Warning: my 'quick' shower drain fix turned into a 5 hour ordeal

I had a slow drain in my bathroom so I grabbed a $8 snake from Ace Hardware on Grand Avenue. Thought I'd be done in 20 minutes, but I ended up pulling out a clump of hair and gunk the size of my fist after two hours of wrestling. Then I realized I'd snapped the snake inside the pipe and had to take apart the whole trap. Has anyone else had a simple plumbing job spiral into an all day project?

3 comments

3 Comments

james_campbell121mo ago

I read somewhere that something like 70% of DIY plumbing jobs take at least twice as long as people expect. That hair and gunk fist is pretty standard too, I've pulled out stuff from my own pipes that looked like it had been growing for years. Next time I'm just calling a guy, my back can't take another hour hunched under the sink.

faith_carter1mo ago

This kind of thing reminds me of a bigger pattern where we assume small fixes stay small but life just laughs at the clock. It's like that time I tried to replace a single light switch and ended up rewiring half the living room. These projects always teach that the universe has its own sense of humor about our simple plans.

emmawood1mo agoMost Upvoted

Have you tried hitting the trap with the handle of a screwdriver before you even open it? Nine times out of ten that loosens the crust enough that the water drains and makes the whole job less of a swampy nightmare. I've pulled hair fists out of my own pipes that looked like they were reaching back for me, so I feel you on that, @faith_carter. The trick is to keep a bucket under there no matter what, because the universe likes to add a surprise splash of old water on your floor when you least expect it. I'd rather do ten minutes of prep than an hour of cleanup and swearing.