Sprkus

As an FYI, when disposing of a bottle of Metamucil or any generic fiber supplement, do not ever pour the powder down the kitchen sink.

And if you can’t resist the urge and DO pour it down the sink, don’t pour it down the side of the sink with the garbage disposal.

And if you can’t stop yourself from dumping the powder in the disposal, don’t waste your time trying to clear the clog with Drano or Liquid Plumber.

And if you do use one of these chemicals, don’t obsess that you clogged up the kitchen sink so much that you then try and plunge the clog and in your haste, splash the chemical-laced water on yourself, clothes and kitchen floor.

If you do get the hazardous water on yourself, be sure to make a yelp loud enough for someone else in the house to hear, even if they’re all the way downstairs, and then get safely in the shower to wash off.

Now, I can’t find it in me to point any fingers other than saying none of the acts above were completed by me. I’ll only go as far as saying they were the accomplishments of another who’s first name starts with “T,” ends with “Y” and has “IFFAN” in the middle.

Hearing the scream, I came upstairs to find the kitchen sink still clogged with orange water, a small plunger floating in that orange water, the kitchen rug half bleached white and water everywhere.

I was under the impression we were going to let the Liquid Plumber work its magic overnight. After making sure Tiffany was OK, I cleaned up the water and told her not to touch the clogged sink again.

The next day, we went to Lowe’s and I bought a heavy duty plunger and a snake. As expected, both failed to fix the clog because it went through the disposal, which you can’t really snake.

The second drain in the kitchen was working just fine, so I knew the clog was somewhere between the “T-pipe” under the sink and the disposal itself. I had never taken a sink apart before, but figured it couldn’t be that hard.

To make a long story short, I was able to get the pipes off and found the clog — a six-inch long mass of orange rubber that used to be fiber powder. Seriously, it was like a Fruit Roll-Up substance, only instead of being flat, was solid and round and completely choked off inches of sink guts.

Oh, and one more thing: When you manage to clear the clog under a sink with standing water full of Liquid Plumber, have a bucket ready.