Things That I Don’t Want To Do But Need To Be Done

I don’t know if you experience this, but we get this disgusting black, slimy mold stuff growing in our bathroom sink pipe. For all I know, it’s growing everywhere there’s water, I’m only aware of the sink because it tends to build up to such a large degree that it clogs the flow of water.

Consequently, when you’re brushing your teeth or washing your hands, the water drains really slowly, so much so that sometimes the black death mold actually floats up the surface. Completely disgusting.

I took an introductory plumbing class over at the COVER Center and the woman teaching it seemed to indicate that it’s a common problem and told us that it was a good idea to clean it regularly. This mean forcing a wad of tissue or paper through the pipe, thereby clearing the drain.

Needless to say, this was not high on my list of enjoyable things to do, and I’ve put it off for as long as I could, with the occasional probing with a coat hanger to get it adequately flowing. This got us by for a couple of years, but recently the situation has gotten bad enough that I had to actually take action.

I broke out my plumbing tools (JH would be proud) and loosened the trap, and then set about cleaning the junk out. I also had to remove the ball joint holding that controlled the drain plug, which was harder than I remember. I then wadded up a paper towel and pushed it through with a narrow stick, and let me tell you, what came out was so disgusting that I’ll be traumatized for the next year.

It was a solid cylinder of black, slimy mold. I couldn’t believe it, and another reminder of how plumbers sure do earn their keep. On a bright note, the drain is clear, and I can forget about cleaning it again for another 5-6 years. That is, of course, after I clean the upstairs sink.

Until then, thanks for reading.