Trying to beat the bathtub into submission

[mousme]

Yes, yet again.

I am trying to avoid calling in a plumber, as the last time I did it set me back over $100. Then again, I may end up going through $100 worth of Drano, so it may be worth it in the end.

*grr*

See, the bathtub in my apartment, from what I have been able to ascertain, is now permanently blocked. The drain, that is. To the point where no Liquid Plumber, Drano, or other liquid, powder, or other substance designed to unclog clogs has been able to do anything about it. Trust me on this, I've been doing this since November on a bi-weekly basis (and no, I don't mean every two weeks, I mean twice a damned week).

Given that the faucet on the bathtub leaks, like every other damned faucet in this place, this means I get the added joy of bailing out the bathtub at least every other day so my place doesn't get flooded. Joy reigns supreme.

Of course, I am a clean creature, so I bail it out every day after I take a shower or a bath. I take showers now, since they're faster and take up less water, and don't involve me sitting in the sludge that is probably sitting in the bottom of the tub. Say it with me, kids: Ewww!


The cat broke my favourite lamp yesterday. The cat came close to dying. Yes, it was George, in case there was any doubt. George has cost me more money than all the other three cats put together, including the World's Most Expensive Ear Infection. This is because George broke my computer last year, if you will recall. We can now add the lamp that I've had since I was three years old to that list. I hope it can be fixed.

Anyway, the added bonus to the breaking of the lamp into itty-bitty pieces is that, when the sparks flew, apparently that shorted out a whole 'nother circuit in my apartment. Don't ask me how that works, because I. don't. know. Really. I thought there were safeguards in place for this sort of thing. All I know is that now I have a grand total of three working outlets in my apartment, whereas there should be about six or possibly even eight. I haven't counted recently. The ceiling lamps have never worked in my room, but now I have the added bonus of their not working in half the living room. I can't use the small lamp in the living room, because I had to move one into the bedroom, which works only because I plugged it via extension cord into the kitchen.

Do we see where I'm going with this?

Naturally, the Idiot!Landlord has not answered any calls.

However, there is a potential light at the end of the tunnel. Once I have beaten the bathtub into sufficient submission to wash, I shall be performing my ablutions and going off to see an apartment later today! Yee! It's a bit more expensive, but much with the worth-it-ness if it means I can get out of the festering sinkhole of rotting wood, leaking roofs, sinking foundations, shorted circuitry, blocked and faulty plumbing, and rodent-and-wasp-infested badness that is my current apartment. Yay!

Okay. I think the bathtub may actually be draining a tiny bit. Off to go test my theory!

Comments

[luvenditti.livejournal.com]

there's always dynamite, baby!

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Don't tempt me, sweetheart.

[rowen26.livejournal.com]

Oh, for the love of all that is mighty in the Verse, you have to get out of there!! :(

Can such dankholes be declared to the Régie?

Anyhow, good luck with the apartment hunting. *hugs*
You need a good place for you and your kitties.

[swestrup]

When I had a similar problem, ages ago, I went out and bought a plumber's 'snake' from Canadian Tire (or was it Reno Depot?)

Anyway, its a 20' long piece of spring steel with a coil at the end. You shove it down drains and use it to try and break up clogs. I discovered I couldn't fit it into my sink drain because of the little welded-in-place drain sieve, so I've had it sitting on a shelf ever since. You are most welcome to borrow it, if I can figure out how to get it lent to you.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Oh, keen. Well, I'm off in a few to visit an apartment, but perhaps if you're going to be seeing Chris sometime soon you could leave it with him (if he doesn't mind, obviously)?

[joenotcharles.livejournal.com]

Oops - both he and Chris'll be at my play in about 5 minutes, but of course I didn't read this until now so I couldn't remind him before he left.

[swestrup]

Too bad I didn't know that I could get it to you through Joe (I didn't even know Chris would be there). I'll next be downtown on tuesday and wednesday evenings, so it may be possible to drop if off with someone on one of those days.

Just saw this on a friend of a friend's page and thought I could be of service.

