Got home from work Tuesday, to find the kitchen sink backed up. Emptied the cabinet, pulled apart the trap, and found nothing. Next, I go to the cleanout in the line, downstairs, right below the sink. Pull the cap, and of course fill half a drywall bucket. Take a peak . Nothing, atleast up to the corner elbow. From the elbow is a 20′ straight run, to the next elbow. Yeah, it should be a Y with a clean out.Decide to cut the low end of the 20′ run, figuring the blockage is in the straight run. Cut the pipe, which I know is full of water, and nothing comes out. So blockage is in that long run. Cut the other end, near the first corner, and Gushhhhhhh. Took the whole pipe outside, to flush with the hose. It instantly fills. So, I stand it up on end and tap it on the frozen ground, and Whumpppp, out comes the blockage. Inspecting this pile of crud, I find the culprit! A red squirrel had crawled down the vent stack, and got stuck. Suppose seeing he’s a red squirrel, he thinks he’s Santa or some thing.Funny thing is, this exact thing happened once before, same pipe, same spot. Guess, I’ve got to put a screen on that vent stack. Never seen one , and hope it does’nt cause an ice block in the vent. Anyone ever heard of such a thing happening? Or do I live in the land of Kamakzie squirrels?
Brudoggie
Replies
On a much smaller scale, but the same thing....
I had a customer whose dishwasher was leaking a LOT. A mouse got into the air gap, got stuck and died. All the water came out the air gap.
Stunk.
Another day, another tool.
Rich,
I hear you ,STUNK!!. I hate plumbing problems. Don't know how folks can deal with that stuff every day.
Brudoggie
At least it wasnt leavins from mommas tuna surprize...:)
At Darkworks Customer satisfaction Job One..Yea yea were all over it , I got my best guys on it.........
$65 an hour is how.
That's not what the guy who gets to play in the s$%t makes. Just the guy with the clean hands.
Brudoggie
I pulled 5 squirrels out of a water heater flue pipe once. Neighbor kept smelling gas fumes in the basement. Squirrels were toasted and very well done.
Brudoggie,
Used to do a lot of maintence work on apartments in a college town. Wish now that I would have saved the many hairball, condom, dear john, and drug paraphernalia items i fished from clogged pipes. Maybe I could have started some wierd museum or roadside attraction--- Burma Shave?
sawick
All I found was a live .45 round in my downstairs vanity trap. Former owner was a cop.
Squirrel climbed down customer's gas dryer vent. She decided to buy a new dryer. <g>
View Image
Was the squirrel still alive?
......What?...it could happen
WAHD,
I figure that he fit okay, when he went in. As he traveled 20'. Then, started gnawing on that layer of grease that forms in the pipes, got a really high colesterol count, and the rest is history! So was he!
Brudoggie
I used a real wide-mesh hardware cloth to block all the vent stacks on my house for the same reason.
No problems with ice or anything else so far.
DRC
Dave,
That's what I was thinking. Glad to hear it works. Are you in a wintery climate? So I'm not the only one.
Brudoggie
It was 12 degrees F on the jobsite yesterday morning. Cold enough for me.
Man, we poured ICFs yesterday and the bleed water was freezing on the outside of the forms at one o'clock in the afternoon.
We thought it was a nice day until we saw that.
DRC
Dave,
"When the bleed water started to freeze..." Ouch! Hope you had some blankets for that thing. I've got some footings to pour on Monday. Buried knee deep in straw, right now. Nothing like concrete for Christmas! Have a good Holiday!
Brudoggie
Man, I hear ya', Bru.
I used to ask "How do I get myself into this sh*t?"
Now with a little grey in my beard I know how. I guess it's time to figure out "WHY?" <VBG>
Yep, plenty of blankets on the slab. Walls are ICF, with a double layer of 6 mil plastic over top. I guess we'll see how those ICF manufacturer's claims for cold weather performance hold up on the morning of January 2 when we go to put the top plate on.
Happy Holidays!
DRC
i once found a racoon had climbed into a roof drain at a nursing home and got stuck and died causing the roof to over flow into the building,we ran a Ridgid drain cleaning machine snake down and hooked him mmm boy did that smell good when I yanked him out <G>..
Try one of the shower drain sceens. They pressure fit into a two or three inch PVC pipe. Look a lot better than wire band clamped to your stack.
Dave
used to have a lasco shower pan in basement bath with the drain cover never staying put. the injector pump burnt and there was a perfect size 2" mans head looking at me. thanks kids