Story-telling is not my forte yet I have this innate need to try, try, and try again. Well, ladies, gents, and heathens of all sorts, I'm here to announce that I clogged the kitchen sink this past week. Now how on earth does someone do that? It wasn't on purpose, of course! This was one of those moments where I had a burst of energy and went on a massive cleaning spree. Things were getting done, floors clean, dishes washed, and clothes in the washer - I was making things happen. That is until I mindlessly threw rice into the garbage disposal. Yes, in the garbage disposal.
I hadn't noticed that anything was wrong so, I went about my business - I was almost done, after all. But, little did I know that I would be walking back into the kitchen with the sink almost flooding over. How? My dishwasher dumps water back into the sink. While I was cleaning, that lovely washer was dumping water down a drain that would not budge with rice that was steadily bulging. To anyone who personally knows me, I'm a bit off-kilter. Neurodivergent, odd... I've been that what since I was a kid. Anyways! The agony that fell upon my heart as I watched what had been a freshly cleaned sink fill up to the brim, giving me its rendition of Galveston Beach, gripped my heart with such force it was as if I were drowning within.
I've never experienced this issue prior, or at least to my memory I haven't, so I did what anyone would do (after crying over it for half a day and using it as an excuse to break diet) and Googled! The most notable fix to this was to get under the sink and remove the pipes to clean it out myself but, we're talking about a currently depressed, slightly manic woman here so, that was not an option. After digging through some sites, and a whole bunch of "Don't throw rice down the garbage disposal" articles, I finally came across three methods that tickled my fancy!
Method One - Boiling Water
Initially, I had passed up on this because of how simple of a solution it sounded to me. Boiling water? Please. How could boiling water help? After going through a couple of articles, I found myself circling back to the idea and decided that it couldn't possibly hurt to try. Out came the pot, in went the water, on to the stove a boiling! Now, for this to work, you're supposed to pour the boiling water down the drain, wait 10 minutes, and it would dissolve the uncooked or clumped rice. Ten minutes later and there the water sat. Y'all I tried this two more times while filling the entire sink up again in the process.
Method Two - Baking Soda and White Vinegar
The sink was so badly clogged that it took until Day 2 for the boiling water to fully drain. This poor sink was experiencing The Great Flood with no end in sight! Thankfully, as soon as it did drain (after a full day), I took to option two - 1/2 to 1 c baking soda and equal parts white vinegar. I eyeballed the measurements, dumping baking soda down the drain and disposal, followed by a hefty amount of vinegar. Either side began to fizz, foam quickly building up! I prayed. Y'all I prayed that it would stop! I didn't think I could handle another incident on top of the current situation. Give or take about another 40 minutes, It actually drained! I used this method a few more times and watched as the water drained faster each time. But, was this method really helping? I washed a couple of dishes to see if it had helped any. While it had helped some, the sink was still filling up. Maybe it was time for the third method that had been recommended to me by a few people.
Method Three - Drano
No. I had never used Drano before so I made sure to read the instructions carefully and follow them to a T but, the immediate regret from using it sunk in fast. I thought my previous method had helped but, Drano had exposed this to be so wrong. Everything that was in the pipes, Drano dragged back up into the sink! That's it! Goodbye sink and dishwasher, it was nice knowing y'all!
C'est La Vie!
Que sera, sera!
Method Four
I live in an apartment complex, and though that comes with maintenance folk that can be called up to help repair things, I fully believe in trying to fix things myself. Would it have saved money? Yes. But, knowing how to solve these issues in home improvement and repair is incredibly useful. When you become (or are) a homeowner or end up living where the landlord expects you to pay for maintenance, it can save you money. I caved at this point and maintenance came to the rescue. Honestly, I'm glad I didn't touch the pipes because it turned out quite a bit of it actually had to be replaced. He even gave me some advice on the rice thing (I know, I know! Never down the disposal!). Going forward will I be more mindful? I truly hope so! And please, for all that is good in this world, don't be as careless as I had - cooked/dry rice has no business going down the disposal! Just toss it in the trash and take it out. ~Easy Peasy.
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