[montecristo.livejournal.com]

You need a snake. This is a spool of cable about the size of a large toaster with a handle on it and a corkscrew looking end attached to the free end of the cable. Feed the cable into the pipe until you hit the obstruction. Then turn the handle and it should begin pulling out the gunk in the pipe. The hardware store should cary them snakes. Be careful about how you push it as the snake can chew through the pipes if you get it into a sharp bend and push it hard enough against the pipe wall.

If you're renting, I should think the landlord would put up for the cost of a plumbing emergency.

Your electricity problem is most likely a blown fuse or a circuit breaker popped into the off position -- that would be why your outlets don't work. You need to replace the fuse or reset the breaker. Be sure that you have a flashlight with you when you go to do this in case you remove the fuse or flip off the breaker which controls the circuit lighting the room where the fuse/breaker box is located.

Find the fuse or breaker box. It will be mounted on the wall near where your electrical service enters the house. The circuit breakers will look like wall lightswitches, most likely mounted sideways. They should be printed with on/off labels. Find the one in the off position and switch it back to the on position. Your outlets should work. If the breakers are not printed, look for the odd-one out, the one in a different position than the others. If there are only two breakers, plug a radio into one of the dead outlets. Flip one of the switches, and if you hear the radio come to life, then bingo. If you don't hear the radio come on then flip the switch back to its original position and try the other one. If you do not have circuit breakers, check for fuses in a fusebox which will be mounted in the same place.

If you have fuses, it is most likely that one of them will be blown. Unscrew it and look into the little window to see if the fuse is blown. There will be a flat copper bar in the window of the fuse. If this copper bar is intact, the fuse is okay. If the copper bar is melted away in the middle then that is the blown fuse. The fusebox should be wired so that the hot lead is in the bottom of the fuse socket, but occasionally some lummox has done the wiring and the hot will be on the threads.

Congratulate George on decrementing his alotment of lives.

Re: Just saw this on a friend of a friend's page and thought I could be of service.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

Thank you for your advice. I shall certainly take all this into consideration in the future. I have no idea where the fuse box might be in this hell-hole of a place, nor do I have access to it, I don't think, sadly.

I have been asking the Idiot!Landlord to fix one of the short-circuits for three years now, ever since I moved in. He has failed to do so, and I don't have the money to pay an electrician to come in and do that for me. So, I haven't had any electricity in one part of my apartment for three years (the stairwell).

This is good for future reference, however.

As for the plumbing, a friend has offered me the use of their snake. My Idiot!Landlord, as mentioned above, will not front anything for a plumbing emergency. He does not answer his phone, nor does he respond to any attempt at communication. He is, basically, a slum lord. The only thing he understands is amounts withheld on on his monthly rent cheques, which is tricky since if I don't give him postdated cheques it's almost impossible to get ahold of him to give him his damned rent.

Basically, dealing with the man is a nightmare, and I'm very glad I'm getting out of here.

But your advice is going to be very useful under other circumstances, so thank you.

I've seen you in a number of my friends' journals. curtana, forthright and fearsclave, if I'm not wrong. What brings you to these humble pages? Certainly not my caustic political commentary, since that isn't exactly what I discuss around here. ;)

Re: Just saw this on a friend of a friend's page and thought I could be of service.

[montecristo.livejournal.com]

You have indeed seen me commenting in a number of your friends' journals. I have a habit of perving my friends' pages and today I was noodling around on ingenuemuse's friend's page and saw your predicament.

You're already friended by:

• curtana
• fearsclave
• forthright
• ingenuemuse
• prolixfootle
• sorceror

...who are on my friends list as well.

Heavens, you come so highly recommended that I feel I have been missing something by not reading you all that often. Would you mind if I subscribed? I wouldn't expect any reciprocation and I tend to comment when something strikes my interest, or my curiosity, which is insatiable, but I'm used to taking "No, mind your own business" for an answer to my many questions. What say you?

Re: Just saw this on a friend of a friend's page and thought I could be of service.

[mousme.livejournal.com]

I don't mind in the slightest. In fact, having seen many of your insightful replies to my good friends in their posts, I think I will in fact reciprocate.