Foam Party

Well I was a busy guy the other day. I loaded the dishwasher and turned it on. I loaded the washing machine with dirty clothes and turned that on. I then washed the dishes that Mark deemed to be too dainty to put in the dishwasher, in the sink. Apparently when the dishwasher drains, the clothes washer drains, and the sink drains with the garbage disposal turned on, all at the same time, the sewer can't handle it. I didn't plan it that way, it just happened. When I was all done in the kitchen I carried some of Mark's Christmas decorations down into the basement. I opened the door to the basement. It looked like one of those foam parties from back in the 1990's, but without all the hot guys. There were suds all over the floor. I panicked. Luckily for me there are people who deal with these things. Frank, my neighbor and plumber came to the rescue.

"It's not the drain stack. It's the line between that and the catch basin in the back yard. Either your catch basin is full or the line has to be snaked out."

So we went out to the back yard where the catch basin is located. The last time I cleaned out a catch basin was like forty years ago at my first house. My brother Dave and I did it ourselves. We lifted the lid and found it full of Spaghetti-O's. The folks I bought that house from apparently had a horrible diet. Anyway, Frank lifted the lid on my catch basin and I was pleasantly surprised. It was clean, as much as a pit where every effluent from the house flows through can be clean.

"I'll have to snake the line from here into the house."

"Hmmm... okay. So how much is that going to cost me?"

"Usually $350. But for you, a neighbor, $250."

"Do it."

Two hundred and fifty bucks is a bargain considering that the last time I messed with a catch basin, I ended up with used Spaghetti-O's all over myself. Oh, and some vomit. My own vomit. It's a disgusting job.