you have it- hopefully you all know where your main sewer drain is in case this ever happens at your house- good luck!!
12 comments:
We had a similar problem...hence the whole new flooring in our house house in Ohio. The whole house flooded with that crap. It was a Sunday and we couldn't afford the weekend charge so Spencer and Sean King ditched church to try to fix it themselves...only costing us more money. We had no shop vac and ruined every towel we owned...and couldn't wash them because our water was off. We didn't even have enough towels to dry the mess...not even close. We were with out water for nearly 48 hours by the time it was fixed. Parker was sick that weekend. It was Valentines Day. Oh man. Good times. (or not) I showered at Abbey's house and we walked down every time some one needed to use the bathroom or brush our teeth.
This post brought back a flood of memories. I feel your pain. I can say from experience, it will make a good story to tell years later. But I'm STILL not laughing. I'm so sorry.
geez, you had to go thru a lot of CRAP!!!! love ya, ao
AaaaaaaaaaaHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kelly, it sounds so terrible. I hope everything gets better. I think that would be one of the worse home problems to come across. I feel so sorry for you. I would be crying too! You have a good outlook though. That it what helps you get through these things. I love ya,Es
I am so sorry. Gross, Gross, Gross! Hope your week gets better.
What a HORRIBLE experience. Yeah, plumbers charge A LOT but look at how gross their job is. Of course, there is never a convenient time for something like this to happen. Glad you got through it.
Oh Kel, I'm so sorry. I can't even imagine what you went through. I cried when the shingles started coming off of our roof when we had the windstorm so I think I would've had a breakdown. Thank goodness you knew to pray and that Heavenly Father would answer your prayers. I'm so impressed that you took the time to name the thinks you were thankful for out of this whole situation!
I'm sorry you had such a "crappy" day. I think we all get our turn with them at some point and I think you handled it remarkably well considering the mess you had to deal with. We love having Celeste in our home- she's an angel!!
Oh yuck....I am so sorry!!! We did also have something similar, but luckily it didn't get quite that bad- the drain was easy to find and he snaked it up and all okay. I think I would have been just as upset!!! :(
oh Kelly--- I am SO sorry to hear that story. Seriously I felt so bad just reading it. I would have been the same way. I don't handle the "man" type of jobs very well--I wouldn't have had a clue what to say to the plumber when he said he'd have to find the pipe. That would have set me over the edge. Hope you are feeling better!!!!
Wow, that is one big crap shoot. I am so sorry that happened to you. I am just happy that Dana got to help you and that you had a wonderful plumber. I also have wood trim if you need it to fix what got damaged. You would just need to paint it,
So sorry, I had no idea this was going on 'till just now. We may be next.
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