today’s series of events….
- we had artichoke for lunch.
- i took a phone call while michael cleaned up.
- michael gives me very guilty look.
- he had put all (or almost all, if you believe him) of the discarded artichoke leaves down the disposal.
- the disposal did not like this and let him know it.
- i get off the phone.
- we converge at the sink for a pow-wow.
- the disposal sounds like the motor is running but nothing is spinning.
- there is murky, murky water in the sink that will not drain.
- it is dark green and almost black.
- michael looks to me to stick my hand down the drain (as, in our relationship, i am responsible for most the gross household tasks because michael is a sissy about it)
- i say, no way.
- i had no part in making the problem a problem and the water was too gross, even for me.
- michael took a deep breath and stuck his hand in. there was nothing he could find to pull out.
- michael said we need to call a plumber.
- i said i don’t want to call (a.k.a. pay for) a plumber, we just need a plunger.
- michael goes to drugstore to buy a plunger.
- we plunge.
- nothing happens.
- michael said we need to call a plumber.
- i said i don’t want to call (a.k.a. pay for) a plumber, we can figure this out.
- i go to the computer to google “how to fix a disposal”.
- michael calls him mom for the name of a plumber.
- i find a troubleshooting list for our make and model of disposal.
- michael’s mom says there’s a hole in the bottom of the disposal that you can put a wrench in to turn to loosen it.
- my troubleshooting guide agrees and says that we’ll need a 1/4″ allen wrench for our specific disposal.
- michael goes to the hardware store to buy the 1/4″ wrench.
- he comes back with a “metic set” and can’t figure out why it won’t fit.
- i tell him that’s not a 1/4 inch.
- he says, “but it looked just like the 1/4” one.
- yes, but it’s not. inches aren’t metric.
- michael says he didn’t read that it was metric.
- michael goes back to the hardware store and comes back with the 1/4″ allen wrench.
- good to go.
- it fits and turns the blades.
- the disposal starts spinning again!
- yay!
- but still not draining.
- boo!
- we spend the next 30 mins plunging, and turning the disposal on and off, and sticking our hands into the drain to and pulling out bits of artichoke fiber.
- lots and lots of artichoke fiber.
- it still won’t drain.
- micahel says we need to call a plumber.
- i said i don’t want to call (a.k.a. pay for) a plumber, we can figure this out.
- micahel goes to google for answers.
- i keep pulling out bits of artichoke fibers.
- michael says he thinks we can take the whole disposal off and take it apart.
- we disconnect the plumbing and find the pipe chock full of a huge, gross, green plug of artichoke fiber.
- so gross.
- the sink drains!
- we put everything back together again and high five a lot of times.
- we talk about how handy we are and how proud of each other we are.
- we high five again.
- we check my phone to see when this all started (when i took that phone call as michael was cleaning up lunch). it had been three hours.
- i tell michael i’m going to go blog this.
- he asks if i will say he did it all on his own.
- i say, no.
(image source: i did a google image search to find an artichoke photograph but then the search results all looked so pretty together i just did a screen grab.)
