Plumbing by Jupiter

About three days ago, the shower drain started pooling towards the end of taking a shower, and there was a bit of gurgling going on in the general bathroom plumbing when the loo was flushed or the basin emptied. This usually means that there is a bit of a blockage somewhere. Now, I am pretty good at keeping plumbing pipes clear and free running; I have an arsenal of various implements and concoctions that I use regularly in order to do so. I can’t be doing with plumbing issues. They cause me anxiety and hyper-vigilance as I check ceilings for signs of damp patches and, worse, actually wet drippiness. Regular readers will know I have a history of domestic water related issues. They are my bête noir. 

(I shall mention at this point that my own personal plumbing is in tip top condition, thanks to the physiotherapist arriving literally within two hours of my second baby being born with a routine of pelvic floor exercises to do. ‘I can’t even FEEL my pelvic floor, let alone exercise it,’ said I, and other mothers will know what I mean. But I did start the exercises within a day or two…lifting and squeezing and holding and releasing…too much information? Soz…)

Back to the plumbing. I cleaned out the shower trap. I prodded about with various brushes, rods and pokey things, reminding myself to hold on firmly to the business end and avoid any violent yanking or shoving movements so I didn’t lose a brush, rod or pokey thing down the pipes and properly cause an issue. (I have a track record of losing drain rods down the septic tank and we all know what happened then, don’t we?) I applied drain cleaning fluid and flushed it through with hot water after the allotted resting time. As far as I was concerned, the shower plumbing was all fine and ticketty boo. I tested the shower. Everything drained fine, but there was still a distant gurgling, like the sound of romantic trolls serenading each other across a rocky mountain range. Not THE Rocky Mountain Range. Another one with more delicate flowers and some frisky goats. 

I did the same with the toilet. What puzzled me was that there was no backing up of the toilet system (thank goodness - there would have been a lot of screaming and swearing if there was) - it was flushing fine, just gurgling. But not all the time. Random gurgling. And then I did the same with the wash basin which was last on my list of suspects, so I apologise to it now for even thinking of accusing it of blockin’’n’ gurglin’.

For the next day and a bit, the pooling and gurgling was random and intermittent. I continued with my regime of flushing and poking and trying to work out what might be happening.  This was the really annoying bit. I am firm in the belief that if you’re going to cause an issue just DO IT and be done. None of this enigmatic, will it won’t it malarkey. 

Yesterday, I was feeling mildly weary with this latest in the list of ‘There’s always something, isn’t there?’ Also, I was going to see a friend in the village for a cuppa and a chat. We weren’t swimming in effluence, the house wasn’t drowning. But it was still annoying because I do NOT like it when things do things that are not their usual thing to do. In my book, it’s just plain bad manners. 

And then I read my horoscope. It said:

‘You have been applying intensity to a situation that may respond better to a lighter touch. Jupiter moving direct brings movement to something that has felt jammed shut. You don’t need to understand every stage of this process. Focus on what you can do consistently today and trust the mechanism to respond positively.’

So I let the issue fade into the background and got on with the better things of the day, like tea and cake with my friend in the village. 

This morning? No shower pooling. And not a whisper of a gurgle…🤫

(This post was brought to you by JUPITER - For Your Universal Plumbing Problems. Pooling and Gurgling a Speciality.)