FLOWING AGAIN

I finally have good news...water flows again!

For those who were not aware, the plumbing problem that started just before Christmas has now been fixed. Finally...after three attempts.

The problem started a few days before the 25th of December and I didn't want to ruin any plumber's holiday, so I waited. On New Years, I received news of a relative being in the hospital, so again I waited. Finally, I had to make the call.

The first plumber arrived on January 11th. The bathroom toilet was pulled, the line grouted, and the unit replaced with the wrong ring. After he left, I noticed that the unit rocked like a rocking chair. The plumber returned the following Sunday morning and again pulled the unit and installed the proper ring and it was reseated. I was also told that he had to dig up my front yard near my 30 year old maple tree and the tree needed to be removed. This opinion was given to me after he went to look in the clean-out hole near the curb area of the yard. I didn't want to cut down the tree, but since I know nothing about plumbing, I followed directions. The tree was cut down and all debris removed, except for the stump.

However, that plumber never returned and I have not heard from him since. I contacted a second plumber who came over two weeks later and while inspecting the clean-out hole referred to, he found something strange and tried to remove it. It required a pair of grippers to pull the item up. As soon as it was retrieved, I recognized it to be the 12 inch long flashlight belonging to the first plumber. I had seen him use it in my house, and had never seen one quite like that before. The second plumber gave me an estimate to "see if he could find the problem" and I said, thanks, I'll call you.

Due to a death in my family, I had to be out of town for several days, so my plumbing problem would have to wait until my return. There would be no water flowing while I was gone.

After my return, the regular plumber that I had used three times before in previous years appeared in the driveway of my neighbor. I told him my sad story of being without proper working plumbing for a month or so and he agreed to fix it. That was on February 11th. On Valentine's Day, the crew showed up that morning, found and fixed the problem in about three hours. The tree did not have to be cut down I was told. All the facilities were checked to be working fine when he left. I lost a 30 year old maple tree for nothing and now still have a stump in my yard. And the first plumber's flashlight retrieved from the drain pipe, which I'm sure restricted some water flow to the street sewer connection.

I learned a lot from this experience. You get what you pay for. Get a second opinion sometimes. And, it's so much better to do laundry at home than at the laundromat! After almost eight weeks of "roughing it," it's so good to feel AT HOME again!